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Thanksgiving meal to be held for UNC mental health clinic clients, others

Herald-Sun (Durham, NC) - 11/25/2014

Nov. 25--CHAPEL HILL -- For the third year, the Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill will host a Thanksgiving Day meal for a community mental health center's patients and their families.

The meal is open to clients of the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health and of the UNC Department of Psychiatry, as well as to anyone who needs a place to celebrate Thanksgiving, according to a news release.

The meal was started as a tradition 17 years ago by the center's current director of operations, Thava Mahadevan, who was then executive director of another nonprofit, XDS Inc.XDS Inc. merged with the center in 2011.

It started when Mahadevan invited a client home for the holiday who would have otherwise been alone in the first year. Then it grew into a special holiday meal for clients and families of XDS held at the nonprofit's offices. Later, an anonymous donor offered to pay for the food, and the event was moved to larger venue.

"It was apparent that many of the clients that XDS served were alone during the holidays and would benefit from a Thanksgiving gathering," Mahadevan said in a statement.

This is the third year the Chapel in the Pines has partnered to offer the event. The meal will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday.

To register for the meal, contact Thava Mahadevan at thava@med.unc.edu. The center is accepting additional donations to increase the number of individuals who can benefit. Contact Ed Binanay at ebinanay@med.unc.edu for more information.

The UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry serves individuals with severe mental illness and their families at locations in Orange, Chatham and Wake Counties.

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