The Gathering Place
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Richard Otto, a volunteer of 8 years, plays “Lullaby For The Sunrise”, a piece he wrote, for Gathering Place member Perry DiFranco. Many of the volunteers are encouraged to involve members of the Gathering Place in discussions about things happening in their daily lives.
The Gathering Place
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Member Janet Bowing smokes a cigarette on the back porch after an “emotionally draining” discussion about depression medication side effects. “It just feels better to talk about all that stuff,” she said.
The Gathering Place
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Audrey (last name withheld) holds tinsel from an art project in her upper lip imitating a mustache. Members were decorating jars of hot chocolate mix to give to friends. While many of the members of the Gathering Place suffer from severe mental disabilities, the symptoms are often not visible, and the Gathering Place has many programs available to help members become independent.
The Gathering Place
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Mother Barb Hensley (left) and daughter Andi Watt (right) share a moment during a game of euchre. The two have lived with each other for the past seven years after Watt's husband left at the birth of Mary, their child. Both Hensley and Watt suffer from schizophrenia and depression as well as an extensive list of disabilities requiring Watt to take twenty medications and Hensley twenty-one medications daily.
The Gathering Place
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Barb Hensley, a member of the Gathering Place for the past seven years listens to a conversation regarding another member’s new medications. Taking twenty-one medications herself, Hensley is very familiar with the side effects of numerous drugs. One of the main purposes of the Gathering Place is to provide a strong sense of community by giving people somewhere to talk openly about numerous personal and medical issues they may be experiencing. The members are always open to talking and some, such as Hensley, look to raise awareness in the Athens area.
