Community Corner

Donate Gifts to Ensure People with Mental Illness Enjoy Christmas

Community Network Services in Farmington Hills has put together a "wish list" of items like hats, scarves, journals and calendars to brighten the holiday season for clients.

Farmington Hills-based Community Network Services (CNS), Oakland County’s largest provider of comprehensive behavioral health services to adults with serious mental illness, has announced its 2012 Holiday Wish List campaign, to provide modest gifts for clients who might not otherwise have a Christmas.

Items requested include scarves, fleece throws, gloves, hats, journals, mugs filled with candy, calendars and toiletry kits, for men and women. The full list is posted with this article as a PDF.

People with serious mental illness often lead lives of significant disadvantage and, for many, discrimination. Compassionate responses from the community signal acceptance and help redress the stigma that many have experienced.

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CNS has been providing mental health services to low-income adults with mental illness for 10 years. At facilities in Farmington Hills and Waterford, the agency serves 4,000 adults with serious mental illness each year.

Many of our clients point to the experience of participating in a “clubhouse” or engaging with the CNS Supported Employment program as having been pivotal in securing employment, housing or friendships. Thus, the 2012 Holiday Wish List has been framed around the needs of clients in those programs.

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For more information on how you, your family, or your organization can participate, call 248-871-1488 by December 3.

Source: Community Network Services press release


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