Fall Appeal 2018

November 9, 2018

Dear Friends in Wellness:

I am so proud of the work the Copeland Center does and so pleased to serve on their Board of Directors.  My involvement with the Copeland Center and the power of the work it does has shaped my career in many ways. This began with my own healing and wellness, leading the WRAP® State Outreach Project at a peer-run agency, On Our Own of Maryland, and most recently, my eight years of work with the National Council for Behavioral Health.

As a trained clinician, it was quite a shift to learn how to be a peer. It changed how I worked and moved me to a place of joyful mutual support and learning with others.  I have been able to bring that perspective to providers all over the country. What I have learned about co-facilitation through the Copeland Center has shaped all of my partnerships.

In 1998, my life changed dramatically.  After the birth of my triplets, someone gave me one of the first copies of the little red book. It ended up in a drawer until three years later when I was able to take my first WRAP® class. This was also a life changing event. I spent years in therapy working to heal traumas from childhood as well as adulthood.  I spent years in the system struggling with being able to maintain meaningful work.  Creating a Back-to-Work WRAP® allowed me to create my own road map for success, and I am very pleased with where that road has taken me. Using my WRAP®, I was able to overcome the horrific challenges of suicidal thinking and behavior.  Even in the darkness of losing my wonderful husband Wade, I have been free of that thinking and behavior and live from a place of wellness.

The Copeland Center is dedicated to deepening its reach in behavioral health communities by adding new trainings in community inclusion, wellness engagement, workplace wellness and support for first responders.  Other initiatives include providing WRAP® across the lifespan with specialized programs for Youth in Transition (Peer Generation) and WRAP® for Seniors.  We are expanding our reach to include populations that have been traditionally underserved.  These include those in the criminal justice system, people who live in rural areas, the LGBTQ+ community and many others whose access to wellness education and support has been limited.

The Copeland Center is a grassroots and peer-run not-for-profit organization.  In order to continue this work and to reach the broadest possible audience, we need your support. You can donate directly now: https://copelandcenter.com/donate-now.  Thank you so much for your support.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Sharp, MSW, ALWF
Copeland Center Board Member