NORTHBRIDGE — Kathryn Bruner-Clifton of Milford sits at a table in the River View Room outside Alternatives’ GB and Lexi Singh Performance Center at the Whitin Mill, painstakingly picking up tiny beads to thread on her 20-inch necklace wire. The chatter from a dozen other jewelry-making class participants and volunteer instructors fills the light-splashed venue with a pleasant hum.

“I wanted to make jewelry for a long time. I really jumped at this chance,” Ms. Bruner-Clifton said. Her problem was deciding what to put on her pendant. “I have big eyes — all the beautiful stones and the beads they have here.”

Nearby, Stephanie Leonard of Holden puts the finishing touches on her necklace while chatting with her friend Rachel King of Franklin. Ms. Leonard, who writes a blog on Telegram.com about mental illness, said, “I really enjoy coming here because I don’t have a lot of friends in my home area. We do creative and constructive things. Rather than getting upset, it’s a great way to get the help I need.”

The monthly jewelry-making class is one of several arts programs offered this summer by Alternatives at its historic Whitin Mill complex. Some events are educational, while others are community gatherings. All programs strive to bring together people served by Alternatives, which provides help for those with psychiatric or developmental disabilities, with the community at large.

“Alternatives is about everybody in the community,” said Michelle Benjamin, program coordinator for Alternatives’ Arts and Culture Program. “Everything I do is open to the community. It’s not an Alternatives event where we’re letting you in.”

Ms. Benjamin also coordinates a poetry workshop on Tuesday nights, in which participants share their own poetry, read the works of others and attend poetry slams together.

On Thursday evenings in July and August, the Whitin Mill plaza overlooking the Mumford River hosts free concerts, sponsored by Alternatives and UniBank. Performers range from rock ’n’ roll cover bands to swing bands, from Worcester-area family folk singers Chuck & Mud and the Hole in the Dam Band to the Blackstone Valley Community Concert Band. The Heritage Farmers Market returns for a second year to the plaza on Sunday afternoons between Aug. 1 and Sept. 19 (except Labor Day weekend), offering local produce, handmade arts and crafts, and live entertainment.

“We have a number of individuals we serve volunteering (at the market),” said Thomas S. Saupe, Alternatives’ director of community relations. He said the market is seeking more produce and arts and crafts vendors.

The Bella Lucé Art Café and Creative Arts Studio, in the red brick mill, is running a series of art workshops, open studio nights, and classes including yoga. Artists who work in the studios are among the 16 or so artisans who sell their work at the center’s new gift shop, which is open Thursdays through Sundays and during community concerts.

“We have pottery, photographs, cards, magnets, jewelry, handbags, embellished jackets, all from New England artists,” said Cristi Winona Collari, artist and owner of the Bella Lucé Art Café. “It’s priced for every purse. You can get cards for $3 all the way up to kinetic photos for $350.”

Alternatives’ Spaulding R. Aldrich Heritage Gallery, which displays the works of local and regional artists, will feature an exhibit by Worcester painter Norman Ringdahl, called “Reflected Light.”

“I’m seeing more and more life on the plaza,” Mr. Saupe said. “It’s here for people to enjoy, walk on the labyrinth and enjoy the benches.”

For event information, go to http://www.alternativesnet.org/events.asp.