Mental health services are popping up all over...not just in counseling centers or offices or hospitals. Services are more available and more accessible - and more importantly - more comfortable for people who may be reluctant to take that first step.

Cameron Burns from Crisis Services talks about the expansion of the Crisis to Care Collaborative.

Tom Tharp from Spectrum Health's Wyoming County Counseling Center talks about the Mobile Therapy Unit.

Kate Hill from Spectrum Health Buffalo Hope joins us for a moment of mindfulness, too.

This month we focus on two agencies with events that celebrate accomplishments and spread awareness!

Melinda DuBois, Executive Director, Mental Health Advocates of WNY talks about the agency and its annual recognition event.

Jeanmarie Cieslica, Volunteer, Greater Buffalo Food Allergy Alliance and Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, licensed school and counseling psychologist and host of the "Don't Feed the Fear" podcast share valuable information about the connection between food allergies and wellness.

Don't let stress rain down on your April days! April is Stress Awareness Month Will Christopher, a Community Wellness Specialist from Spectrum Health's Buffalo Hope COMPS team shares tips and techniques for reigning in stress. spectrumHealth & Human Services Buffalo Hoper Andrea Pierce, LMHC, Founder of HCOC Mental Health Corporation, talks about self-care in the helping professions because April is also Counselor Awareness Month.

We talk music and radio with Chuck Stevens from the Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Service. Dan Lukasik and Mark Anthony Dellas preview a new documentary called Travels With George about the power of friendship. In the Hope segment, Christina Jakubowski from Spectrum Health reminds us that Mental Health Matters every day!

This month we open our hearts to our community's more vulnerable individuals. Join Malene and Bob for some insightful conversations.

Randy Hoak, Commissioner of Senior Services for Erie County shares resources for older Western New Yorkers who are looking for ways to be active and engaged.

Tanya Drake is Spectrum Health's Re-Entry Coordinator. She tells us about her team's work in helping individuals acclimate to the community after incarceration.

Ellen Cool, music therapist at Sound Transformations Music Therapy, talks about the power of music to transform and heal us...and bring us joy, too. Tom Tharp, Clinician at Spectrum Health's Wyoming County Counseling Center, gives us some ideas on how to embrace 2026 in good health.

JoAnn Falletta, Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra talks about her book of original poetry, and the power of music. Mr James Peterson from Spectrum Health's Buffalo Hope COMPS team shares tips for Find it on shswny.org/podcasts/ Spotify, Apple Podcast and iHeartRadio coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during these short winter days.

Finally the podcast team remembers the guests and conversations over the past year.

Best wishes for happy and joyful holidays, filled with love and hope!

Caregivers are loving, stressed, and anxious and The Prevention Council of Erie County is here to help. Janice Burns and Anne-Marie Huurre share advice. Rural Health Day is November 20 and Amanda Burkett and Tom Tharp from Spectrum Health's Springville and Wyoming County counseling centers respectively share the challenges and rewards of serving our rural communities.

Dawn Marie Domke shares the exciting news about Spectrum Health's Riverside Counseling Center and its services for youth.

Brie Kishel, Program and Operations Manager for the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo, talks about the upcoming annual conference.

Celia Spacone, Ph.D. from the Erie County Suicide Prevention Coalition talks about ways to help people in crisis. Jodie Altman, Executive Director of Kids Escaping Drugs introduces us to the life-changing work on this campus.