For the people of the Cahaba Center for Mental Health, Wednesday marked a day of summer fun.

The Cahaba Center for Mental Health held a picnic at Paul Grist State Park on Wednesday, as consumers enjoyed a swim in Valley Creek Lake, games and food.

Tonya Gandy, Developmental Disabilities Services Director at Cahaba Center for Mental Health, said the picnic is a part of a project called Common Threads, which aims to help people with developmental delays explore and identify new hobbies and interests, and to forge and maintain relationships with others in the community who share those common interests.

“What we’re doing today is a picnic that is being funded through a grant that we got through the ACDD [Alabama Council for Developmental Delays],” Gandy said. “We applied for the grant, and what they do is they’re trying to help us get people who have developmental disabilities out into the general public — out doing things that you and I do — and making relationships and friendships with people that aren’t necessarily staff.”

Gandy said the center has done numerous activities like this one in order to help forge a closer bond between the community and Cahaba consumers.

“This is one of the activities we’ve done to do that,” Gandy said. “We’ve gotten to do a bunch. We’ve gone to Miller’s Ferry … we’ve taken a tour of Selma, we’ve gone to Battle of Selma, and we’ve got lots of stuff planned. We’re going to do a riverboat cruise in Montgomery, we’re going to Old Alabama Town. It’s just fun, educational stuff that otherwise they may not get an opportunity to do.”

Other activities the center has participated in include a visit to the Quilters of Gee’s Bend, and shows at the Pickard Auditorium.

Gandy added the center is also looking for community members wanting to participate in the project or attend the activities.

For information, contact Gandy at 418-6543 ext. 147 or email at tonya.gandy@cahabamentalhealth.com.