Cafe The Lodge

Art is doggone good. Just ask painter Christine (Chrissy) Hamscher and Sadie, an adorable Marshmallow - a breed that is aMaltese/Shih Tzu mix - who is her certified emotional support animal.

While Hamscher is the artist, so too is Sadie, as her canine creativity is featured with Hamscher’s in“Chrissy’s PAW’some Art Exhibit” in the Cappuccino Room of Café the Lodge, a division ofResources for Human Development, Inc., Southside Bethlehem. The two-month exhibit wraps upAug. 31.

Café the Lodge at 427 E. Fourth St. is a full-service café that employs people in recovery from mentalhealth challenges, and displays artwork from artists in recovery. It opened on a Leap Day in 2012.

“I’m an advocate for fighting against the stigma of mental health diagnosis,” Hamscher said. “I’m aperson with lived experience,” she said, in regard to mental health challenges. “Everyone is in adifferent point in their mental health journey.”

Hamscher especially likes something Kevin McCabe, assistant director of Café the Lodge, said: “We’re in the same storm, the same boat,working together as a team.”

Hamscher began painting in 2003 in college when she attended the Baum School of Art, Allentown, through Lehigh Carbon CommunityCollege, where she was majoring in graphic design. “But then I found my passion was working with people,” she said of her decision to leavecollege.

Hamscher stopped painting around 2007, and life happened, as she worked in various non-art related jobs and married her husband, Dan.Years passed and the desire to paint resurfaced, and today Hamscher loves to paint in her spare time, as she finds it very relaxing andtherapeutic. She often paints while listening to music or an audio book, sometimes with Sadie nearby.

She paints mostly with acrylics, though sometimes uses watercolor or oil.

“I find my inspiration for art in nature - nature has its natural beauty,” Hamscher said. “I also get my inspiration not only through nature,but also my husband Dan, as well. He supports me in my hobbies and my wellness.”

One of Hamscher’s most poignant and personal paintings is “The Hope Tree,” which she dedicated to her father, Dr. James W. Minekime,who has been fighting multiple myeloma since August 2020 and is now in remission. “I love you Dad, may they find a cure to this cancer andall cancers!” Hamscher wrote in the description. This painting is not for sale.

Hamscher has been on the staff of the Recovery Partnership at the Northampton County Drop-In Center since July 2011, and has been acertified peer specialist at Café the Lodge since June 2014.

“I love both jobs,” Hamscher said.

“Working in the community and also working on painting I’m not only doing what I love, but it also heals my mind, body and soul.”

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PRESS PHOTOS BY TAMI QUIGLEY Christine Hamscher and Sadie, her registered Emotional Support Animal, enjoy a sun-dappled August morning on the terrace of Café the Lodge. Sadie's breed is called a Marshmallow, a Maltese/Shih Tzu mix.

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“I use creating with some of the people I work with, especially at the Drop-In Center. I do projects with them - art projects get their creativity

flowing. We have great discussions about artwork,” Hamscher said, adding they talk about how they decided to do their art project the way

they did.

As a certified peer specialist at Café the Lodge, Hamscher works with people with mental health challenges. “Everyone has challenges

throughout life,” she said. They have peer meetings, and Hamscher works with them to develop a WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan).

She also takes them out into the community for activities, which sometimes could be going to the movies.

“I like both programs because they include everybody,” Hamscher said of her two jobs. “We’re a tight-knit community, very supportive of

one another. We go through ups and downs like family.

“I have a passion for working with people, and being able to bring my dog to work is a plus,” Hamscher said, noting she often brings Sadie

into work at the Northampton County Drop-In Center.

And just how does Sadie have her own artwork on exhibit? Hamscher explained each color of paint was carefully chosen by Sadie by

Hamscher placing a treat in front of the different colors of paint. Sadie picked out at least two to three colors for the paintings. Hamscher

poured each of the colors of paint on an 8-inch by 10-inch canvas and sealed it in a Ziploc bag.

“I then put Sadie’s favorite treats, food and or peanut butter on top of the Ziploc bag for her to lick off to create her masterpiece!” Hamscher

said. “Sadie signed it with her paw print, reluctantly.”

When she’s not painting, five-year-old Sadie likes long walks in the park or neighborhood. She also likes pats on her belly and back, cuddle

time, playtime, nap time, and of course, feeding time.

Hamscher noted one of her favorite quotes, “Pure love is the eagerness to give without receiving anything in return,” reminds her of Sadie.

Hamscher loves that Café the Lodge is breaking down barriers. She noted Café the Lodge’s website cafethelodge.org/ explains “It’s the

guiding principle behind the Lodge - Fairweather Lodge Housing is named after psychologist George Fairweather, who found that patients

with mental illness fared much better during recovery if they lived and worked together in a community … it’s community integration at its

finest.”

“Chrissy is very talented. We love having her in our program, and she’s a valuable asset in the residential program,” McCabe said. “We hope

she’s here for a long time.”

Published August 29. 2023 02:48PM

BY TAMI QUIGLEY SPECIAL TO THE BETHLEHEM PRESS

Kevin McCabe, assistant director of Café the Lodge, explained the café offers transitional employment to people of Northampton County who have a mental health diagnosis that is a barrier for employment, such as anxiety or depression.

There’s a training program and those who are employed there are paid. “We work on the barriers and help them find competitive employment,” McCabe said, adding they provide help with résumésand job searches.

“There’s also a residential program for residents of Northampton County who are low income, have a mental health diagnosis and are struggling with independence,” McCabe said. “Seventy percent of those who are independent and on their own still need support. We help them develop independent living skills while offering mental health support.”

Those in the residential program reside in shared apartments at Café the Lodge or in a single apartment in Southside Bethlehem.

Tammy McCulloch, office manager at Café the Lodge, is an artist herself and will have her work showcased in an exhibit in the Cappuccino Room in September and October.

“We have an art show every month in the Cappuccino Room,” McCulloch, who coordinates the gallery, said, adding there is a waiting list until May 2024 for exhibits. “In the café we display the work of artists in the community with a mental health diagnosis and who use art as therapy. The artists set their prices.”

Angela Lender run the gallery at Recovery Partnership at the Northampton County Drop-In Center. Her painting, “Healing Thoughts -COVID Will End,” which she painted while she had covid, is displayed in the dining area of Café the Lodge.

“Art and music are what I use to stay well,” Lender said.

Lender said Recovery Partnership holds an art exhibit the first Friday of each month from 12 to 2 p.m. featuring the work of artists in recovery. “You can purchase art or come and create during the exhibit,” Lender said, adding 100 percent of the purchase price goes to the artist.

“We’re celebrating healing through art.”

“We’re two separate companies but one big community,” Lender said of Recovery Partnership and Cafe the Lodge.