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Maplewood Park Gazebo in Summer
Source: largeman1's photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/35802321@N00/page2/

Hear and Now Herald: Spring 2011 issue

Summer is almost here! School is wrapping up and parents are busy making plans figuring out what the kids are going to do over the summer. Whether you're looking for fun family activities to break up your summer routine or weeklong camps that fulfill your need, this issue will provide a few resources and tips to get you started if you're just beginning your search.

There has been a lot of activity on the children's mental health front and with the Monroe County System of Care. The cross-system collaboration among child-serving systems continues to grow, the Family Roundtable has added another location, the Trauma-informed Care pilot gains momentum and the community celebrates another successful Got Dreams Award event!

Along with the articles and updates in this issue, take a moment and look to the right where you'll also find several links to other online resources, websites and articles.  And, be sure to join the facebook page and "like" us; you'll get updates on children's mental health, links to articles & resources related to community, health & social issues and trends.

Also, be sure to check out the Community Corner where you'll find special dates to remember and The Grind to get a youth perspective on what's happening and check out some creative writing talent.

Enjoy the warm weather and the sunshine and we'll be back in the Fall!

The "Hear and Now Herald" editorial staff

 

Feature Story

Community Highlights

System of Care Update

The Community Corner

The Grind

Feature Story

School & Hospitals Collaborate for Successful School Re-Entry

By Chuck Allan, Children's Project Coordinator/FACT Education Liaison

Photo is for illustrative purposes only. Source: http://www.darton.edu/programs/scimath/outreach.php

For more than a year the Monroe County System of Care* Education Committee has been working with local school districts and local inpatient and partial psychiatric programs in developing guidelines for improving youths’ re-entry to school after hospital admissions.

Annually there are approximately 1,000 discharges from University of Rochester/Strong Hospital’s Child and Adolescent Inpatient and Partial Hospitalization programs, and Rochester Psychiatric Center’s Adolescent Inpatient unit, for youth aged 5 to 18. Coordination around education planning and re-entry after discharge is complex and has proven to be challenging for the hospitals, schools and families.

Communication is Key

After many discussions among hospital, school and family stakeholders it became apparent that timely and effective communication is the key element to ensuring smooth transitions for youth back to school. Such communication needs to happen immediately upon admission to the hospital and continue until after discharge.

Important stages in the process include hospital staff...

  1. interviewing the youth and his/her family regarding the importance of hospital/school communication and identifying key school personnel and
  2. being able to identify and access school personnel to ensure academic work is efficiently coordinated while the youth is in the hospital and extend invitations to school staff to help with plans for the return to school (especially for appropriate social/emotional supports).

The committee developed a guiding document for best practice for such transitions and have asked all Monroe County school districts, Monroe # 1 BOCES and Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and designate administrative contacts, to ensure coordination of planning.

Planning and orientation meetings have been held with East and West side Pupil Personnel Directors, countywide Directors of Counseling and with district designated administrators. Additionally this work has been fully integrated into the Rochester City School Districts’ Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant’s “Youth in Transition” project and Monroe County System of Care staff are working closely with the RCSD to meet their unique needs.

Formal roll out of the protocol will begin with the 2011-12 school year and the committee is designing a Continuous Quality Improvement process to assess the process’ effectiveness and to troubleshoot barriers-to-success.

Monroe County System of Care staff appreciate the diligent efforts of all hospital staff, school districts and family members that have contributed to this successful project. For more information please contact Chuck Allan, Monroe County FACT/System of Care Education Liaison at 585-753-2664 or callan@monroecounty.gov.

*Monroe County System of Care, formerly known as Monroe County ACCESS.

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Community Highlights

Celebrating Dreams and Promoting the Values that Help Lead Us There: The 4th Annual Got Dreams Award

By Susan Gilchrist, Social Marketing Manager, Monroe County System of Care

You could feel the excitement and energy in the air at this year's 4th Annual Got Dreams Award.  Excitement that the registration numbers may have exceeded the goal of 350 attendees and energy around the gathering of such a diverse group of participants and partners - youth, families, providers, community members and leaders from across the child-serving systems.  The Got Dreams Award is one of the very few events that brings such a wide ranging group of people together to recognize one another's accomplishments and to celebrate youth.

There were two significant changes this year. The first was the new Got Dreams Award categories and the second, which may have been more subtle to attendees, was the new program.  The changes were made in an effort to reinforce System of Care Values and in response to feedback from last year's participants and event staff.

The awards went from identifying the categories using the names of partner groups (youth, family members/caregivers, providers, educators, and community members) to using the labels of the System of Care Values (Youth-guided, Family-oriented, Cultural & Linguistic Competence, Trauma-informed Care, Community-based Services & Supports, Best Practice Oriented).

The idea behind focusing the categories on the System of Care Values was to use a community-wide, celebratory event to help sustain awareness around System of Care during the post-grant years.  Although the SAMHSA grant that funded the Monroe County children's mental health transformation, a.k.a. System of Care, is nearing an end, the work is carrying on and building momentum across all the child-serving systems in Monroe County.

View the list of all the 2011 Got Dreams Award Recipients.

For the second year in a row, the award presenters included a representative from the SWAT Youth Council and leadership from across the child-serving systems, Monroe County and the City of Rochester (in order as they appeared in Got Dreams Award):

  • SWAT Youth Council
    • Jose Rivera
    • Desiree Britt
    • Shamar McMillon
  • Bob Burns, Administrator, Monroe County Office of Probation & Community Corrections
  • Luis Burgos, Commissioner, City of Rochester, Department of Recreation Youth Services
  • Cindy Lewis, Director, Monroe County Child and Family Services
  • Bob Zinck, Executive Director, Rochester/Monroe County Youth Bureau
  • Kelly Reed, Commissioner, Monroe County Department of Human Services
  • Gladys Pedraza-Burgos, Chief of Youth Development and Family Services for the Rochester City School District

Instead of featuring all the entertainment in the first half and the awards ceremony in the second half, this year's event team changed the format of the program so that entertainment and the awards recognition alternated throughout the evening.

Entertainment showecased youth talent and inlcuded poetry reading, singing and the sharing of personal stories. The featured entertainment of the night were students from the Garth Fagan Dance School run by School Director Natalie Rogers-Cropper. About a dozen youth dancers shared a short routine but also deomonstrated the unique and disciplined style that Garth Fagan has become famous for, by performing select dance techniques for the audience.  The performance was a combination of entertainment and education.

The evening's entertainment and awards ceremony culminated with a celebratory song and group dance where the SWAT Youth Council encouraged attendees to join them by standing up and dancing to Katy Perry's song and music video "Firework!"

 

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System of Care Updates

A New Way of Looking at Skill Building

By Heather Starks, Children's Clinical Services Coordinator Monroe County Office of Mental Health

This photos is for illustrative purposes only. Source: http://kenttoussaint.com/cluesonkids014.html

Imagine a hard day; whether it's one of those “Why is that alarm going off again” or "Really?  I lost my keys again?"  Or, "Wow, my boss must really think I have superpowers to be asking me to do MORE!" 

Now take a moment and think what makes those days better. Is it quiet time to yourself?  Is it exercise?  Is it jamming to your favorite tunes?  Catching up on your guilty pleasure shows like, ESPN? Is it a phone call to your BFF, Mom, who?  Is it playtime with your pet?  Your child?

Now imagine you can’t do that; can’t have that, aren’t allowed or able.  Sounds silly, right?  Someone taking away your fun, your ability to decompress.  How would that work for you?

Now imagine that you are a youth or family member with a lot of professionals, providers and people telling you, day in and day out, what you need to do, have to do, should do, can’t do, and this includes your fun, your ability to relax.

Does that make sense?  We don’t think so either.


This photos is for illustrative purposes only. Source: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/07/18/youth/

Therefore, the Monroe County System of Care is working toward, among our skill building programs, is the ability to support youth and families to have this need for "me time" be met, unconditionally.

Skill builders are being trained in engagement and developing solid relationships with youth and families that capitalize on their unique strengths, needs, and goals.  Their role is to cultivate resources within youth and families to assure that their daily stresses and woes are productively managed in a way that works for them.

And, skill builders show up no matter what.  We think our work is as important as any other part of a service/treatment plan and our unconditional relationship will not waiver depending on how your day goes.

Expanding Skill Building in the Community

Monroe County Office of Mental Health (MCOMH) is excited to begin working with the Boys & Girls Club who will begin offering skill building services in July.  In addition, the MCOMH will continue to support the existing programs including Community Partnership at St. Joseph’s Villa and Customized Services at Hillside Children’s Center.

MCOMH is aiming to provide skill building to a diverse group of youth and families that meets their needs when they need it, where they need it, in order for youth to remain in the community. This approach is one of the core values of the System of Care in Monroe County.

In other words, if a youth has a terrible day - gets in trouble at school, misses his cab to his therapy or probation appointment - and feels like he can’t make anything go right; he can know that after dinner he gets to see his skill builder and shoot hoops to blow off the steam from the day - no matter what.

This way, he still gets to practice his positive coping skills, and learns what it feels like knowing that tomorrow can/will be better than today.  And his Mom doesn’t have to worry that he might blow.

To learn more about skill building in Monroe County or the RFP process that identified partnerships please contact Heather Starks at hstarks@monroecounty.gov.

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System of Care Values in Action: School #17 - Rolling Out Trauma-informed Care

By Elizabeth Meeker, Project Director, Monroe County System of Care

This photos is for illustrative purposes only. Source: http://www.theblackdaily.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=2&tag=black%20students&limit=20

Rochester City School District Enrico Fermi School #17 is leading the way to take the concept of a Trauma Informed School Culture and to translate it into action.  Starting this past school year, the leadership of School #17, Principal Patricia Jones and Vice Principal Nancy Coddington, as well as the staff of School #17 has committed to participate in a two year pilot coordinated by the Monroe County Office of Mental Health.

Enrico Fermi School #17 is located in the northwest quadrant of the city, off Jay Street, at 158 Orchard Street. They have 569 students.

88% of students are eligible for free and reduced lunch

18% of students having been identified as students with special needs

At a time of relentless focus on academic success, student academic performance, and test results School #17 leadership and staff reflects their experience, knowledge and wisdom in their strong  belief that, “You cannot teach the mind until you reach the heart” and recognizes that many of their students and their families have experienced traumatic life events.

School leadership and staff believe that creating a trauma sensitive school culture and developing staff skills to identify and effectively support students who have experienced trauma will help traumatized children socially and emotionally and also increase their chances of academic success.

The biggest commitment though is that all 73 staff members have agreed to participate in monthly professional learning circles. At the end of the school day, staff are coming together to:

  • learn what trauma is
  • how trauma impacts children’s learning, behaviors and relationships
  • explore how vicarious trauma impacts their own teaching and interactions with students and their families, and
  • learn effective strategies within their classrooms’ and school wide

Leadership & Staff Commitment - Supporting the Whole Child

School #17 staff have committed to increasing their knowledge and skills in trauma and creating a trauma sensitive school culture because they want to be able to effectively  support traumatized children and their families.

School #17’s leadership believes that the Trauma Informed School Culture Pilot is the overarching umbrella that links current strategies and programs in the school. School #17 began laying a foundation in creating a compassionate, positive school culture over the past several years. They implemented PATHS and Primary Project to support children’s social and emotional skill development and staff training in “Capturing Kids Hearts” to develop a nurturing, welcoming school environment.

Schools, school leadership and staff are often in the news for what is not happening to ensure student success. School #17 leadership and staff have worked diligently and consistently over the past several years and now in tying it all together through a “trauma-informed framework" designed to reach outside the limited view that success is dependent on academics. They have reached out to their students and their families to support the “whole child” for their academic, social, and emotional needs which are essential to successful life outcomes and academic success.
 

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The Community Corner

Summer Camp Just for Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Challenges and Their Families: Camp Get-A-Way

From Camp Get-A-Way Website www.cgaw.org

Camp Wyomoco on a misty morning. Source: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/19669077

Camp Get-A-Way is a not-for-profit, 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to the mission of strengthening and supporting families of children having an emotional, behavioral, or mental health issue.  The concept for camp was developed by parents living in the Western New York area.

Camp Get-A-Way offers families in New York State the opportunity to participate in recreational and skill building activities in a traditional summer camp environment. These activities help them rediscover the joy of being a family and teach them to better communicate with each other, without worry of discrimination or the stigma of being associated with mental health issues.

The idea of going off to summer camp undoubtedly raises many questions.  Luckily, Camp Get-A-Way has a web page of frequently asked questions and if you don't see your answer then use the phone number below and a staff member will be happy to address any other questions or concerns you might have about their program or the camping experience.

Summer and Fall camp sessions are located at Camp Wyomoco, Varysburg, NY. Their mailing address is 18 W. Buffalo Street, Warsaw, NY 14569. Phone numbers: (585) 331-7513 and (585) 590-6401.

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Beating the Heat: Ideas for All Ages on What To Do This Summer

By Susan Gilchrist, Social Marekting Manager, Monroe County System of Care

This photos is for illustrative purposes only. Source:http://teachmama.com/2010/06/summertime-fun-cards-cool-ways-to-fill.html

The mercury is rising and Summer is almost upon us.  School is almost out and if you have kids you're already anticipating the restlessness that summertime can bring, along with the freedom from school schedules.

Along with the few links we've highlighted along the righthand side of the newsletter, here are some additional ideas to get the most of the summer break with breaking your wallet and that will appeal to kids of all ages.

Start by brainstorming a bunch of ideas that remind each family member of summer - include foods, places, activities, people, movies, books, anything that makes you feel good about summertime.  You can meet as a family or leave a notebook or sheet of paper on the kitchen table so people can jot down their ideas as they think of them (set a deadline on when the brainstorming is finished).

Review the list and write each of the ideas down on their own index card or scrap of paper.  Fold the cards or scrap paper and place them into a box, jar, hat or other holder of some sort and set it aside in a place that's easy to see and the next time someone in the family complains that there isn't anything to do then bring out the box and pick out a summertime idea.

Keep the ideas fun, fairly simple, affordable and adaptable.

For example, if there's a spray park make it more fun for the older kids by letting them bring a friend.  You can also recruit your older kids to help plan the activity for the younger ones, like have them hide the stuffed animals for the outdoor yard safari or write the clues for the scavenger/treasure hunt.

Summertime Food

Maybe your summertime idea is about food.  Like eating corn on the cob - find a new way of preparing it.  Have you every had corn on the cob (or other veggies) cooked on an outdoor grill?

Source: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/fresh-ideas/easy-dinner-ideas/grilling-tips7.htm

Source: http://www.klesickfamilyfarm.com/main/tag/grilled-vegetable-kabobs

Especially with older children, take turns preparing a new or favorite recipe.  Or, find an ingredient you've never tried and look for a recipe to prepare - take a look at the chickpea receipe to the right in the Culture Corner for inspiration.

The idea can be as simple as freezing lemonade in ice cube trays, covering it with a sheet of plastic wrap and sticking toothpicks through the top for mini popciscles to having a pot-luck summer picnic dinner with friends.  Have fun with it.

For the preschooler, take food coloring and make colorful ice cubes.  Then put two ice cubes of a different color  in a ziploc plastic bag and let your child mush them around and watch them melt and change color.  When you're done, put the water in a glass and place a flower or celery stick in the colored water and see if the flower or celery changes colior after a few days.

Go to the library and pick a theme each week to read stories about.  Mix up fiction, non-fiction and different styles like, poetry and comic books... all sharing the same theme for that week.  Try different formats too like, audio books and even a movie.

If pirates are the theme for that week then get out books about real pirates or pretend ones then go rent Pirates of the Caribean or if you have younger kids watch the Backyardigans or Veggie Tales.

If you have other ideas on how to entertain your family this summer, become a fan of the Monroe County System of Care fan page and post your idea.

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SWAT Youth Council Open Meeting - 4th Tuesdsays of the Month

Youth - attend an informal meeting of the SWAT (Spreading Wellness Around Town) Youth Council to meet other youth who are facing the same types of challenges your are.  Join the discussions or just hang back and listen.  Either way, attending a meeting will be a chance to maybe learn something new, make a new friend and be in the company of kids who have experienced a lot of what you have.

Check out the flyer and print it as a reminder!

The SWAT Open Meeting meets every 4th Tuesday of the month at the Rochester Monroe County Youth Bureau at 435 E. Henrietta Rd. (Monroe Community Hospital)

If you want to learn more or plan to join us, contact Jerard Johnson, Youth Engagement Specialist at 585-753-2695.

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Film Viewing and Discussion: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and the Beginning of the Antipsychiatry Movement

From the Reel Mind: a theatre and film series about mental illness flyer

Source: IMDB website http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073486/

JUNE 28 @ 7 PM
Tickets: $8
Cinema Theatre
957 Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY

Starring Jack Nicholson, Louse Fletcher, Danny DeVito, Brad Dourif, Scatman Crothers.
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is the winner of five Oscars, Milos Forman's classic 1975 film, based upon Ken Kesey's 1962 novel, is a searing indictment of institutional psychiatry of that era as played out with joy and pain between the indelible characters of patient Randall McMurphy and Nurse Ratched. The film is historically important as one of the leading examples of the antipsychiatry movement. 

Afterward, join the discussion on how and if things have changed in the 35+ years since the film was made.

Discussion and Q&A to follow the viewing, facilitated by Laurence Guttmacher, M.D., Clinical Director, Rochester Pyschiatric Center.

For more information on this film or the Reel Mind Theatre & Film Series, contact Ruth Cowing, Co-Director at cowingcreek@gmail.com or 585-729-1498.

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Our Daily Heroes: Myrna Gonzalez, Family Advocate & Brian Weller, Vice Principle

Illustration source: Blur Designs Blog http://blur-designs.com/blog/logo-no-go-5-design-tips-for-have-a-go-heroes/

Myrna Gonzalez, Family Advocate

Source: Got Dreams 2011 nomination form submitted by Jillian Gersey, Hillside Children's Center

(What follows is an edited version of the nomination letter that was submitted for the 2011 Got Dreams Award.)

Myrna Gonzalezwas nominated for the “Got Dreams Award” in the Cultural &  linguistic Competence category. Myrna is a parent of a child in the mental health system and works tirelessly to help her family and those in her community. Myrna a Latina, her first language is Spanish and is from Puerto Rico. She moved to the Rochester area a number of years ago to get the best care possible for her daughter.

Since then, Myrna has not only positively impacted the life of her daughter, she goes above and beyond to help others. She is a strong advocate for those in the Spanish speaking community. She attends support groups and builds relationships with other families, who then call on her as a lay advocate to help them meet their needs.

Myrna will go to doctor’s appointments, SSI appointments, hospital visits, CSE meetings, etc. to help those in her community with the language barrier and advocacy. She is also the "go to" personfamilies seek out when a family is in need of resources (clothing, food, furniture, etc.).

Myrna recently learned that a youth in the program her daughter is in is a pregnant. Myrna tapped into all of her resources and got baby clothes and supplies for this youth. She built a relationship with this youth and her family and has helped to coordinate her baby shower.

Myrna is an excellent representation of a caregiver who goes above and beyond the call of duty, both as a family advocate and for her own family.

Brian Weller, Vice Principal

Source: Got Dreams 2011 nomination form submitted by Kellyn Killips, SWAT Youth Council Member

(What follows is an edited version of the nomination letter that was submitted for the 2011 Got Dreams Award.)

Throughout my high school experience I have had the opportunity to see all of the great qualties that Mr. Weller has. He is my Vice Principal at Webster Thomas High School.

Starting in my Freshman year Mr. Weller was always working towards getting me to be more interested in school and being in class. He saw that I was having difficutly in socilalizing and being able to talk about my feelings. I was not able to talk about how I was affected by the way others at school were talking to me.

He saw that i would walk through the hall with my head down and he would constantly try and get me to say hi to others in the hall. In my sophmore year I was in an even worse state. I developed an eating disorder and Mr. Weller did all that he could to get me to get back into school.

In the beginning of my Junior year I was still not in school because of being sick . He came to my house in the beginning of the year and he said that he would try and do everything in his ability to get me back into school and be successful. With his encouragement and persistence I was able to get back into to school.

For everything that I did and getting back into school and turning my life around he was kind enough to give me an award. I think of everything that he has done for me and how I would not be where I am now if it were not for Mr. Weller and his persistance.

He saw the potentinal in me and he was driven to make me do the best I could. I think he deserves this award for everything he does for not only me but everyone in this school.

 

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The Grind

The section of the newsletter for youth, by youth or anyone looking for some fresh perspective - a youth perspective.

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LIFE

By Tess Perry , Got Dreams Youth Presenter, YFP Youth

This life so dear
So near
To be nonexistent
There’s no rhyme or reason
Like the changing of the seasons
WHY? WHY?
Why must we die?
We cannot appreciate life
Do you know the torture we endure?
The pain we feel?
Is sanity real?

Anything tangible is ripped from your hands
When you love someone with all of your heart
And you know someday you’ll have to part
These arrogant incompetent fools
As sorrows they could never begin to comprehend surround you
Take a glimpse into someone else’s life
Half in half out of an alternate reality
Do you have empathy?
I’ll always have an outstretched hand
An open mind
I’ll try to be kind
But why, why?
Why are we here?
This life so dear
So near to be non-existent
How short and how sweet
Look at all of the people that we meet
Cherish today, never let it get away.

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I AM FROM…

By Desiree Britt, SWAT Youth Council

I am from the ground up
Changing every day in any way I can
I am from no culture at all
And still I try to figure out just who I am
I am from dirty looks to put downs
I am from trying to make it to the top
To be told to sit back down
But still I stand
I am from locked doors and dirty neighborhoods
With people too scared to walk down the street
I am from sex, drugs and money
To baby stay with me tonight please
I am from drama to more drama
From “oh you said that I was dirty, to that’s yo man?”
I am from George Bush to Barack Obama
And still I wait for my world to change
I am from bad break ups to baby mama drama
And still I search for my Mr. Right man
I am from hip-hop to pop
I am from Jay-Z to Lil’ Wayne
From Jonas Brothers to Avril Lavigne
I am from trying to be like everyone else
To searching for a new me
I am from everything coming so easily,
Friends, money, school
To a new sense of reality.

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CHANGE

By Tess Perry , Got Dreams Youth Presenter, YFP Youth

Change has always been especially hard for me
Considering I’ve had so much of it
I have never been in control of change, it just sneaks up on me
It is my enemy
My biggest fear

Preschool for two years
Ten play dates a week
Mommy and me classes
Soon after my eyes started to leak

Little Liam was born
On Father’s Day
They called him the perfect gift
All I had to say was, “Hey!”

Don’t get me wrong
I love him
But at times it was hard
Such a big change

Very soon after my brother was born,
My world turned upside-down
I lost my grip, and started to trip
I’m still in the process of getting up

My parents got divorced
There were no longer the people I knew
It seemed the fighting would never end
My family was slowly falling apart.

With Liam being born,
And my parents getting divorced
I felt I was no longer important
Deeper and deeper I fell, in my own pit of despair

I am currently at my 5th school and my 10th house
Constantly getting ripped from friends right when I settle down
And I expect to move again
But the next time, I will be stronger

I have been through a long list of other misfortunes as well
Much too long to tell
I was waiting and waiting for something to happen
For my life to just magically change on its own

 Then, it finally dawned on me
Nothing will happen unless I pick myself up and put forth an effort
I have to make a change
I can’t wait for some else to

Change is no longer my enemy
It is my friend
Because I now know,
I am in control
This is my life and I can change it.
 

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FUNDING FOR THIS PUBLICATION WAS MADE POSSIBLE (IN PART) BY GRANT NO. SM57043 FROM SAMHSA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MONROE COUNTY OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN WRITTEN MATERIALS OR PUBLICATIONS AND BY CONTRIBUTORS TO THE "HEAR AND NOW HERALD" DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICIES OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; NOR DOES MENTION OF TRADE NAMES, COMMERCIAL PRACTICES, OR ORGANIZATIONS IMPLY ENDORSEMENT BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR MONROE COUNTY.