a non-profit, comprehensive,
community mental health service

Vol. 2, No. 3
March 2011

MFS CHRONICLE

MEN WHO COOK GREAT SUCCESS

CHEF JOE JACOBS, left, prepares to dish out his specialty at Monadnock
Family Service’s Men Who Cook event March 19. Chef brothers Barry, center,
and Wink Faulkner, right, stand by ready to serve up their entrée.
(Photo by Michael Moore)

VETERAN CHEFS Paul Vincent, left, Roger Zerba, center, and Malcolm
Katz enjoy a break at the Men Who Cook event.
(Photo by Janet Kingsbury Warren)

H.T. KINGSBURY, left, who has prepared his favorite
recipe for eight of the nine Men Who Cook events, shares
a moment with fellow chef, Barry Faulkner at the 9th
annual Men Who Cook. (Photo by Janet Kingsbury Warren)

CHEFS STEVE RYDER, left, and John Santos, also a
member of the Board of Monadnock Family Services, are
ready to receive guests to sample their wares.
(Photo by Janet Kingsbury Warren)

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

           Louise Zerba was honored by Monadnock Family Services last year as our Volunteer of the Year. And her value as an MFS volunteer was clear at our recent, successful Men Who Cook. Louise and her team of volunteers rounded up the chefs, organized the Zorn Dining Commons at Keene State College and helped MFS raise more than $7,000 to support our Acute Care Service.
          “It meant a lot to our staff for Louise and her team to come through as they did,” said Jayme Collins, CEO of MFS. “Men Who Cook demonstrated strong community support for the work we do at MFS and Louise’s efforts made that display of support possible. We are grateful for their effort and thank them in behalf of the many people they are helping at MFS.”

PHILIP WARREN, left, and John Hoffman celebrate
their participation in Men Who Cook – both are veteran
chefs for the event. (Photo by Janet Kingsbury Warren)

HARRY WOHLANDER, a veteran of Men Who Cook,
with his wife, Peg Moynihan of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
(Photo by Janet Kingsbury Warren)

MEMBERS OF the Keene High School Interact Rotary Club enjoy some
Men Who Cook fare after working at the event.
(Photo by Janet Kingsbury Warren)

JAYME COLLINS, right, CEO of Monadnock Family
Services, greeted Linda Bedell, facilitator for the Need to
Know newsletter and a consumer advocate, at the Men
Who Cook event March 19. (Staff photo)
 

9TH ANNUAL MEN WHO COOK
EVENT DRAWS RECORD CROWD

          The chefs outdid themselves and the crowd literally ate it up at the 9th annual Men Who Cook event Saturday (March 19).
          The 110 men who provided a sampling of their favorite food, served about 375 people during the two-hour event in the Zorn Dining Commons at Keene State College.
          There was a wide range of appetizers, breads, entrees, vegetables, salads and exotic desserts. The event was created with volunteers led by Louise Zerba and included help from student volunteers who are members of the Keene High School Interact  Rotary Club.  Volunteers on the Men Who Cook planning committee included Nancy Vincent (MFS Board member), Mary Delisle, Ann Heffernon, Denise Thomas, Jamie Judd, JoAnn Fenton and Lisa Sullivan of the MFS staff.
          An enthusiastic crowd was on hand even before the doors opened at 6 p.m.
          Proceeds from the event will benefit the Acute Care Service provided at Monadnock Family Services for people in need of the agency’s services but without insurance or not enough insurance.
          “We were delighted at the turnout and the support from the community,” said Jayme Collins, CEO of MFS.  The event raised more than $7,000 in support of MFS’ Acute Care service.

GUEST COLUMN

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter was published in the March newsletter of Granite State Monarchs. We found it so powerful we asked the author, Christine Polito, programming coordinator at Granite State Monarchs, if we could publish it in our newsletter. She graciously agreed. Frank Dobisky

A Letter from the Programming Coordinator at
Granite State Monarchs – March 2011

Hello, all.

          This is going to be a difficult letter for me to write, and I think it is very important. If there is only one thing I do while I am on this planet, to make even the slightest impact on the stigma surrounding mental illness, will mean I have had a worthwhile life.
          When people ask what I do at Granite State Monarchs, I tell them that as programming coordinator, I make sure our peer support groups run smoothly, create new ones that are fresh and meet our members’ and participants’ needs, and facilitate some of them. I share that I am the editor of our monthly newsletter, and have been through Intentional Peer Support training, where I learned the philosophical foundation of the peer support we practice. You may not know this, but there are 10 peer support centers throughout New Hampshire and many others across the United States and in other countries. Many people ask if we have a psychiatrist, psychologists, or social or mental health workers on staff. When I say we consist only of peers, they tend to raise their eyebrows in confusion or even dismay that we are not a clinical mental health facility, day treatment program, or even a drop-in-center, or clubhouse. They assume that we, myself included, are staff, and the “others” (members) are the people with mental illness. The truth is; all of the staff are also people who utilize mental health services. We are all “peers”. Staff and members are on a level playing field, and that is what makes GSM very special. We share similar experiences, and we talk about our processes of recovery with one another. Our relationships are strictly mutual. Even though we may be at different stages of healing, we never judge anyone as either better off, or worse off than we are ourselves.
          This is a big leap of faith for me, to disclose the fact that I experience manic-depression, or what is referred to today as bi-polar disorder. Many of you, even my own family and friends, may be surprised to hear this. Over the years, before I disclosed to anyone, I heard many comments from family, friends, community members, and even mental health professionals with whom I have worked in other jobs. Some of the these statements include, “So and so killed herself, so I think she must have been bi-polar.”, “Medication is only for really sick people, and turns them into zombies.”, “Oh, that poor person with mental illness – how sad!”, “That lady next door is crazy – I try to stay far away from her – she must be dangerous – I wish they would lock her up.”, “Those people must be pretending in order to get attention.”, “Some people are just after the prescription drugs, are lazy, and don’t want to work.”, or “My tax dollars go to people like that – what a waste.”, and on and on. In the past I’ve said nothing, afraid to share my own experience in fear of being judged and rejected. I have always regretted wasting those opportunities in the moment to challenge their beliefs.
          With those few people who are very close to me, who I have told the truth to, I even hear, “Are you sure? You don’t act or look like you do.”, “The doctors must be wrong.”, and from those who believe me, some have said, “That must be terrible, you poor thing!” patronizing me.
          On a rare occasion, someone will say, “Oh, wow! I, too, have a mental illness.”, or “My close friend or family member experiences that.” Unfortunately, some of those I have told don’t tell anyone because they seem to be “ashamed” of me. I have even asked people to keep it a secret, because if others knew, they wouldn’t like me any-more, not understand, and be afraid.
          Well, at this point in my life, I no longer care what others think. I feel it is my duty to society to tell everyone I know, and if you experience mental illness, I encourage you to do the same. We are only doing our communities a great disservice by keeping it to ourselves. When we share, people may change their views and realize that we can in fact function in healthy relationships, raise children, have important jobs, and be upstanding citizens.
          I have pretty much spent most of my adult life in denial and shame, doing anything to be perceived as “normal”. As difficult as telling the truth is for me today, I feel quite liberated. I no longer have to hide anything, and can truly be myself. I am free! As a person who experiences mental health issues, I am a person first, and a decent, loving, and successful one at that. Anything beyond that doesn’t really matter. It is my hope that by “coming out” in this way, I am challenging the negative and prejudicial stereotypes regarding mental illness and that you will live with less fear and judgment, and more compassion.

In the spirit of healing and acceptance, I am truly yours,

~Christine

NEW VA CENTER FOR VETS
TO OPEN IN KEENE IN JUNE

          Members of the Military Council, hosted by the New Hampshire West Chapter of the American Red Cross, got some good news at a meeting in Keene March 25. The long-awaited VA Vets Center is on schedule to open in June, according to the woman physician who will staff the facility.
          Dr. Carol Blackwood, a former Navy physician who has been a family physician, will be the doctor on duty when the VA opens it Vets Center on Route 101 in Keene.
          Dr. Blackwood, a native of the Northeast Kingdom in the far reaches of northern Vermont, said she will care for patients from birth to hospice care. She also hopes to encourage women veterans to use the Center.
          (Andy LaCasse , a VA spokesman, also at the council meeting, said the VA in White River Junction hopes to have a new, expanded women’s health service facility open there by next year – part of a $60 million investment that the VA has made at White River Junction in the last two years. That expansion also includes a new residential facility for inpatient mental health treatment.)
          Although she could not say what the hours would be for the new VA Center in Keene, Dr. Blackwood say she expected to keep fairly normal hours during the week and maybe stay open one evening a week to accommodate working people who can’t get there during the day. They have hired a registered nurse and are advertising to hire a licensed practical nurse. Dr. Blackwood said there will be four examining rooms at the Keene Center and if demand for service requires it, they’ll add a second physician.
          They will offer mental health services at the Center although it’s not clear whether the person providing that service will be a psychiatrist or licensed social worker.
          The Keene Center will not have its own pharmacy but will have a contract with a local pharmacy to handle prescriptions (that contract  has not yet been awarded).
          The Military Council audience also was told if demand increased enough and the Keene Center outgrows its current site, more space will be found elsewhere in the community.

NOTE FROM JAYME

          To the staff: While you are working hard to serve our consumers, we also have been working hard to stave off proposed budget cuts that could have ominous implications for our consumers and every mental health center in New Hampshire.
          Members of the New Hampshire House are voting this week on a budget that calls for eliminating services to 8,000 adults and children at community mental health centers across New Hampshire, including MFS. This obviously would have enormous impact on many of the people we currently serve and on our agency.
          We aren’t ready to surrender to the forces determined to cut our budget and reduce our level of service. In fact, this Thursday (March 31) we’re planning to bring many of our consumers to the statehouse in Concord (and you’ve been invited) so that legislators can hear from them what these cuts will mean. The association that represents the 10 community mental health centers in New Hampshire, including MFS, is hoping to rally thousands of people on the Statehouse steps.
          The New Hampshire House is scheduled to vote late this week on a new two-year budget that is $742 million less the state is spending in its current budget. The new budget would take effect July 1.
          We were dismayed when Governor Lynch in mid-February proposed reducing the level of state spending by more than $200 million. The New Hampshire House Finance Committee recommended lowering state funding levels another $519. The full House will vote on the lower spending plan and is expected to approve it.
          The budget issue then moves to the 24-member New Hampshire Senate. Many are hoping the Republican-controlled Senate will restore some of the drastic cuts imposed by their Republican House colleagues. If they do, the issue then goes to a conference committee of Senate and House legislators to create a compromise budget that will then go to Governor Lynch for his signature.
          If Governor Lynch decides the legislators’ budget is too sparse, he can veto the budget but the legislators have the votes to override his veto and the budget would go into effect.
          We are not sitting idly by while all this action has been happening in Concord. The Dupont Group, our lobbyist representing all the New Hampshire community mental health centers, has been working with legislators to restore some of the cuts. And they have called on the community mental health centers to gather as many of their consumers as possible for Statehouse rally Thursday.
          We’re asking for your help, too, as we fight these budget cuts. We hope you’ll agree to sign an e-mail we plan sending our House representatives, urging them to vote against these drastic budget cuts.      
          Everyone here has a role in keeping MFS strong. Service is our business and the quality and caring service in the right amount is the key to our success. We’ve built our reputation on client care and we count on the non-clinical staff to assure that we have an efficiently run business.
          Unprecedented efficiency in management was achieved just over a year ago. Those administrative staff cuts combined with exploring creative ways to increase efficiencies by sharing key administrative duties with other mental health centers is exactly what state lawmakers and the governor are hoping to achieve.
          MFS has a solid year’s experience in ensuring that every dollar possible goes to providing that service to our consumers. Innovation, quality service, increasing salaries and optimum agency efficiency is a delicate balance but one we are well on our way to achieving.         
          We look forward to our April Board meeting when Erik Riera, head of the New Hampshire Bureau of Mental Health, will visit with the MFS Board of Directors at the invitation of Board President Bob Rooney. We will keep you informed.

Jayme Collins

DEBORAH GAOUETTE has been appointed
Support Team leader at 93rd Street in Keene.

DEBORAH GAOUETTE APPOINTED
SUPPORT TEAM LEADER AT 93RD

          Deborah Gaouette, who joined Monadnock Family Services in October 2009, as a Central Intake Coordinator at 64 Main Street, has been appointed Support Team Leader, overseeing the administrative staff at MFS’ 93rd Street facility.
          The appointment was effective March 21 and Gaouette will be moving to 93rd Street.
          Three months after joining MFS in 2009, Gaouette’s position as Central Intake Coordinator was merged into a Customer Service Representative and she has held that merged position since. She came to MFS from the Butler Employment Agency in Keene, where she was a recruiter and assistant human resources manager.
          Before working in Keene, she worked for PrimeCare Associates as a medical assistant/administrative in a variety of offices -- family practice, specialty practices and billing office.
          Gaouette, a native of Maine, lives with her husband in Winchester. She has two daughters, who reside in Maine.

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID COURSE
WOULD BE FIRST FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE

            In the wake of the recent shootings in Tucson that involved someone apparently coping with some form of mental illness, the National Council of Community Behavioral Healthcare offered a course to train instructors who can help people identify and offer assistance to people coping with mental illness.
          Following the shootings, in which six people were killed and thirteen injured, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Linda Rosenberg, CEO of the National Council, said: “Often, after incidents like this, people who knew the accused ask themselves what they could have done to prevent the tragedy. No one knows what, if anything, could have been done to change the course of events but now there is a way for people to take action and possibly prevent such tragedies from happening.”
          That way, she explained, is a program called Mental Health First Aid a “novel, evidence-based public education program that teaches average people how to assess a situation, select and implement appropriate interventions and help a person in crisis or developing the signs and symptoms of mental illness. This groundbreaking training equips people to provide initial help until appropriate professional, peer or family support can be engaged. Participants also learn about the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis and addiction.”
          The program was created in Australia and first was offered in the United States two years ago. Currently, more than 900 instructors have trained more than 12,000 people as mental health first aiders.
          To date, no courses or programs are offered in New Hampshire. The nearest site with trained instructors is in St. Albans, Vermont, three hours north of the Monadnock region. 
          Monadnock Family Services is considering becoming  the first agency in New Hampshire to offer this program. It would require MFS to send members of its mental health staff to a five-day training program in Boston in June.
          Once they completed the training, MFS would offer courses in the Monadnock region to:

• Educators/School Administrators
• Human Resources Professionals
• Members of Faith Communities
• Homeless Shelter Workers
• Nurses/Physician Assistants/Primary Care Workers
• Police/First Responders/Security Personnel
• Mental Health Authorities
• Policymakers
• Substance Abuse Professionals
• Social Workers
• Consumers and Family Members
• Caring Citizens

          The Mental Health First Aid program has been successful in other parts of the nation. In Rhode Island, the police academy requires each of its police recruits to undergo Mental Health First Aid training as part of their curriculum.
          The program has been studied intensely in Australia, where it was created, and major findings of the Mental Health First Aid studies found participants gained:

• Better recognition of mental disorders
• Better understanding of treatments
• Confidence in providing help to others
• Improved mental health for themselves
• Less stigmatizing attitudes and decreased social distance from people with mental disorders

          The New York Times, in a follow-up story January 19  to the shootings in Tucson, quoted Linda Rosenberg, president of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, saying, “The failure here is that we ignored someone for a long time who was clearly in tremendous distress. He wasn’t someone who could ask for help because his thinking was affected, and as a community no one said, let’s stop and make sure he gets help.”
          The Times’ story also quoted a mental health professional in Tucson, which is getting ready to offer the Mental Health First Aid course:
          “This week Erin Adams Goldman, a suicide prevention specialist with a mental health nonprofit organization in Tucson, is teaching the first local installment of a course that is being promoted around the country called mental health first aid, which instructs participants how to recognize and respond to the signs of mental illness.
          “A central tenet is that if a person has suspicions about mental illness it is better to open the conversation, either by approaching the individual directly, someone else who knows the person well or by asking for a professional evaluation.
          “ ‘There is so much fear and mystery around mental illness that people are not even aware of how to recognize it and what to do about it,’ Ms. Goldman said. ‘But we get a feeling when something is not right. And what we teach is to follow your gut and take some action.’ ” 

 

EMILY MARKS is the new legislative
liaison for Monadnock Family Services.

LEGISLATIVE LIAISON JOINS MFS

            Emily Marks, who was an intern in the office of a United States Senator, worked for a major non-profit organization and held leadership roles on her university campus, has joined the staff of Monadnock Family Services.
            Emily Marks, a native of Montana, will work part-time as a legislative liaison for MFS and also part-time as a community and family services associate for MFS’s Children’s Services. 
          “We are delighted that Emily has chosen to work with us and we welcome her presence as we tackle some tough legislative issues here in New Hampshire,” said MFS CEO Jayme Collins.
          Emily, a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, just outside Seattle, graduated magna cum laude in May 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history (with minors in French, political science and conflict resolution). She also had study abroad experience at Univerzita Karlova in Prague, Czech Republic, and Universite des Antilles in Fort-de-France, Martinique.
          While at Pacific Lutheran, she served as vice president of the student body (representing the University’s 3,700 students, presiding over weekly student Senate meetings and serving as the student representative to the University’s Board of Regents).
          She worked as an intern in the office of Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, who has been in the Senate since 1978 and played a key role supporting passage of the Obama Administration’s health care law.
          Emily also served as an administrative assistant in the Math for America program, sponsored by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, DC. Among her duties there: redesigning and updating the organization’s website (http://case.carnegiescience.edu/programs/math_for_america). The non-profit organization helps fund and place math teachers for the Washington, DC, schools.
          At MFS, Emily will work with Jayme Collins and the agency to strengthen MFS’s ties to local, state and national lawmakers as MFS and other community mental health centers cope with budget cuts.

PHIL SUTER of the Rivertide Group talks at
workshop for managers and supervisors.

MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS listen at workshop held at the Keene
Public Library.

ROBERT ROONEY, MFS Board Chair and
former human resources executive for Timken,
explains the DiSC program to managers and
supervisors.

MFS MANAGERS WILL PARTICIPATE
IN TASK FORCE ON THE FUTURE

          At a meeting March 1 of Monadnock Family Services managers and supervisors, the creation of a Task Force on the Future was unveiled.
          A representative from the areas represented by the Chief Financial officer (Peter Skalaban), the Chief Medical Officer (Dr. Frederick Agisim), Adult Services, Recovery Services and Children’s Services will be chosen to work on the task force which will focus on the impact on MFS of the state’s new form of billing, scheduled to be in place by December 1 of this year.
          In addition, a representative from the support staff and Melissa Maurer, as the agency’s compliance officer, will also serve on the Task Force. The Task Force will provide the agency’s senior executives with input from the staff in all areas of the agency. 
          In all, the Task Force will consist of 8 to 10 people (with each area also nominating an alternative member so that if the area’s regular representative can’t attend a Task Force meeting, the area will have a voice there).
          The announcement of the Task Force was part of a three-hour workshop for managers and supervisors conducted by Phil Suter of the Rivertide Group, who has been working with MFS on communication issues in response to the state’s performance audit in 2010. This was the second workshop conducted for managers and supervisors. It was attended by 32 members of the MFS staff and was held in the auditorium of the Keene Public Library.
          Robert Rooney, chair of the MFS Board and former human resources director for Timken, also presented an overview of DiSC, a program designed to measure individual behavior and help managers and supervisors measure their behavior and how it impacts their management style.  D (Drive) I (Influence) S (Steadiness) C (Compliance) measures how an individual reacts to stimulus in the workplace. The DiSC test will be taken by the managers and supervisors and at a later workshop, Rooney will talk interpret the results. “It’s helpful to have insights into your own behavior,” Rooney told the group.
          Suter talked about management, strategic thinking and what lies ahead for MFS as it confronts two major challenges in its future – the switch to capitation funding from the state and introduction of a new electronic medical records system for the agency.
          And joining the Task Force on the Future and working within that group, he said, “You have an opportunity to create that future.”
          Suter said another workshop for managers and supervisors will be scheduled in April and will include a more detailed explanation of the “capitation system” that the state will put in place by December 1 of this year.

JODI CLARK, far right, program coordinator of ActingOut, and her troupe
at the Winchester Health Fair, from left, Eric Snare, program assistant/
AmeriCorps member; Karl Parrot, Keene High School; Sarah Curtis, Keene
High School; Livi Lezcano, Keene High School; Erica Babcock, Keene High
Alumna; and Ian Whippie, Keene High School.

ANNA SOMMER-CUTTS, left, of Monadnock Family Services’ Children’s
Services, explains MFS’ Kids InShape program to Emily Melhorn, an
AmeriCorps Volunteer who coordinated the Health Fair at Winchester School.

MONADNOCK FAMILY SERVICES PARTICIPATED
IN HEALTH FAIR AT WINCHESTER SCHOOL

          When the Winchester School decided to stage a health fair for their students and their families, they invited Monadnock Family Services to participate.
          Jodi Clark, program coordinator of MFS’s ActingOut program, brought a troupe of her players to perform for the students. And Anna Sommer-Cutts of the MFS Children’s Services, manned a table with information about MFS’s innovative Kids InShape program.
          The Health Fair, held Saturday (March 19) in the Winchester School, drew families and students to exhibits that offered helpful advice on eating healthy and exercising. There also were booths providing information on a wide range of social service programs in the Monadnock region.
          In addition to MFS, the Monadnock United Way, Southwestern Community Services’, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Cheshire Medical Center and the American Red Cross were represented at the event.
          ActingOut players showed a scene selection from their 5210 performance -- contrasting a healthy and unhealthy day in the life of a student -- which is currently touring elementary schools all over the Monadnock Region.

EMERALD HOUSE GETS WAIVER TO ADD BED

          Monadnock Family Services will welcome a ninth resident April 1 at its Emerald House facility in Keene.
          The ability to accept a new resident is a result of a team led by Michael Cancellieri, program director for Emerald House, working to meet state regulations.
          The state recently accepted the application from MFS for a waiver to have 10 beds at Emerald House. Cancellieri said he and his staff were working to make sure all rules and regulations were in place before implementing the authorization for the 10th bed, which could be used as “crisis bed” to admit someone needing assistance but unable to get into a hospital.
          In the meantime, a current resident in the transitional housing program on the grounds of the New Hampshire Hospital in Concord has been accepted for Emerald House and will move in this week.        
          Emerald House opened in 1981 and has been in continual operation for 30 years.  Cancellieri estimated that about 100 people have lived there over the years.