Laura Vear receiving the Parent Support Network’s Peer Recovery Specialist Supervisor of the Year Award in 2018
Farewell to Laura Vear as she retires with 30 years of dedicated service in the Community Support Program
By Amy Skurka
Laura Vear, MA, PC, retired recently from her position as master’s level clinician in our Community Support Program. In 1995, Laura began her career with CCA (then known as Northern RI Community Mental Health Center) as the Manager of the Singleton House Group Home. She led her team with a creative approach where she championed holistic mental health practices that were new and at the forefront in a field that was rapidly developing. From the very beginning, Laura was uniquely able to integrate her love of nature and animals into her career. At the group home, she engaged residents in a number of non-traditional psychosocial rehabilitation activities such as gardening and volunteering to walk dogs at a shelter in the community. She later transitioned to a CSP Masters Level Clinician & Coordinator of Recovery Support Services position providing individual and group therapy as well as expanding recovery-focused services.
In this role, Laura will be remembered for assisting individuals with building on their personal strengths and for providing pet therapy with her beloved therapy dogs (Shad, Brie, & Shiloh).
Laura Vear and her beloved pets. They were a welcome addition at the Wellness & Recovery Center where clients visited with the therapy dogs.
During her career at CCA, Laura was instrumental in bringing Peer Recovery Services to Rhode Island.
Shiloh, Therapy Dog
Laura began mentoring peers in 2001, developing and supporting a peer-run, client-centered, social integration program at CCA. She was also a key player in the development of the State endorsed Peer Recovery Specialists training series. Laura collaborated with other agencies in RI to develop the 46-hour curriculum for Peer Recovery Specialists pursuing RI State level certification that is in place today.  In 2018, Laura received the Parent Support Network’s Peer Recovery Specialist Supervisor of the Year Award.
Laura is a kind, compassionate, and strong woman who has dedicated her career to the Peer Specialist movement and to making a difference in the lives of those she worked with.
Laura, from a Client’s Perspective
By John S.
Laura Vear was longtime member of the Community Care Alliance family, working as a therapist and group facilitator. She was and is, in a few words, one of the good ones. Laura was specifically an animal therapist and led both the Writer’s Journey and Fearless Living groups at the Wellness & Recovery Center. I for one was a member of the Writer’s Journey group. You know, as a client you only get to know the staff so well, but Laura was good enough to share a bit with us. Her love of teas and of life on the farm. You can’t mention Laura Vear without mentioning her love for animals. I’m gonna miss Laura to pieces, but Shiloh the therapy dog was an adorable staple at the Writer’s Journey meetings and will be missed, too.
I’m going to take a few minutes to write about Laura’s influence in my life, which was enormous. I started writing poetry in college, and despite some early missteps, found I had a voice for it. My writing trailed off during my mental health struggles, but I jumped at the opportunity upon hearing about the Writer’s Journey group. I was going through some shaky times at the outset, but for the first time in many years I was writing again!
Laura would provide a new prompt every week, something to jog the imagination. We were always welcome to write about whatever was on our minds, but I tended to write to the prompts more often than not. It was a fascinating writing exercise. After a few years of writing with the group I stumbled onto the web page of Local Gems Press, a small printing house out of Long Island. They were taking submissions for one of their anthologies. I sent in some of my work that, bluntly, would not have been written if not for Laura’s group. To my surprise I was accepted! I was officially a published poet, an honor I’ve had the good fortune of revisiting a few times now.
Laura was always there with support and kindness, and this opportunity would not have come my way if not for her influence and guidance. One of my favorite Laura Vear memories came early on in my time with the Writer’s Journey group. I was the only client to show up that day, and rather than cancel the group outright, Laura said that she’d write too, and we’d have a group with just the two of us. It was that day that I learned of Laura’s knack for science fiction, a genre Laura possesses a unique talent for. Much later, she shared with us one of her short stories from her college days. It was superb. Laura’s talent is matched only by her kindness, her sense of calm, and her wisdom.
Now I’ve gone on about Laura for a minute, but don’t take just my word for it!
Laura’s therapy dogs, Brie and Shad, were frequent visitors at the Wellness and Recovery Center. Here they are ready for their walk.
“Laura is very kind and trustworthy. She is kind to animals and always willing to help. I wish her a great retirement”.—Ray
“I thank you for all you have given us here at the center. You have been the heart and soul of Wellness and Recovery. It just isn’t the same without you. You are both loved and missed.”—Carolyn
“I speak for us all when I say we wish Laura all the best in retirement and in the future. May all the good things be yours, Laura, and cheers. Have a cup of tea for us sometimes.”—John Sullivan
