TUNKHANNOCK — Striving to help improve the health and wellness of the community, the Wyoming County Cultural Center at the Dietrich Theater has identified two special programs to help meet the needs of two special groups.
Tunkhannock Veterans Meetup/Warrior Writers is in its third year at the Dietrich and Common Ground Mentorship Program, a mentorship program for at-risk students is newly funded at the Dietrich this year. Both programs are currently filling community health and wellness needs in Wyoming County thanks to a 2018 grant award in the amount of $10,000 from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation.
To better serve our military veterans, an ever growing segment of our population, the Dietrich Theater is providing a monthly Veterans Meetup/Warrior Writers program for the past three years. This established writing program has proven to help our wounded military, especially those returning with emotional problems like PTSD.
Veterans Meetup/Warrior Writers helps meet the needs of our warriors who return from duty emotionally wounded. It is totally free for all veterans and military service members and is taught by a certified veteran facilitator and trainer. In addition to meeting at 7 p.m. the second Friday of the month at the Dietrich, the group also holds public readings to share their stories with the community. Their next public reading will be held at the Dietrich Theater’s Open Mic Night on Friday, May 24 at 7 p.m. According to Veterans Meetup/Warrior Writers facilitator Jenny Pacanowski, the best way for civilians to show their appreciation for veterans’ service is to listen to their stories.
Along with the help of Wyoming County C.A.R.E.S. (Coalition on Addiction: Research, Educate, Support), the Dietrich will continue and enhance an already existing mentorship program begun in January 2018, a program created to provide extra help and positive role models for students who are most at risk of falling through the cracks.
Volunteer program facilitators Tunkhannock Area School District Drug and Alcohol Specialist Cammie Anderson and Tunkhannock Area High School teacher Katie Wisnosky were seeing their high school students struggle with substance use disorder and other serious issues more and more each day. They reached out to Keystone College Criminal Justice Faculty Member Stacey Wyland, and decided to establish an afterschool mentorship program where Keystone College students who had faced similar challenges would mentor high school students at the Tunkhannock Area High School once a month. This program lets students know they are not alone whether they are dealing with substance use disorder, depression, unstable parents, teen pregnancy, poverty, etc. They see that their mentors have gone through similar situations and have been able to get help, rise above their circumstances and continue their education.
The Wyoming County Cultural Center at the Dietrich Theater is a non-profit movie theater that supports cultural programming, including health and wellness programs like these. Established in 2011, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the people of the region and particularly those most vulnerable and most underserved of the population.
From left, first row, are Michele McGowan, NEPA HCF Board Member; Sandy Vieczorek, Dietrich Theater Treasurer; Erica Rogler, Dietrich Theater Executive Director; Margie Young, Dietrich Theater Program Coordinator; The Honorable Terrence Nealon, NEPA HCF Board Member; James Clemente, NEPA HCF Board Chair. Second row, Robert Knowles, NEPA HCF Board Member; Dr. Christopher Dressel, NEPA HCF Board Member; Mark Mitchell, NEPA HCF Board Member; Laura Ducceschi, SAF President/CEO NEPA HCF Administrator.
