Adolescent Mental Illness (Part 1): Health Issues on the RiseLaura Jackson Roberts December 13, 2019he need for mental health care and awareness is a growing problem in our state and the Ohio Valley. Now,...
Long Haul: Police, Mental Health Pros Grapple With OVMC ClosureNora Edinger November 12, 2019Editor’s note: As part of ongoing coverage of the fallout from regional hospital closures, Weelunk looks today at what is...
Hope and Healing: Serenity Hills Life Center Offers New Recovery OptionEllen Brafford McCroskey October 30, 2019“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right...
The Invisible Epidemic: Polycystic Ovarian SyndromeChristina Fisanick July 23, 2019Editor’s note: The goal of our Our Hope in Recovery series is to shed light on various diseases, conditions and...
BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: A Binge and a SpreeBill Hogan July 7, 2019have lived in two universes; they overlap or maybe coincide. It’s a paradoxical thing I don’t understand and don’t try....
Second Annual Conference to Shed Light on Mental IllnessLaura Jackson Roberts May 31, 2019f there’s one word that describes Amy Gamble, the executive director of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Greater...
David Sheff Shares ‘Beautiful’ Message of HopeEllen Brafford McCroskey March 25, 2019Editor’s note: David Sheff, author of the New York Times bestseller, “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction,”...
Perspective Is Everything: Living with Multiple SclerosisLaura Jackson Roberts March 15, 2019Editor’s note: In this series, we’ll talk to locals who struggle with autoimmune disease and share their stories. Below, Ohio...
The ‘Hope Factor’ Drives the WIND Recovery ProgramEllen Brafford McCroskey February 20, 2019Laura Albertini-Weigel calls it the “hope factor.” It’s the belief that addiction can be overcome. And that is what keeps...
Health Department Works to ‘Reduce Harm’ Among Drug UsersEllen Brafford McCroskey February 5, 2019To those not suffering from substance use disorder, the solution to the current opioid epidemic seems perfectly obvious — users...
Driven to Action: Fighting Addiction and More Through PrayerNora Edinger January 23, 2019Editor’s note: In a continuing series about how valley residents express their spirituality, Weelunk hit the road with a trio...
Pennies From Heaven … Thanks to Kenny?Ellen Brafford McCroskey January 16, 2019Call it karma, or cause and effect, or the result of living by the Golden Rule. However you label it,...
AS I SEE IT: Cold Hands Helped by Warm HeartsEllen Brafford McCroskey January 12, 2019If you happened to be in the area of 20th and Eoff streets in Center Wheeling recently, you may have...
Recovery Center Puts the UNITY in CommUNITYEllen Brafford McCroskey January 2, 2019“People are making positive choices every single day when they walk through our doors,” says Mary Hess, executive director of...
‘Shaking the Family Tree’: A Recovering Alcoholic’s MemoirProvided December 31, 2018Editor’s Note: Dallas H is the author of “Shaking the Family Tree,” an anonymous personal memoir/poetry offering of a recovering...
Recovery Coach Certification Now Offered LocallyEllen Brafford McCroskey December 12, 2018“Transformed people transform people.” Those words coined by spiritual author Richard Rohr are the motto of the Center for Addiction...
All Things Under the Rainbow — A Discussion and Support GroupEllen Brafford McCroskey November 20, 2018LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors, meet Heather Sexton, CT (counselor trainee). Heather, a wife, mom and native of eastern Kentucky, has...
United Way, Southwestern Energy Fund Mental Health Program in SchoolsProvided November 14, 2018A charity clay shoot fundraiser hosted earlier this year by Southwestern Energy and the United Way of the Upper Ohio...
Lupus: Cruel and Hard to DiagnoseLaura Jackson Roberts October 23, 2018In this series, we’ll talk to locals who struggle with autoimmune disease and share their stories. Below, Ohio Valley residents...
Angela Was ‘More Than Her Addiction’Phyllis Sigal October 5, 2018There’s a line in the song “Wait for It” from the musical “Hamilton” — “Love doesn’t discriminate between the sinners...
HOPE for the Homeless — Street Medicine Team Cares for Wheeling’s Most VulnerableEllen Brafford McCroskey October 3, 2018Imagine that you’ve just had your leg amputated. It’s an emotionally devastating and life-altering event that will change the way...
‘Recovery Boys’ Screening Launches Community Discussion on AddictionEllen Brafford McCroskey September 26, 2018As a mom myself, my heart kept breaking for their mamas — the mothers of these four young men. Jeff,...
AS I SEE IT: Acknowledging the Addicts Among UsEllen Brafford McCroskey September 22, 2018By now, most of us are well aware of the enormity of the opioid crisis in our state. But I’ve...
Mother Finds Her Passion Along Road To RecoveryEllen Brafford McCroskey September 18, 2018“Sometimes, the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” – Barbara Kingsolver No mother plans to raise a child...
Uniting the Community with Jessica RinePhyllis Sigal September 11, 2018Last year during Oktoberfest at Centre Market, Jessica Rine “had a moment,” as she stood looking at the crowds lining...
Hope and Community in Abundant Supply at Lazarus House, Mary & Martha HouseEllen Brafford McCroskey September 10, 2018Pat Condron, co-founder and executive director of Lazarus House and Mary & Martha House, believes that addiction is a “disease...
Aromatherapy: Olfaction and the Opioid CrisisMarni Reven September 2, 2018“Smells are surer than sights or sounds to make your heartstrings crack.” — Rudyard Kipling Few would argue that a...
Judge Tells Teens: Keep Your Brain Off Drugs and AlcoholPhyllis Sigal August 31, 2018“Don’t do alcohol or marijuana until you’re 25.” If Magistrate Judge James E. Seibert has one piece of advice for...
House of Hagar Sees Christ in Each of UsEllen Brafford McCroskey August 21, 2018“I call them ‘transients,’ but you call them ‘friends.’ And we’re talking about the same people.” Kate Marshall, who operates...
Zieggy Tribe Honored at YSS Good Samaritan DinnerNick Musgrave August 19, 2018Wheeling Park’s White Palace Ballroom was packed Friday night for the annual Youth Service System (YSS) Good Samaritan Tribute. The...
Weelunk Writers Drum Up Some Fun and a StoryChristina Fisanick and Laura Roberts July 27, 2018As friends and writers, we share many experiences together. Some are pleasant diversions, like sipping beers on our decks; banal...
Sjogrens Syndrome Betrays The BodyLaura Jackson Roberts July 18, 2018In this series, we’ll talk to Ohio Valley residents who struggle with autoimmune problems and share their stories. Series author...
To Life! West Virginia Wellness Inc. Offers AlternativesKathryn Thalman July 3, 2018Wheeling has always been the home of titans of commerce and innovators in business. Throughout the valley’s history, we have...
Discovering Reiki: a Path to HealingLaura Jackson Roberts June 18, 2018My hands have been tingling on and off for three days. They tingle as I write. At times the sensations...
THE UNITY CENTER LAUNCHES SHOE DRIVE FUNDRAISERJeremy Morris June 15, 2018The Unity Center ( ohiovalleyrecovery.org ) board of directors is conducting a shoe drive fund to raise funds for the...
Conference Goal to Reduce Stigma of Mental IllnessProvided June 14, 2018West Liberty University recently partnered with several local organizations in presenting a two-day mental health conference at The Highlands Center...
The Autoimmune SisterhoodLaura Jackson Roberts June 12, 2018Autoimmune disease is on the rise in our country. In decades past, the term “autoimmune” wasn’t widely known, but today,...
Conference to Shed Light on Mental IllnessChristina Fisanick May 30, 2018In the late 1970s, two Wisconsin mothers, Harriet Shetler and Beverly Young, had grown weary of community backlash against their...
POSTSCRIPTS FROM THE EDGE(WOOD): Her Name Is DeloresChristina Fisanick May 19, 2018“Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien At times it seems that she is everywhere. Walking down Walnut...
Addict Now Addicted to MotherhoodSteve Novotney May 13, 2018This mother stole her daughter’s piggy bank and the savings inside. The paper and coins totaled about $100, enough to...
Zieggy Tribe ‘Wanted’ by FBIPhyllis Sigal April 20, 2018It was a pretty cool day for the Ziegenfelder Co. and its tribe — as cool as the sweet treats...
National Speakers Announced for Wetzel County ‘Hope Through Recovery’ EventProvided April 19, 2018In an effort to address the many issues currently plaguing our state and local communities, the Wetzel County Board of...
Kelcie Says ‘Later’ to DrugsPhyllis Sigal March 9, 2018Standing in prison with her infant daughter Reagan in her arms, Kelcie Rauscher read a newspaper article about a couple...
