November 9, 2009

Another year…another successful MIA Day thanks to the efforts of so many. Our 17th Annual Mental Illness Awareness Day program attracted nearly 600 people. Award-winning  filmmaker Lucy Winer's sneak previews from her film “King Park” proved to be incredibly moving, rekindling for many some of the memories of their own or family members' stays in the state hospital.  These scenes and her discussion fostered very poignant discussion. As soon as a date is set for a showing of the full-length film – which will be a fund-raiser for Clubhouse and HALI – we will get the word out.

Feedback on our other speakers was also extremely strong:

• Deborah Norville’s discussion of her journey with depression and an unceremonious fall from public grace was poignant, deeply personal, and very inspiring;
• Paolo delVecchio, Director of Consumer Affairs for SAMSHA gave a very thoughtful talk about transition on the Federal level;
• Dr. John Bartlett of the Carter Center for Mental Health Reform in Georgia discussed a concept that is receiving a lot of attention in health care reform, the “Medical Home”;
• Members of the Veterans Health Alliance of Long Island will discuss, "Understanding the Psychological Impact of War Zone Exposure and Coming Home." 
• Advocates especially enjoyed the opportunity to consult with Mental Health  Attorney Carolyn Wolf on a range of rights issues; and
• A tremendous number of consumers and ex-patients enjoyed the opportunity to artistically express their feelings with staff and members from our Creative Arts units.

Thanks again to Senator John Flanagan for his support and to all attendees, trade show exhibitors and a tremendous list of sponsors – South Oaks-Broadlawn, Cablevision, Outer County Construction, HALI, MHA of Nassau, and Fusco, Brandenstein & Rada, and Phoenix House --  for making MIA Day such a successful event.  By the way, to all those who schedule events, our target date next year is Friday, October 15th.

To see photos of the Day, go to our website at www.clubhouseofsuffolk.org. A special message from Deborah Norville will be posted shortly.

News from around the Club'…
Our Food Pantry, Charlotte’s Table, officially opened on September 2nd. Our efforts to have our shelves fully stocked were given a tremendous boost by the efforts of three local Interact Clubs from Sachem East, Sachem North, and Connetquot High schools. Under the supervision of the Ronkonkoma Rotary, the three Clubs collected over 6500 pounds of food over the course of three days at Stop & Shop on Portion Road in Ronkonkoma. Charlotte’s Table volunteers organized the donation and, every Wednesday from 3:30 to 7:00 pm., help to distribute to needy local individuals and families.

Our case management staff are now four months “live” with remote/mobile access to better serve their clients -- and the “debugging” processes are nearly complete. With health reform being accompanied by a high reliance on electronic medial records and an emphasis on person-centered processes, SCMs and ICMs are starting to see the practice enhancements that technology can afford.
We are pleased to have begun a collaboration with Herstory Writers Workshop, a Community memoir-writing project for women.  Two groups have begun, one in Clubhouse-Ronkonkoma and one in Synergy Center. The feedback from participating members has been nothing short of heartwarming and inspiring.
A study from Tufts University, sponsored by Proctor and Gamble, concluded the presence of unfortunate side effects for people taking psychotropic meds: e of the unfortunate side effects Stony Brook Dental  “People taking psychiatric medications are at significantly higher risk for developing dental caries and losing teeth, despite acceptable oral hygiene habits and regular dental visit.” (A.S. Papas,  M.L. Singh, A.R. Biesbrock, and A.N. Papas, “1513 Changes in Oral Health Status in Volunteers on Psychiatric Medications”) As a result, we have invited faculty from the Outreach Program at Stony Brook University Dental School to come to our clubs to provide education about how to properly care for your teeth. They will follow-up with free oral exams at their Clinic.
We now are supporting nearly 50 people who are employed as we are hard at work enhancing the employment-directed culture within our two clubhouses. We resumed a tradition – active for many years but briefly lost in our transition period to the PROS license – of Employment Dinners in local restaurants. These dinners offer a great opportunity for members to connect with each other on key “workplace survival” issues …and to share a lot of laughs as well.
Job Leads Please… If you know of "enlightened" employers willing to give as opportunity to someone who wants to get back to work, please give a call to Marie O’Donnell (x1350) in Ronkonkoma or Gina LaSerra  (x1203) at Synergy Center.

Holiday Gatherings for Friends and Family:
Synergy Center/Clubhouse SCM – Tuesday, December 15th 5:00- 8:00 pm
Clubhouse-Ronkonkoma – Wednesday, December 16th 5:00 to 8:00 pm