Open house included tours of the Atascadero facility along with food, games, and crafts

ATASCADERO — On Friday, May 20, the Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA) hosted an Open House at their Atascadero Wellness Center, Life House, to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month. The event took place from 12 to 3 p.m. at the center’s West Mall location across from City Hall.

“It’s the first one (event) since the pandemic,” said Center Supervisor Lando Flores. “It’s an open house, but really the goal is just to let people know that we’re here. Get people in the door, and show them around in hopes of getting more people to become members. So we can do more groups.” 

The open house included tours of the Atascadero facility, a popcorn machine, hot dogs, and chips. There were also games and crafts for everyone in attendance to participate in while there.

The Atascadero Wellness Center is one of three wellness centers TMHA operates in San Luis Obispo County. With the other centers in San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande. Everything the centers have to offer is free to the public.

“We just ask for a copy of ID, a quick little member intake packet with general information, and they are, at that point, a member of all three of our centers,” added Flores.

Flores went on to say that his job as Life House’s center supervisor includes making sure the monthly calendar is squared away and that the staff and members have everything they need for their groups.

“[I want] to make sure that we’re representing our community. And make sure that people are not at home isolated,” Flores continued. “Get people out and in our doors.”

TMHA offers free support groups at all three of their locations. Including groups addressing anxiety, depression, bipolar, and OCD. They also offer groups for things like music therapy, sound therapy, arts and crafts, and walking.

“We’ve got a monthly calendar, and we really look for our community members to tell us what they want on the calendar. Our calendar represents the people that we serve,” stated Flores.

The Atascadero Wellness Center is open Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. And each day features different groups. The center even has a room where they can zoom into larger meetings with members at the other centers.

“We have a lot of support. We get a lot of support from our Cal Poly interns,” Flores said. “And a lot of support from community members. Without them, we really couldn’t be here.”

To find out more about TMHA’s Atascadero Wellness Center, Life House, or their other centers, head to: https://www.t-mha.org/ or call the Atascadero Wellness Center at (805) 464-0512.