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Hanover Mental Health Association announces new mission; names education center in memory of Tom Hale III

The Hanover Mental Health Association has announced that Sunrise House, its Ashland property on S. Taylor Street, will be used as an education center to provide programs for mental health consumers, professionals in the mental health field and the public.

At an open house Jan. 28 to show the newly renovated house to the community and announce its new mission, HMHA President Karen Rice also unveiled a new sign, naming the center The Tom Hale III Education Center at Sunrise House, in memory of Tom Hale III, who had been a member of the former Sunrise House program for several years.

Rice said initially the center will be used by Mental Health America – Virginia for periodic sessions of its Consumer Empowerment and Leadership Training (CELT) program, a four-day retreat that teaches mental health consumers important tools for successful leadership and skills to make their voices heard. HMHA is an affiliate of MHA-Virginia. MHA-Virginia conducts other programs that could also be offered at the center, such as Quest, a personal transformation program for persons new to recovery, and Pathfinders, a program for Virginia military veterans.

Rice said the board also is planning to offer opportunities for area mental health professionals to use the center for networking and professional development programs.

HMHA has provided services to the Hanover community for nearly 25 years, most notably the Sunrise House psychosocial day program. When that program was transferred to the Hanover Community Services Board, HMHA began a planning process that led to renovation of Sunrise House and development of the education center.

“We are grateful to the many donors and volunteers who helped us transform Sunrise House, especially our renovation partner, Hanover Habitat for Humanity, which supervised the renovation and provided dozens of volunteer laborers whose hard work made our new education center possible,” said Rice.

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