Fellowship Place is pleased to invite the general public to the agency’s first annual Expressive Arts Festival from 5:00-7:30 p.m. on May 4 at the headquarters of Musical Intervention, 23 Temple Street in New Haven. Supported by the City of New Haven Mayor’s Community Arts Grants Program, this free event will showcase the creative talents of the agency’s clients. The evening will include:

• Art exhibit and sale
• Live performance by Fellowship Place’s seven-piece band, ‘Music in the Moment”
• Live Poetry readings by Fellowship Place’s writers group
• Refreshments and healthy snacks presented by Fellowship Place’s Food Service Training Interns

The Expressive Arts Festival will kick off community celebrations for “May is Mental Health Awareness Month”. Fellowship Place hopes this event will expose the public to the artistic talents and accomplishments of people living with a mental illness, promote mental health awareness and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. MINDMAP CT, a collaboration between the Yale Dept. of Psychiatry, the CT Mental Health Center, and the CT Dept. of Mental Health and Addiction Services, will sponsor a booth at the festival with information about the early detection and treatment of mental illness.

Fellowship Place seeks to help adults with mental illness lead more meaningful, fulfilling and healthy lives by offering resources, education, and opportunity. The agency provides a wide range of services, including supportive counseling and case management, supported housing, job training and career development services, social & physical recreation programs, expressive arts therapy, and skill building groups. More than 650 people a year are served.

Advance reservations for the Expressive Arts Festival may be made by contacting Gina Papelo at (203) 401-4227 or gpapelo@fellowshipplace.org.

For more information, visit www.fellowshipplace.org or contact Melissa Holroyd, Development Director (203) 401-4227 x1211, mholroyd@fellowshipplace.org