Health and Wellness

• Allegany County, NY – COVID-19 Information and Updates
• Cattaraugus County, NY – Department of Health
• Chautauqua County, NY – Public Health Department
• Erie County, NY – Department of Health 
• Genesee and Orleans County, NY – Department of Health
• Niagara County, NY – Department of Health
• Wyoming County, NY – Department of Health

Center for Disease Control and Prevention – COVID-19 virus and vaccine information.

NY State Department of Health – COVID-19 vaccine and virus information. 

Mental Health Advocates of WNY – Provides essential non-clinical services that address the needs of individuals, families and communities living with mental illness. 

National Alliance on Mental Illness – Educates and advocates to improve the lives of people with mental illness and their loved ones. 

New York State Office of Mental Health – Programs and resources offered through New York State.

211 – Health and Wellness resources in your neighborhood. 

HelpGuide – Offer guidance and encouragement you need to find hope, get motivated, take charge of your mental health, and start feeling better. 

Mindful – Resources that help with having a healthy mind and healthy lifestyle.  

National Institutes of Health – Emotional Wellness tool kit and resources.

ProActive Caring was created with the Center on Aging and Disability Policy at Mount Saint Mary College as a partnership between service providers and family caregivers, to support you as you care for a person with special needs.

Caregivers often describe themselves as feeling stressed or overwhelmed by anxiety about the future, by the judgments (or denial) or family members and friends, by the bureaucracies they have to deal with, by financial pressures, and sometimes even by caring for more than one family member.

In fact, the stresses associated with being a family caregiver of someone with intellectual or developmental disabilities can be so great that it is not uncommon for caregivers introducing themselves and their situation to other caregivers in a group, to burst into tears! Unlike other support programs, such as respite care, that may address certain aspects of caregiver stress, ProActive Caring aims to help you develop coping skills and build resilience to current and future stress.

The ProActive Caring e-Manual will lead you through eight modules and accompanying exercises that teach strategies to enhance your sense of well-being and reduce the stress you experience in your role as a caregiver.

We wish you well as you begin your journey towards better physical, mental, and emotional health and towards a more joyful and fulfilling life.