Abington's Charles Marcelonis' day-to-day has always involves managing anxiety and depression.

Nonetheless, the now 34-year-old was living independently and working odd jobs - not the career he aspires to, but still an income.

Then, about four years ago, his mother died. The trauma upended his life and threatened to undo years of hard-won progress.

"I kind of just started devolving," Marcelonis said.

He moved in with his father and grandparents.

Marcelonis describes a 45-minute countdown clock that would start ticking the moment he left the privacy of his home. When it expired, panic set in, his breaths quickening to the point where he couldn't speak.

Fortunately, he found a safe haven and mentorship at Discovery Day, a group therapy program run by Aspire Health Alliance in Braintree. Aspire is one of three agencies that The Patriot Ledger's Lend a Hand campaign raises money for.

There, with the help of peers and clinicians, Marcelonis has developed profound insights into his own mental processes and new social skills that allow him to interact confidently with the public, even charm this reporter with his humor and optimism.

Paradoxically, Marcelonis discovered new reserves of inner strength through what he described as the most difficult thing he's ever faced, the death of his mother and the devastating grief that followed.

"I found myself in my grief," he said. "I ended up finding my power."

Though Marcelonis has further to travel, the combination of suffering and therapy has stirred an emotional sensitivity in him. For instance, here's what he says about grief, a feeling that weighs on the heart most heavily around the holidays:

"Grief is love with nowhere to go. It's just our love stuck inside of us. Grief is not necessarily something to be feared, as painful as it can be."

It took time, more than three years, for Marcelonis to reach this point of self-knowledge. Prior to joining Discovery Day, just a trip to the supermarket could induce paralyzing anxiety. He said he would imagine others staring and judging him.

While those feelings still surface, he said he's learned to recognize them as "cognitive distortions" and analyze rationally what shoppers probably think about at the grocery store.

"I think to myself, well, Joe down the aisle looks pretty busy looking at his can of SpaghettiOs," he said. "I wonder if he has the time to think about me. Joe down the aisle has other things to think about."

Just recently Marcelonis put his progress to the test when he volunteered to work a holiday craft fair, where Discovery Day clients marketed their artwork to family, friends and members of the public.

"I was even chatting with people as they came up for their cookies and hot chocolate," Marcelonis said. "You know, about three, three-and-a-half years ago, I would have been the person standing in the corner stiff as a board, way too anxious to even be like, 'Hi, what do you want?'"

And what does Marcelonis want? To pursue a career in mental health, which he said will require schooling and a return to the work force to finance his dream.

In fact, he is already helping others. He concluded The Patriot Ledger interview with the following words of advice to the countless people - our friends, neighbors and family members - who suffer from serious but perhaps unacknowledged mental health challenges every day:

"It's never too late to seek support. It is not a weakness to seek support either. Actually, it is a sign of strength."

Your donation to Lend a Hand can help people like Marcelonis.

Lend a Hand was founded by Chazy Dowaliby, who died in 2019. Dowaliby, who became a well-known South Shore figure in her decades at the helm of the Ledger, was named the paper's executive editor in 1998 and launched the Lend a Hand program in her first year. Since then, Lend a Hand has raised millions from readers' donations.

Donations to Lend a Hand help fund the social services programs and resources for its three partner organizations: the South Shore Community Action Council, Quincy Community Action Programs Inc. and Aspire Health Alliance. Lend a Hand only takes monetary donations, which go to the agencies.

Aspire Health Alliance serves Boston, the South Shore and Southeastern Massachusetts by providing mental health programs and services for children, teenagers and adults, as well as services for children with development disabilities through an early intervention program. The agency is also the regional provider of 24/7 crisis intervention services.

South Shore Community Action Council is a Plymouth-based nonprofit serving low-income families and individuals on the South Shore through food assistance programs, child care and other social services.

Quincy Community Action Programs is a Quincy-based organization helps individuals and families achieve financial stability through education programs, early childhood education, and heating and utility assistance, as well as helping put food on the table through the QCAP food center.

Lend a Hand donations each year range from thousands of dollars to small checks of $10 or $15 to coins from a child's savings. It all adds up.

Donating is easy.

Many will find using PayPal the easiest. You can donate securely online through PayPal. All credit cards are accepted, and you don't need a PayPal account. Search: PayPal Lend a Hand Foundation. The direct address is www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=F5JAG5WWMYS5A.

Another way to donate is to clip the coupon from the print edition of The Patriot Ledger or from this story. You can send in a check or money order. Don't have the coupon? Just mail us a piece of paper with this information:

Your name, address, telephone number, amount of contribution, who the donation is from or if this donation is anonymous, and if you'd like to donate in honor or memory of someone. Please note, your address and telephone number are not for publication, but are for us to contact you if we have any questions.

If you have questions about The Patriot Ledger's Lend a Hand campaign, email [email protected] and put "Lend a Hand 2024" in the subject line.

And most of all, thank you for your generosity and your continued support of Lend a Hand.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

Reach Peter Blandino at [email protected].