The two women came to CN Guidance & Counseling Services in Hicksville through different paths, but the end result was the same. Connection with the center’s mental health treatment program led to a better life.
Christina Maley and Jennifer Pettway have both been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Pettway also struggled with drug use when she came to the agency two years ago, she said, citing marijuana and the designer drug ecstasy.
Mayley, 37, of Deer Park, said about seven years ago. “My mental state was bad and I was becoming manic. I was making bad decisions about dating. I ended up with people I wasn’t supposed to be with.”
Although she was out of danger and her condition stabilized at Huntington Hospital, the hospital recommended that she go to the Hicksville Counseling Center for further treatment. Ms Maylie said she was always on her medication and she had “good family support” throughout, but her illness meant she faced extreme ups and downs at times.
Aurora Cissari, a clinical therapist (left), and Christina Maley, a client of CN Guidance and Counseling Services and a peer counselor at the nonprofit Hicksville. Credit: Debbie Egan Chin
Maley credits her long-term stability to the continued support she received from CN Guidance. Mayley, who is now married, said she works as a peer counselor in one of the residential programs and that she is still a “client.”
“I work full time [at CN Guidance]” Mayley said. “I have support at work as well as at home… In addition, I have bi-weekly counseling with a therapist. I work with one of the nurses here to manage her medication every six to eight weeks. ”
Furthermore, she added: “CNG has been a great support and probably saved my life at one point. I’m just grateful for the people and the sense of community that everyone brings every day.”
Pettway, 42, of Freeport, admitted he had an “attitude” about CN guidance when his attorney recommended he enter the facility’s mental health court program, a prison diversion program.
Pettway admitted he had “got into a little bit of trouble,” but declined to elaborate.
“My lawyer suggested that mental health court would be better for me,” she said.
Pettway says the program has been a godsend. Ms Pettway praised her counselor, Perret Commond, for helping her stay on track.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to join the program,” Pettway said. “But since I’ve been in this program, they’ve literally helped me find housing because I was homeless…”
She now lives in a three-bedroom house and her three sons, ages 9, 13, and 21, are back at home with her. Pettway said her oldest son, 25, is in the Marine Corps and lives in California.
“Because I got the house, they also helped me get my kids back.”
Pettway said she works as a home health aide and is taking computer classes. The CN Guidance Program is “important to make sure I’m clean and on the right path.”
Mr Pettway also confirmed that she was taking her medication, adding that she attended treatment and frequently sought advice from Mr Comond.
“Rather than going to drugs, I go to her and talk to her before I do anything. They do a lot for me,” she said.
Now, Pettway has this to say about the program: I was hesitant at first. At first, I was worried about his attitude, but I gradually got used to it,” she said with a laugh, making it clear that she had not misspoken. “They grew on me, and I grew on them.”
Pettway and Commond then turned to each other with smiles on their faces.
