Category: Blog

Over the last few years, the agency has undergone a variety of changes and expansions including the addition of new programs and staff members and the opening of new offices and clinics.  We've incorporated new technologies designed to better render services to our clients and patients, and have initiated a comprehensive advertising campaign to inform the public at large about our vital and necessary services.  While these changes have been a lot of work, they've also yielded a level of excitement the likes of which this agency has never seen. As we move ahead, we're poised to embark on even grander initiatives to better serve our local communities.  In an effort to underscore our accomplishments and prepare us to move forward, Caring Communities has undergone a change in branding. This new agency…

Thank you to Press Enterprise for joining us at our Bloomsburg Open House, where we showcased our newest location containing both Clinical and Case Management services! [Image Description: News article from Press Enterprise: "Caring Communities Has New Headquarters: Among the Caring Communities representatives attending the opening of the agency's new location in Bloomsburg on Friday are, from left, Alexandra MacNamara, director of marketing; Jennifer Butters Doucette, COO; and Christopher Kupchik, CEO. For more than 25 years, Caring Communities, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has provided HIV/STD prevention, testing and treatment, and case management services in Northcentral and Northeastern Pennsylvania. The agency also provides services inluding contraceptives, breast exams, routine gynecological exams, HPV testing and comprehensive STD panels. The Bloomsburg location will also house a new food bank providing fresh meats and…

Humans are social beings by nature. Most mental health providers will agree that perceived social support is an extremely important aspect of psychological health. Having strong social support can help us to cope with stress and improve our motivation to work toward our goals. When experiencing significant distress, leaning on our social support system for comfort can be a helpful step to finding respite.  Still, in times of crisis it can be normal to feel alone and push people away. Many of us have faced at least one experience in our life that led us to feel that no one else could possibly understand what we were going through. However, it is likely that there are other people in your community who could relate to your stressors on some level.…

National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month (NTPPM) is observed each May to celebrate the historic declines of teen pregnancy and births in the US and highlight the importance of helping adolescents. In 2019, nearly 172,000 babies were born to young adults between the ages of 15 and 19 in the United States. This number is down 5% from 2018, and has overall declined by 60% since 2007.[1] While the US has experienced historic declines in teen pregnancy, the nation still falls behind other similarly industrialized western countries like the UK and Canada, whose teen birth rates are around 14 and 8 births per 1,000 teens, respectively, compared to 19 in the US.[2] The US also continues to see disparities by race and ethnicity, as well as for vulnerable populations like youth…

by Dr. Chelsea Graziano, Assistant Director of Case Management When an individual is experiencing stress, their body activates their sympathetic nervous system, often known as the “fight or flight” response. This name is based in the evolutionary theory that when the body becomes stimulated by something that is dangerous to our safety, it needs to be prepared to do one of two things: fight to stay alive or escape the danger. These may have been an individual’s best options for survival during early evolutionary history when the major sources of stress were life threatening. (Think wooly mammoths and competing tribes with spears!) However, “fight or flight” responses do not always work with today’s life stressors. Despite our internal desires to want to fight the person who cuts us off in…