New Flash

1. STAFF MEMBERS RECEIVE IAPSRS CERTIFICATION

Congratulations are in order - big time.

In the April 14, 2003 edition of this newsletter, we told you that eight agency staff members took the certified psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner (CPRP) exam sponsored by the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services (IAPSRS).

They passed with flying colors.

The newly certified practitioners are Nancy Basile, central regional coordinator; Lou Blicharz, housing specialist, central region supportive services; Karen Burke, self-help center regional coordinator; Elaine Joray, southern region support worker; John Kulesza, director of supportive services; Lois Miller, team leader, central region supportive services; Peggy Swarbrick, CSPNJ associate director; and Jennifer Zoyak, southern region support worker.

"The certification acknowledges that what we do is vitally important, requires a unique knowledge, skill base and expertise, and is a distinguished profession," said Patti Holland, CSPNJ/CEC director of community development. "It will also help us in many of our advocacy efforts."

The three-hour exam, which consisted of 150 multiple-choice questions, was administered at Middlesex County College on March 29, 2003. All states, Medicaid, Medicare and other insurance companies are expected to acknowledge the need to recognize CPRPs in the near future, which also will enhance overall recognition of their value, according to IAPSRS.

Major funding sources are currently showing interest in reimbursing the cost of psychiatric rehabilitation services that support people in recovery. IAPSRS seeks to strengthen the role of community-oriented psychosocial rehabilitation within mental health service delivery systems and to facilitate the coordination and continuity of these programs, association spokespersons said.

2. CEC SELECTS ITS NEW SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

It's official. Doggy day care will be the first social enterprise that CEC will establish in partnership with the New Jersey Community Loan Fund.

"The decision was reached after careful analysis," said Jessica Gordon, CEC's director of social enterprises. "Each business proposal was measured against the social and economic criteria that we had established for the CSPNJ/CEC social enterprise."

In 2002, CEC began investigating the possibility of starting a for-profit business to decrease reliance on external funding and provide meaningful employment opportunities for people with special needs.

A criteria checklist was created to help evaluate more than 300 business ideas; the field was narrowed based on their fit with CEC's social and financial objectives, which included profitability, jobs and trailblazing, Gordon explained.

Highlights of CSPNJ/CEC's social priorities for the social enterprise include the following, according to Gordon:

· Providing long-term employment opportunities for people with special needs.

· Providing a business skills ladder that will enable employees to move within the business to more challenging positions or to gain different skills.

· Providing jobs that require a varying amount of customer interaction.

· Operating the business in a socially responsible way: although the mission may not be community service-oriented, the business will be operated in a way that minimizes negative impact on the environment and the community.

 

"Consumers are looking for permanent jobs that offer them general, career-building skills and specific, marketable skills," Gordon explained. "This project will provide all these elements on many levels."

And the future looks bright, she noted.

"From the start, we've involved the CSPNJ/CEC community in the business planning process," Gordon said. "The ultimate social enterprise will reflect the needs and priorities of every aspect of our community. It's really spectacular that we found a singular business that's an exciting and joyful business model that meets our financial and social objectives."

3. CONSUMER SAVINGS CLUBS THRIVE

The CEC consumer savings projects are signs of success.

The Consumer Savings Club, Individual Development Account (IDA), Emergency Loan Program and Client Trust Account have all helped financial services program participants to "recognize their dreams," according to Zoraida Reyes, CEC financial services coordinator.

The savings club was created in 2001 and had about 50 participants; 11 have since transferred to the IDA program, which began in 2002 and now has a total of 26 enrollees. The loan program has about 20 participants, and there is a client trust account in each region; there are more than 25 participants in the northern region, 35 in the central region and more than 60 in the southern region, Reyes said.

"Program participants felt empowered when realized they could achieve their goals," she explained. "In the beginning, it was hard to convince them, but they eventually recognized that these programs could work and that they could control their own destinies. It was a big step."

The programs involve matched savings plans that help consumers save for and obtain a variety of goals; for instance, the IDA is designed to help participants acquire a home, small business or post-secondary education. Participants make regular contributions to a special savings account, or IDA, which is jointly held by the individual and CEC. Participant contributions are matched on a two-to-one basis, Reyes said.

But training and education also are key elements of the programs; participants are required to engage in leadership training and asset-specific training sessions, and additional financial management training and basic banking classes may be offered this summer, according to Reyes.

"Many participants in the different programs reached their goals and that was very encouraging," she said. "Now they want to look for new goals so they can continue to enrich their lives."

4. BOARDING HOME PICNIC ATTRACTS A HAPPY CROWD

Attendance at the May 3 boarding home picnic at Shark River Park, Neptune, exceeded 150 enthusiasts, including boarding home residents from throughout the state, those involved in the boarding home outreach (BHO) project, BHO workers and self-help center (SHC) members.

And although the forecast called for rain, even Mother Nature decided to cooperate, according to Irene Sanborn, CSPNJ director of community outreach.

"The picnic was a great opportunity for everyone to talk, play games, eat some delicious food and enjoy music," Sanborn said. "It also was a chance to combine socialization, interaction and fun. And we were very grateful it didn't rain."

SHC members and staff helped with picnic preparations; provided and served food; organized games; and provided musical entertainment. Many SHC members and staff also came early to help and stayed late to clean up the park area at the conclusion of the picnic, Sanborn added.

SHCs from the following 13 counties were represented at the picnic, according to Sanborn: Bergen, Camden, Cape May, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Salem and Union.

The next BHO picnic is tentatively scheduled for September 2003 at Shark River Park.

5. SELF-HELP CENTERS IN RECOVERY

BY MARK DUFFY

CSPNJ/CEC DIRECTOR OF CONSUMER-OPERATED SERVICES AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT

"There is a revolution brewing in the field of severe mental illness…[it is] a revolution that is beginning to occur right now. It is a vision - in what is believed to be possible for people with severe mental illness…It appears that it will be up to consumers and their family members to lead this revolution in vision - to guide or drag professionals toward the twenty-first century."

Dr. William A. Anthony, Executive Director, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston University

The self-help consumer movement in New Jersey will soon be 20 years old. During this period, consumers have become effective advocates and significant providers of service. Consumers are active within policy-making committees, on mental health boards, as mental health providers and in designing and running their own services.

Models have been developed and altered as consumers increasingly expressed their needs and preferences for better housing, more opportunities and safe places to socialize and support each other. Increasingly, services have been developed that focused on individual strengths, rather than purely on disability.

More consumers are involved in education and pursuing careers, and the system has met this need by offering appropriate schooling and training. More live successfully outside of hospitals and other institutions, and the community appears to be focusing less on the stigma and fear of consumers.

Over the last few years, supportive housing, employment and education models that do not cluster people into psychiatric ghettos or institutions have fostered the subtle acceptance of consumers living in the community. These services encourage consumers to participate in their communities as citizens with rights and responsibilities.

This higher profile has led to growth by consumers who, more and more, see themselves as responsible members of their communities. Communities have become more tolerant of consumers, and are not quite as sensational in their reports of consumers' problems.

While consumers are still faced with the significant challenges posed by thought disorders, affective disorders and the side effects of some of the psychotropic medications, there are now greater opportunities for consumers to further careers and to make real life choices. Many of these opportunities were not available until the last decade.

Nationally, consumers are leading the way toward the development of a recovery model of care that "provides a contiguous network of supports, offering consumers opportunities and choices to move beyond rehabilitation to achieve the highest levels of personal development," according to the Contra Costa (Calif.) County Mental Health Recovery Task Force.

And in a mental health report issued by the office of the U.S. Surgeon General in 1999, it was noted that "the consumer movement has increased the involvement of individuals with mental disorders and their families in mutual support services, consumer-run services and advocacy. They are powerful agents for change in service programs and policy."

The notion of recovery "reflects renewed optimism about the outcomes of mental illness, including that achieved through an individual's own self-care effort, and the opportunities open to persons with mental illness to participate to the full extent of their interests in the community of their choice," the report said.

Self-help centers can lead the way toward a recovery-oriented treatment approach in New Jersey. The self-help center model of support is conducive to a recovery model in which individuals come to centers as independent equals who choose to participate as members of the facilities.

Consumers throughout the state have participated in training and other educational endeavors and have become increasingly familiar with the service system, treatments and understanding of mental illness. Consumers are now being challenged to move the consumer self-help field from an informal network of self-help and natural supports to a more formal recovery model of support. In this model, self-help centers, besides providing the support they currently offer, could provide enhanced opportunities for personal development.

This could be accomplished by developing a peer specialist initiative that would certify consumers as peer specialists. In accordance with a model already in place in Georgia, consumers who become certified peer specialists would serve as recovery agents by:

· Providing and advocating for effective recovery-based services.

· Assisting consumers in obtaining services that suit individual recovery needs.

· Assisting consumers in obtaining decent and affordable housing of their choice in the most integrated, independent and least restrictive environment.

· Informing consumers about community and natural supports and how to utilize them in the recovery process.

· Assisting consumers in developing empowerment skills through self-advocacy and stigma busting.

· Providing and maintaining a number of the services consumers require within the community. These long-term supports compliment an acute care system where professionals provide treatment more intensively, but in shorter duration.

The consumer role that is being established in the mental health system on a national basis is one in which consumers provide the long-term community supports. These supports are currently being provided in day programs and partial care programs, typically by non-consumer professionals and paraprofessional staff. These services tend to be more medical model than psychosocial, and give only lip service to recovery principles.

We totally support the continuation of the provision of acute intensive services in a professional, medical model type of setting, when consumers need structure, medication monitoring (where appropriate) and, at times, supervision.

During the next year, CSPNJ will be learning more about the certified peer specialist model and working with interested, dynamic self-help centers in developing this consumer-driven approach to recovery. We also will be meeting with the Division of Mental Health Services to discuss the funding for this service, which currently receives Medicaid funding in Georgia.

6. GUNG HO EQUALS SUCCESS

The three principles of Gung Ho are a formula for success, according to Ken Blanchard, co-author of "Gung Ho!" and narrator of "Succeeding In A Changing World," the companion video that was viewed by many agency staff members.

And the spirit of the squirrel (worthwhile work), the way of the beaver (being in control of achieving the goal) and the gift of the goose (cheering each other on) all played a major role during employee recognition day on June 5, according to Mary Jo Kley, CSPNJ director of human resources.

Staff members were divided into eight groups, each of which presented a video, song, poem, essay, skit or other creative project that centered on the Gung Ho principle they were assigned, Kley explained. Each group had 15 minutes in which to present their production.

The essential principles of the squirrel, the beaver and the goose can help an employee "be magnificent at work, rather than ordinary," said Blanchard during the video presentation.

"But more people are ordinary," he continued. "We should bring out the magnificence and significance. We should bring out the genius. This creates an opportunity to make a difference in other people's lives while also making money. The result is empowerment, dignity and fulfillment."

The spirit of the squirrel and the way of the beaver are the "spark," while the gift of the goose is the "flame," Blanchard added.

"The gift of the goose unites all three," he said. "Accent the positive. Be aware of when people are doing good work and cheer their progress. Feedback is as important as results."

7. TWENTY YEARS OF NIGHTS TO REMEMEBER

A Night To Remember, co-sponsored by CSPNJ and Park Place, celebrated 20 years of community involvement in Monmouth County on May 22, 2003.

This year's dance took place at The Barclay in Belmar. Doors opened at 6 p.m.

"This special night maximizes the community involvement of mental health consumers and enriches their social lives," said Jack Bucher, CSPNJ executive director. "And what's more important is that those who participate view themselves and their lives in a more positive way. The event gives their lives greater meaning and fulfillment."

A Night To Remember, along with other consumer activities, also reaffirms "our belief in the dignity, value and uniqueness of mental health consumers," Bucher added.

"It's a commitment to helping these individuals experience some of the joys and pleasures that have often been inaccessible to them," he noted.

A Night To Remember originated as an attempt to address the isolation that often hindered the recovery of mental health consumers; as a form of socialization, it also succeeded in increasing their community involvement, Bucher explained.

"When people can experience life's events together and talk with each other, the positive results are obvious very quickly," he said. "And these things are beyond measure."

8. NAMIWALKS HITS ITS STRIDE

Members of the CSPNJ/CEC family were among the nearly 2,000 people who took part in NAMIWALKS For The Mind Of America in Burlington County on May 18, 2003.

The event was part of the first national walkathon organized by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI); similar walks were scheduled to take place in 14 communities throughout the country during May, according to NAMINJ.

The walks were designed to focus attention on the recovery of individuals diagnosed with mental illness; promote research into the causes and treatments of mental illness; and combat the stigma and discrimination faced by mental health consumers and their families, NAMINJ spokespersons said.

Although many of the walkers in the May 18 event were mental health consumers, family members and mental health professionals, the walkathon was an opportunity for the entire New Jersey mental health community to reach out to families, friends, colleagues, co-workers, businesses and community members, according to NAMINJ executives.

And the NAMINJ walk sent a strong message, said Jacob P. Bucher, CSPNJ executive director.

"It was a huge gathering and it offered the chance for consumers to participate and tell the public that life can be better for everyone," Bucher said. "It will have a great impact in creating awareness and de-stigmatization. Community awareness is the key."

Mental health consumers come together for a "common goal," he added.

"Increasing awareness will help break down the stigma that has been associated with mental health consumers for so long," Bucher said. "But it takes commitment and communication."

The communication was delivered in the form of a "united message," added Nicole Miller, a CSPNJ staff member in the Freehold administrative office.

"The walkathon encouraged people to stay with the program - to keep going with whatever is working for them," she said. "It made people think about their lives and all the positive things they can do. It was a great day in so many ways."

Proceeds from NAMIWALKS will provide supportive services to mental health consumers and their families; advocate for nondiscriminatory and equitable federal, state and private sector policies, housing opportunities, jobs and rehabilitative services; support research; and support public education programs designed to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness, NAMI spokespersons said.

9. LIVING PROOF

When a 24-year-old homeless man was referred to a CEC housing program in 1998, it was the beginning of a life-altering chain of events, according to Shelly Kaplan, CEC housing specialist/coordinator.

The first step was to enroll the young man in Shelter Plus, a DCA-sponsored housing subsidy program for homeless individuals suffering from mental challenges, Kaplan said.

"We also referred him to an addiction treatment facility in Freehold, and then he got involved in the GROW project," she said. "Eventually, he enrolled in a job training program. It wasn't an easy path for him, but the end result is the successful combination of a team effort that involved CSPNJ/CEC housing services, supportive services and the concept of self-help."

And now, the gentleman is employed in a lucrative supervisory position with all the incumbent responsibilities; is the proud owner of a condominium; and is planning his wedding.

"Last year, he wrote to [Shelter Plus program director] Judy White and thanked her for the subsidy," Kaplan said. "He said he didn't need it anymore, and asked her to offer it to someone else. But he knows that it was instrumental in helping him get his life together, and he wants others to have a chance."

And the concept of respect has become a mainstay in his life, she added.

"The most important objective of what we do is to help people become self-sufficient in all areas of their lives," said Kaplan. "Housing promotes that feeling of independence - it's something that's yours and you learn to respect that. And that's a concept with staying power."

10. MENTAL HEALTH MONTH AND THE COMPONENTS OF HEALTH PROMOTION

Mental health promotion is the "science and art of helping people change their lifestyles to move toward a state of optimal health," according to the American Journal of Health Promotion (AJHP).

This definition makes sense to those who work for CSPNJ/CEC and all who support its missions throughout the year. But the AJHP definition takes on a special emphasis during May, which has been designated as Mental Health Month.

The National Mental Health Association (NMHA), an advocacy organization that works to improve the mental health of all Americans, sponsors the annual May observance, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Optimal health is defined as a balance of emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual and physical health, all of which include the following components, according to AJHP:

· Emotional: care for emotional crisis, stress management and stress reduction.

· Social: communities, families and friends.

· Intellectual: educational, achievement and career development. · Spiritual: love, hope and charity.

· Physical: fitness/nutrition, medical self-care and control of substance abuse.

Lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of efforts to enhance awareness, change behavior and create environments that support good health practices; of the three, supportive environments, with an emphasis on the home and workplace, will probably have the greatest impact in producing lasting change, AJHP said.

Those interested in learning more about National Mental Health Month may contact their county mental health offices, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) or the Mental Health Association.