Staunton Farm Foundation Grant to Support Women in Recovery Mentorship Program

The Staunton Farm Foundation has awarded Chatham University a grant to support the development of a new mentorship program for women in substance abuse recovery as part of the existing Maenad Fellowship Program.  

The Maenad Fellowship program will support up to 12 women each year in their recovery from substance abuse, and the new Maenad Mentorship Program will allow participating women—both mentors and mentees—to build lasting bonds through a more fulfilling and long-term recovery. The Maenad Fellowship Program and new mentorship initiative are both part of Words Without Walls, which annually hosts 18 classes taught by Chatham University MFA in Creative Writing students and serves 300 people in the Pittsburgh community.

“I see the program as diversifying the narrative around women in addiction. Included in the program are women who are retired police officers, and those who have served long prison sentences. There are women who have Ivy League degrees, Vice-Presidents of banks, attorneys, and women who've never held down a job and are in danger of losing their children,” said Sarah Shotland, Assistant Professor of English at Chatham University. “Through the Maenad Fellowship and Mentorship program, the women all come together through creative writing and their shared personal triumphs and challenges in battling addiction.”

About the Staunton Farm Foundation
The Staunton Farm Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of people who live with mental illness and substance use disorders. The Foundation works to enhance behavioral health treatment, support, and recovery through grantmaking to nonprofit organizations in 10 southwestern Pennsylvania counties (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland). Learn more at: www.stauntonfarm.org.