By Wayne A. Bauer
Daily Press Staff

The Emporium branch of the Dickinson Mental Health Center recently moved to a new location. The new office is located at 27 East Fourth Street, next to the Reed’s Emporium/Radio Shack.

For the past 16 years the office was located at 107 South Cherry Street, Emporium, and prior to that it was located just across the street.

Dickinson Mental Health Center, which has it’s home base located in Ridgway, opened the Emporium Center in 1971 with Michael DeStephano as the administrator.

The Emporium office of Dickinson Mental Heath Center currently has seven people working out of the office. Robin Overturf and Peg Streich take care of all the clerical work while Walter Badeau (MA, MCC, CAC, LPC) is the administrator at the Center, Leah Dippold is the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Peter Coffman is the MD. Alyse Renwick is the case manager and Jean Brown is in charge of recovery.

Dickinson Mental Health Center, which started out as a single service program in 1958, has grown to an organization of more than two dozen units and licensed programs serving individuals with mental health and retardation related needs in four counties, Elk, Cameron, McKean and Potter. DMHA has individual offices in Emporium, Coudersport, Shinglehouse, Bradford, Ridgway and St. Marys with Michael Galluzzi as the chief executive officer.

The Emporium site of Dickinson Mental Health Center will be holding a grand opening on Friday, May 30, with the ribbon cutting with the Emporium Chamber of Commerce slated for 1 p.m and an open house to follow until 4 p.m.

All local and area residents are invited to stop in.