Recovery Programs & Community events

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SriPonya is a new nonprofit wellness program in Bend, helping empower people of all ages to recover from addictive patterns or behaviors.

"I gave Jennifer the nickname of Sri, which in Sanskrit means beautiful," Greg Mead, SriPonya's co-founder, told NewsChannel 21 Monday. "She gave me the nickname of Ponya -- it's a take on panda."

"In Swahili, if you pronounce it with a long 'O' (in) Ponya, it means cure or healing. We thought, 'Oh, I like that a lot!' It means 'beautiful healing' or 'beautiful cure," Mead said, explaining the organization's name.

For more details, go to: https://ktvz.com/news/bend/2022/11/28/deschutes-county-commissioners-receive-briefing-on-sriponya-a-new-recovery-program-in-bend/#vf-conversations-container

SELMA

Movie Screening & Panel

Madras Cinema 5

6:30pm on February 15th, 2024

In honor of Black History month, SriPonya Collective is screening the film Selma at the  Madras Cinema 5 on Thursday, February 15th at 630pm.    Selma is a powerful true story starring David Oyelewo and Oprah Winfrey.  Facing violent opposition, Martin Luther King, Jr., led a historic march from Selma to Montgomery, changing the world forever.

Free Movie, Popcorn & Drink

Doors open at 6pm

Limited Seating

Panel Discussion to Follow!

In honor of Native American Heritage month, SriPonya teamed up with BendFilm to bring the documentary Gather to the Tin Pan.  Gather is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.  

Buy Tickets Here:  https://bendfilmyear-round.eventive.org/films/6375bfe039359e00361cacec

Panel Discussion to Follow!

The Creative High follows nine artists in recovery from addictive behaviors who are transformed by the creative process in their tumultuous search for identity and freedom.   

Buy tickets here:  https://bendfilmyear-round.eventive.org/.../64ea64aa27d3d...

A panel to follow of local artists in recovery!  

Join the community discussion and support!

We are so excited to bring this film to our Central Oregon community at the Tin Pan Theater with the Bethlehem Inn, and BendFilm.  We have an amazing panel of individuals who have experienced homelessness afterwards to share experience, strength and hope for recovering together. 

"Trauma is the invisible force that shapes our lives. It shapes the way we live, the way we love and the way we make sense of the world. It is at the root of our deepest wounds. Unaddressed trauma keeps perpetuating painful patterns in our lives."  - Gabor Maté

In The Wisdom of Trauma, Dr. Gabor Maté gives us a new vision: a trauma-informed society. A society in which parents, teachers, physicians, policy-makers and judicial personnel are not concerned with fixing behaviors, suppressing symptoms, judging and condemning. Instead, they would seek to understand the sources from which troubling behaviors and diseases spring in the wounded human soul. Let’s work together to break the cycles of trauma and create a more compassionate society!  

A suicide attempt left 16-year-old varsity cheerleader, Emma Benoit, paralyzed, but propelled her on a mission to use her painful experience to help others find hope.  My Ascension is a feature length documentary that chronicles Emma's inspiring journey and quest to walk again, as she works to bring Hope Squad, a school-based suicide prevention program, to Louisiana.   We are so excited to bring this documentary to the Tower Theater this fall with an incredible panel to follow!

In honor of Native American Heritage month, SriPonya teamed up with BendFilm and Out Central Oregon to bring the documentary Gather to the Tin Pan.  Gather is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.  We want to thank Jaylyn Suppah of Papalaxsimisha for being on the panel!

A New High is a documentary featuring an ex-Army Ranger who runs a homeless shelter for addicts in Seattle tries to give them hope by leading them up one of the most treacherous mountains in North America – Mt. Rainier. Will their personal mountains be too steep to overcome?

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a

dream to harvest in harmony with nature.  Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature's conflicts, the Chester’s unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons, and our wildest imagination.

Join us to learn about the importance of biodiversity.  Panel to follow. 

Co-hosted by BendFilm, St Charles Medical Center, High Desert Food & Farm Alliance and Not Bread.

We will start at 2pm with the documentary screening of "Medicating Normal" sponsored by BendFilm.  One in five Americans take psychiatric drugs daily, often for a lifetime. MEDICATING NORMAL follows five high-functioning people whose doctors prescribed pills to help with common problems- stress, insomnia, anxiety and grief- with devastating impact on their lives. The film relays critical information for patients and doctors about the potential risks of taking or prescribing psychiatric drugs.   

Panel to follow with individuals with lived experience, including, influential mental-health advocate, therapist, and researcher Will Hall.    

We will take an hour break from 4pm to 5pm.   

 At 5pm, Will Hall will facilitate a work-shop entitled "Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Medication" and another workshop on how to run and hold community groups. Will Hall is about "empowering people" and "building communities".    

The event is being co-sponsored by SriPonya , Skyline Recovery, BendFilm, and Broken Top Counseling.    

Native Art featured by Artist SpeakThunder Berry.

Buy Tickets Here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/harm-reduction-workshop-to-coming-off-psychiatric-medication-with-will-hall-tickets-608928149487

How can we liberate ourselves — and truly care for each other?

Will Hall is a counselor and facilitator working with individuals, couples, families and groups via phone and web video (Zoom). He has taught and consulted on mental health, trauma, psychosis, medications, domestic violence, conflict resolution, and organizational development in more than 30 countries, and been widely featured in the media for his advocacy efforts around mental health care. His work and learning arose from his own experiences of recovery from madness, and today he is passionate about new visions of mind and what it means to be human.

For more details, go to www.willhall.net/comingoffmeds