Better living through mental health treatment for these Long Islanders
“They grew on me, but I grew on them,” said Jennifer Pettway of Freeport, left, with counselor Perette Comond, describing how she initially resisted getting treatment at CN Guidance & Counseling Services in Hicksville. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
The two women came to CN Guidance & Counseling Services in Hicksville through different avenues, but the end result was the same: Their connection with the center's mental health treatment programs has led to better lives.
Christina Maley and Jennifer Pettway both have a bipolar diagnosis. And Pettway said when she came to the agency two years ago she was struggling with substance use as well, citing marijuana and the designer drug ecstasy.
Maley, 37 of Deer Park, said about seven years ago, “My mental health was poor … I had a manic episode. I was just making poor decisions about dating. I was hooked up with someone I was just not supposed to be with.”
She was brought out of crisis and stabilized at Huntington Hospital, which recommended she go to the Hicksville counseling center for further care. Maley said she always took her medication and she had “good family support” throughout, but still faced extreme highs and lows at times because of her illness.
Aurora Sisalli, left, a clinical therapist, with Christina Maley, a client of CN Guidance & Counseling Services and also a peer counselor with the Hicksville nonprofit. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Maley credits her longer term stabilization to the continued support she receives from CN Guidance. Now married, Maley said she works as a peer counselor at one of its residential programs and she also remains a “client.”
“I'm working full time [at CN Guidance],” Maley said. “I have support at home in addition to the workplace … Plus I do my counseling with my therapist every other week. I do medication management every six to eight weeks with one of the nurse practitioners here.”
She added: “I just think CNG is a great support and probably saved my life at one point. I'm just grateful to the people, the sense of community that everyone brings in every day.”
Pettway, 42, of Freeport, admits she had “an attitude” about CN Guidance when her lawyer suggested she enter the facility's mental health court program, a jail diversion program.
She “got into a little trouble” Pettway acknowledged, although she stopped short of offering specifics.
“My lawyer suggested mental health court would be better for me,” she said.
The program turned out to be a godsend, according to Pettway, who praised her counselor Perette Comond for helping her stay on track.
“I was hesitating about getting into the program,” Pettway said. “But since I've been in this program, literally they've been helping me find housing because I lost my housing … ."
She now lives in a three-bedroom home and has three of her sons, ages 9, 13 and 21, back home with her again. Her eldest son, 25, is in the Marine Corps living in California, Pettway said.
“They helped me get my kids back as well, due to the fact that I got a house.”
Pettway said she works as a home health aide, and is taking computer classes. The CN Guidance program “is important to me to make sure I stay clean and on the right path.”
They also make sure she takes her medication, Pettway added, and she participates in therapy and frequently consults Comond for advice.
“Rather than going to drugs, I go to her and talk to her before anything," she said. "They've been doing a lot for me.”
Now, Pettway said of the program, “I kinda love it. At first I was hesitating. I had an attitude in the beginning, but I kind of grew on them,” she said chuckling, making it clear she did not misspeak. “They grew on me, but I grew on them.”
Both Pettway and Comond then turned to each other, smiling.
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'No one wants to pay more taxes than they need to' Nearly 20,000 Long Islanders work in town and city government. A Newsday investigation found a growing number of them are making more than $200,000 a year. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.
