By Mike Pettinella Energetic and personable, with a warm sense of humor and jovial laugh, Melissa Vinyard is only half joking when she tells people that she was “predisposed to be an alcoholic with a last name like Vinyard.” That’s because the 57-year-old...
By Mike Pettinella Wednesday afternoon’s annual meeting at Terry Hills Restaurant in Batavia may have been the first under the name UConnectCare, but it served as a celebration of the many ways the agency formerly known as Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and...
By Mike Pettinella Growing up in what he calls “the cowboy culture” of rural Montana, former National Football League quarterback Ryan Leaf said that he never saw another man reach out for help with mental health issues because of the stigma associated with it. Leaf...
By Mike Pettinella “Twelve years ago today I woke up on the floor of a jail cell…with no hope or possible idea what could be! There was no possibility of this life, no love of my life, no career, no future, no family, no recovery,” Leaf wrote on X....
By Mike Pettinella In an ongoing effort to provide the most efficient and compassionate treatment methods for those struggling with substance use disorder, UConnectCare (formerly Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse) has expanded its residential...
By Mike Pettinella UConnectCare (formerly Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse) is continuing its Foundation Scholarship program for 2024. Four $1,000 scholarships will be awarded, UConnectCare Chief Executive Officer John Bennett announced. They...