NORWICH — The Turning Point of Chenango County will be hosting a St. Patrick's Day Recovery-a-Thon on Sunday, March 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at their location on 24 East Main Street in Norwich.

The event will include games, prizes, mutual aid support group meetings, and corned beef and cabbage to give individuals struggling with addiction or in recovery a safe place to celebrate the holiday.

"In a way it’s kind of us saying, hey, you can still have fun, just come here and do it with us," said Turning Point Program Specialist Jennifer Lovelace.

She said the first 20 attendees will receive a free St. Patrick's Day hat, and there will also be the chance to win small prizes and one mystery grand prize by playing games throughout the day.

"The grand prize game that we’re going to have is going to be a 'guess how many' type of game," said Lovelace. "We came across some emeralds and fake gold nuggets. So whoever guesses the amount of that will win the mystery prize."

There will also be multiple mutual aid support group meetings scheduled throughout the day to provide extra support.

"They need to know that there are safe places that they can go and not be judged and feel safe and not stigmatized," said Lovelace. "Everybody has worth, and we just try to capitalize on that and show them that we’re here for you, even if you just are coming here because you need a warm place for a few minutes and maybe a cup of coffee. That's fine, we’re okay with that. We’ll talk to you if you want to talk to us. If you don’t want to talk to us, you don’t have to talk to us."

Although the Turning Point center primarily focuses on addiction and recovery services, Program Manager Dana Nightingale said they can also offer support for those experiencing mental illnesses.

"Substance abuse also goes hand in hand with mental health issues, so it’s also a place for that too. Anybody who has mental health issues can come by, too," she said. "It goes hand in hand, usually. Some people just have mental health issues that they haven’t maybe gotten to the substance use part yet. So we’re always here for that too."

Additionally, Lovelace said the center also offers several programs and groups that are open to the community at large, whether they are struggling with substance use or not.

"We keep trying to get more and more groups and programs here for people to partake in, and not all of our events and stuff that we do are just for recovery or addicts; we do do several that are open to the community," said Lovelace.

The Turning Point will be hosting a community Easter celebration on Sunday, March 31 from noon to 5 p.m. Lovelace said if the weather is nice, the event will be held at Kurt Beyer Park, but in the case of inclement weather they will host the celebration at the Turning Point center.

The day will include an Easter egg hunt, games and prizes, and mystery Easter basket giveaways for the first 15 to 20 people who attend.

One of the popular programs that are open to anyone are the Alternative to Violence two-day workshops, which focus on anger management, conflict resolution, communication, cooperation, and team building skills.

The center plans to offer these workshops on a regular basis, with the next scheduled for March 27 and 28. The upcoming session has been moved from the Turning Point of Chenango County location in Norwich to the Turning Point of Otsego County in Oneonta.

Lovelace said transportation from Norwich to Oneonta is available, and there are two to three spaces still available. To register, call the Turning Point at 607-373-3825 or stop by the center during their hours of operation.

Lovelace also facilitates Shadow Work Journal sessions every Wednesday at 2 p.m., which is open to anyone and focuses on past trauma and your inner child.

"Basically it makes you take a look into what your shadows are and how you heal from your shadows and bring forward your light, because your shadows are like your subconscious, and your light is your conscious," she explained. "So your subconscious, even though you may not realize it, projects onto others even if you don’t mean it or you don’t realize it."

"When I do the group I do let people know when we do the exercise, because it is a journal – right now the section we’re doing is a fill-in-the-blanks type of section – if they don’t feel comfortable sharing that with the group, they don’t have to. So it is something that they can just keep to themselves if they're not at that level of comfort where they want to share."

Community members are also welcome to join the weekly arts and crafts group every Thursday at 1 p.m., or Uplift Your Week with Tracy at 10 a.m. on Mondays, which focuses on meditation and mindfulness practices.

Recovery-based groups and programs include mutual aid support group and recovery meetings on Mondays at 2:30 p.m., Tuesdays at noon and 2 p.m., Wednesdays at 1 p.m., Thursdays at noon, Fridays at 5 p.m., and at 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

"There will be more things to come. As we get them scheduled and ironed out we will be letting everybody know, and starting to come up with more groups that will be done on a weekly basis," said Lovelace. "For example, maybe a game night or a game day, or a trivia day, or something like that."

Those who want to get involved and have a say in program and group offerings at the Turning Point can participate in Vision Team meetings from 3 to 5 p.m. every third Tuesday of the month.

"The Vision Team is all about coming to the center and talking with us and helping us figure out better ways we can help the center help the community, or help recoveries or those with addiction," Lovelace said. "Also what would you like to see at the center that would help you as far as if you’re in recovery or if you’re in addiction. What do you want to see for groups? What do you want to see for programs? What can we do to help the community with their recovery and addiction?"

A full calendar of events and more information on the center can be found on the Turning Point of Chenango County, FORDO Facebook page.