Mental Health Awareness Month Programs

“In Their Shoes: Unheard Stories of Reentry and Recovery Screening” (2019) Documentary Screening with Prison Book Program
Saturday, May 10 | 10 AM – 12 PM
Community Meeting Room at the Main Library, 40 Washington St.

Join us in support of Quincy’s own Prison Book Program (PBP) for a special movie matinee featuring In Their Shoes: Unheard Stories of Reentry and Recovery (2019).

PBP is a nonprofit organization providing free books and reading materials to incarcerated individuals across the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico. As an approved book vendor for over 1,000 prisons and jails, PBP is committed to the transformative power of reading.

We’ll also hear from representatives from Prison Book Program, who will share a brief overview of PBP and opportunities for getting involved. Afterwards, there will be an off-site volunteer opportunity with PBP from 1 – 4 PM at their office in Quincy, for those interested! Let’s come together to provide a second chance for many by supporting education and empowerment behind bars. See you at the library!

Learn more about PBP at Prison Book Program Book Donation Guidelines. Books needed for specific people are posted to PBP’s Amazon wish list. You can also purchase much-needed books from wish lists at All She Wrote (LGBTQ+), Brookline Booksmith, Frugal Bookstore, Harvard Bookstore, Porter Square Books, SideQuest, and Wellesley Books.

PRISON BOOK PROGRAM VOLUNTEER SESSION: Saturday, May 10, 1 – 4 PM, PBP OFFICE (1306 Hancock St, Quincy, MA) Register to Volunteer here!

In Their Shoes: Unheard Stories of Reentry and Recovery

Meet the men whose lives intersect in a prison reentry and addiction recovery creative writing program. Learn, from their own words, what lead them to commit their crimes, and witness the complexity of their ongoing stories on the outside. With interviews and appearances by Mayor Marty Walsh, Congressman Joe Kennedy III, Sheriff Michael Bellotti, Professor Randall Horton, Dr. Bertha Madras of Trump’s Commission on the Opiate Crisis, and more. This film was created to amplify the disempowered and generally vilified populations in the drug crises – the easiest targets caught in the most difficult cycles. Get to know the real people- surprisingly relatable, sometimes terrifying, and too often heartbreaking- who live silently behind today’s headlines in these untold stories.

Rated: TV-14 | Runtime: 1 hours, 12 minutes

Discovery Art Exhibit
Monday, May 12 – Friday, May 30, 2025
Top Floor, Main Library, 40 Washington St.

Art Exhibits at the Thomas Crane Public Library returns with a special showcase featuring artwork created by the clients at Aspire Health Alliance’s Discovery Day Treatment program for Mental Health Awareness Month in May! The exhibit will run from Monday, May 12 until Friday, May 30, 2025 on the top floor of the Main Library on 40 Washington St.!

“We are thrilled to launch the Thomas Crane Public Library’s 2025 Art Exhibit series,” said Susan Coakley, President and CEO of Aspire Health Alliance. “Working with the library, we want to showcase the great talents of our clients in the Discovery and reduce stigma associated with mental health, especially during May’s Mental Health Awareness month.” Aspire’s Discovery Day Treatment program is a life-changing, community-based group therapy program for adults with long-term mental health challenges and designed to help support an individual’s behavioral health through therapeutic group treatment and milieu therapy, including a vibrant art therapy program in which clients created the beautiful art for this exhibit. Celebrating 100 years of service in 2026, Aspire Health Alliance provides services for children, teens, and adults experiencing serious emotional challenges, behavioral issues, and substance abuse. Designated as a Community Behavioral Health Center by the State of Massachusetts. Aspire has outpatient clinics across the South Shore in Quincy, Braintree and Marshfield. They have services across the continuum of care including early intervention services for infants, toddlers and their families; day treatment, intensive wrap-around services, and residential services. There is no health without mental health.

For more information or to access Aspire Health services, call 617-847-1950.

If you are in a mental health crisis, call 800-528-4890.

“Recovery City” (2023) Local Documentary Screening
Thursday, May 15 | 6 – 8 PM
Community Meeting Room at the Main Library, 40 Washington St.

Please join us for a screening of the documentary Recovery City, an intimate, unflinching portrait of four bold women who refuse to let themselves or their community give in to the stigma and despair of addiction. The film is a raw exploration of what it means to be in recovery as seen through the eyes of four women whose lives share a common thread: addiction. In the working class city of Worcester, Massachusetts, Christine fights to regain custody of her young children while grappling with a traumatic past, and battling stigma from the very systems that are designed to help her. Bridget, who found recovery while in prison, now facilitates peer-led support meetings for women. On the frontlines, recovery coaches Janis and Rebecca navigate the city’s toughest corners offering support and trying to save lives. In this portrait of resilience, grit, and camaraderie, the women use their lived experience to lift up those still struggling while refusing to give up hope.