Media Coverage

United Way of Morris County
Sep 21, 2007
(see the original article here)

NewBridge Party Bands Community Together for Mental Health

Garden party spotlights achievements of horticultural therapy participants

September 21, 2007 – Pompton Plains, NJ – Some people are born leaders, but some leaders grow over time. Yesterday, clients working toward wellness and recovery in NewBridge's Enrich Horticultural Therapy Garden showed their newly grown leadership skills by conducting tours for more than 200 visitors at the tropical NewBridge Enrich garden in Pompton Plains, NJ. NewBridge Enrich clients shared their knowledge with visitors about the 1,000 rare and exotic plants from around the world that they planted in a plot of land on busy Newark Pompton Turnpike.

"I feel great today," said one client. "The sun is shining and my family is here to tour the garden I helped create."

The tours were part of NewBridge Enrich's annual Garden Party, a free annual event supported by Chase and hosted by NewBridge, a nonprofit provider of behavioral health and education programs and services. During this event, it was announced that United Way of Morris County is donating $14,000 for the purchase of an onsite greenhouse.

"This is a turning point for the Enrich program," said Viki Ferlauto, Director of Partial Care, NewBridge. "The greenhouse will allow NewBridge to provide on-site classroom instruction, and save the program money by allowing staff and clients to propagate their own plants from seed in the greenhouse rather than purchasing them."

Dozens of men and women come from across Morris and Passaic counties five days a week to create, plant and cultivate the plants together.

"People with mental illness tend to live isolated lives," said John Beirne, mental health counselor and creator of the Enrich garden. "But working in the Enrich garden gives people the opportunity to socialize, to learn, and to collaborate—and of course to answer questions from curious passersby. For many of our clients, Enrich is the door to the outside world."

People can often be seen photographing the garden, which contains enormous elephant ears, banana trees that bear fruit, sweet potato plants, agave, papyrus, and more. The tallest plants grow to 25 feet high in September—just in time for the annual garden party.

While a visually stunning garden, Beirne contends that the most incredible thing about NewBridge Enrich is a bit more subtle.

"The most rewarding thing to see in the garden is the transformation of men and women into caregivers, even leaders—often for the first time in their lives. They care for the plants, they help one another, they answer strangers' questions, and all of a sudden they realize their value to the world around them," said Beirne. "They grow as the garden grows."

NewBridge Enrich is designed to help men and women with persistent mental illness develop skills for life and the work force including responsibility, cooperation, socialization and follow-through. This program is just one component of NewBridge's comprehensive day treatment program, which has locations in Pompton Plains, Wayne and West Milford, NJ.

Visitors are welcome to stop by the garden, which is seasonally located at 640 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Pompton Plains, NJ. For more information on NewBridge Enrich, call Viki Ferlauto, Director of Partial Care, NewBridge at 973.839.2521, x.591 or visit www.newbridge.org.