ASHLAND — As we approach December and the new year, opportunities exist for:
Reflection.
Planning intentionally for the future.
Connecting with others via phone calls, letters, holiday-oriented or “thinking of you” cards, thank you notes.
Celebrating National Letter Writing Day on Dec. 7.
Gifting others to foster and maintain hopeful mindsets.
When extending messages of hope, we can address what specific individuals – who we know well — are dealing with or struggling with personally.
Likewise, we can write about maintaining hope while facing some changes — creating personal and familial challenges — at the state-, national-, and international-levels.
Connection mechanisms vary. Efforts to connect can be done solo, in the “same space” with others, at a group or community level.
Let us not forget what behavioral health services are available in Ohio and Ashland, specifically (available through Catholic Charities of Ashland County, Pathways Peer Support, ACCADA, and Appleseed CMHC). These are grounded in offering hope while:
Providing options for forging healthy social connections.
Giving assistance via shared decision-making — to increase resilience and to secure a healthier, personally meaningful future.
Written Expressions
December and January provide optimal opportunities for strengthening connections with those whom you know well, offering hope and genuine caring. You can write a letter, being authentic and direct, embedding it in a card.
Receiving it in the mail offers a way for the recipient to hold on to what you share, to look back and remember.
You can address unique challenges that the recipient has faced, let him/her know that you will be available to chat.
Acknowledge that the other party “does not walk alone,” terminology that is sensitive and appropriate, especially when bridged with e.g.
o indicators about what you are willing to provide/offer while noting how
much it means to YOU.
o what the mental health community makes available.
o what the community overall makes possible.
Be concrete and sensitive when you ask someone if he/she needs anything or
how YOU can help, what would work best for the recipient.
Embrace your creativity by generating and including certificate(s) with your card/letter.
For example, if you are reaching out to an older adult who is homebound or isolated, draw on what you know about him/her.
Options might include:
Promise to walk companion dog and clean up after he/she goes to the bathroom.
One-month supply of paper products.
Offer to drive when an immediate transportation need arises.
A tote bag filled with groceries.
A dinner together out or in or simply a drop-off meal.
Pen pal programs or card-making groups can serve as gateways to creating written expressions. While crafting works, group members can chitchat and share stories.
What is Happening at Appleseed CMHC
Seeds of Hope — Appleseed celebrated its SEEDS OF HOPE initiative, with an
opening reception at Ashland Public Library on Nov. 3.
Artwork created by Appleseed clients were displayed in an exhibit “celebrating healing, resilience, and the voices of mental health through creative expression” (APL Facebook post).
The exhibit can be viewed throughout November at APL. Refer to podcast spotlighting Candace Ressler, Art Therapist, who organized this event (Appleseed Facebook post 10/24; Mental Health and Recovery Board (MHRB) Facebook post 10/27).
Ressler, LPCC, LPAT, ATR-BC, indicated that “our vision is for Seeds of Hope to grow into a yearly community event that continues to highlight local artists and support mental health awareness.
Each year, we hope to collaborate with different community partners and venues so that the initiative can reach a wider audience across Ashland.”
Gift of Hope Annual Holiday Giving Campaign – This initiative spotlights what Appleseed believes matters most – “family, community, and the promise of new beginnings” (Appleseed Facebook post Nov. 1, 2025).
The gateway is open to providing donations and life-changing support – money to be used for stigma-breaking education, therapy, recovery support, transportation, safe shelter for those escaping domestic violence.
Donation amounts suggested range from $50 to $1,000. It is emphasized the what is being done sends a message about not being alone in a journey grounded in finding and retaining hope.
Their post notes “Together, we can build a community where everyone has access to care, understanding replaces stigma, and healing is within reach.”
Ashland — Offering Collective Hope
Familiarize yourself with “helping” and “supporting” efforts done individually or collaboratively by different agencies/organizations – including APL, MHRB, agencies under the MHRB umbrella, Kroc Center, Senior Citizen’s Center, Pathways Peer Support, Recovery Arrows. Check out their Facebook pages and/or websites.
See how progress is being made to
Engage in acts of kindness and gratitude – giving and receiving.
Help those in need of emotional support and/or tangible goods.
How efforts are being grounded in providing collective hope.
Individual, group, and community efforts – singly and in tandem – can and do make Ashland even more special.
Diana Spore, PhD, MGS, is a social gerontologist, freelance writer, advocate, and older adult. She resides in Ashland, Ohio. To receive a set of writing exercises to consider completing in the coming months, email Spore at dianaspore@zoominternet.net.
