On Thursday October 29th Renee will be giving a training on Law Ethics Boundaries and Confidentiality at the Hacienda from 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.  The cost for community members is $30.  This workshop is designed for counselors, licensed therapists, and staff working in mental health, addiction treatment or case management.

On Friday October 30th Renee will reprise her Domestic Violence Training.  This workshop highlights the complicated issues in domestic violence and increase counselors undersanding of the cycle of violence, assessment tools, intervention stregetgies, and safety planning.

You can register by going to www.mhsinc.org/events/training.asp

Contact Linda Condon at 264-7521 Extension 2002 if you have any questions.

Be sure to listen in today October 20, 2009 from 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. on Radio Station KFSR, 90.7 on your radio dial.  Find out what has been happening at the Hacienda and what is in store for the new year.   Be sure to set your alarms for 1:00 p.m. so you won’t miss this informative interview…

The interview was cancelled.  Please check back for an update when Jenny will be back on the radio…

This past Saturday, August 29th from 5-7pm, our neighbors at Gateway Ice Center graciously donated a 2 hour ice skating  session for our women at Fresno First.  General Manager, Jeff Blair, arranged for the event and has been very supportive of our Hacienda Project that is located next to Gateway Ice Center.  Over 40 women and 15 children attended the event and had a great time. For many of our women it was the first time ice skating.  The women are learning every day how to have fun ” clean and sober and crime free” and found the ice skating to be a great experience in their new lives.  Many of the women and children wrote thank you letters for Gateway Ice Center.  One of the letters that best describes the experience stated, ” This was my first time ever. I totally enjoyed myself and was one of my best days ever!” 

Thanks again to Jeff Blair and Gateway Ice Center.   We have businesses like you to thank for helping our women become better citizens of the Fresno community.

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Laura Whitehouse has agreed to represent the Central Valley on the Board of Directors of Mental Health Systems, Inc.  Laura currently serves as Regional Development Officer at the Fresno office of the Salvation Army.  In this position she is facilitates individual and corporate donor development and will play a major role in increasing this organization’s ability to serve families and individuals in need. 

Ms. Whitehouse brings over 20 years of experience in marketing, communication and management.  Prior to her position at the Salvation Army, she was President and CEO of the Fresno City and County Convention and Visitors Bureau.  She has also served as the Community Relations Manager for Children’s Hospital Central California, Marketing Director for the Fresno Bee and Director of Communications for The Big Fresno Fair.  Previous to this she was a Public Relations Consultant for four years with her own company, Glad Public Relations.  In 1990 after a two-year stint as a Field Producer for CNN in Los Angeles she moved to Fresno to be a live show producer for KFSN-TV (ABC 30)

She has served in a volunteer capacity on the Fresno ARC Advisory Committee and the Chair of the Central Valley Regional Board.  Her other volunteer affiliations include Rotary Club of Fresno Board, the Clovis North Education Center Board, Girl Scouts of Central California South and the City of Fresno’s Utility Advisory Committee.  Her past involvement includes Friends of the San Joaquin Political Board, the Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce Board, the Northeast Fresno Planning and Implementation Committee, the Fresno Coalition of the arts and the Community Hospital’s of Central California Foundation Marketing Advisory Committee.

Not surprisingly she was honored with the “National Rising Star” awarded from Women in Communications, Inc.  in 1990 and the “Public Relations Professional of the Year” by the Public Relations Society of America Central California Chapter in 2001.  In addition, her work in marketing and communications has earned numerous Addy Awards and honors from the Western Fairs Association. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with a concentration in Radio/TV/Film and a minor in Women’s Studies from California State University Fullerton.  In addition to this she is a graduate of the San Joaquin Political Academy and Leadership Fresno.

All this experience coupled with her energizing personality, makes Laura Whitehouse a perfect match for the Board of Directors of Mental Health Systems, Inc.  We are indeed fortunate to have her expertise, enthusiasm and connection to the Fresno Community.  Welcome Laura, we look forward to a long working relationship with you.

Hacienda FlyerMental Health Systems, Inc. (MHS) is offering a free walking tour of its facility at the old Hacienda grounds on Thursday, May 28^th, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM.

 The tour will provide an opportunity for Fresno residents to see the over-$2.5 million in improvements that have already been made to the facility, plus the substantial renovations that are planned or underway for the entire MHS Fresno campus.

Homeowners and residents of Fresno City Council District 1 (Blong Xiong) and District 3 (Cynthia Sterling) are especially encouraged to join the tour, since the MHS complex is physically located in District 3 immediately adjacent to District 1.   

 The tour will be conducted by Jenny Bates, LCSW, Regional Manager, MHS Northern Region Administrative Office, with members of her staff. 

 Light refreshments will be served, compliments of MHS.  Reservations are strongly urged and may be made by calling the City Council District 1 Office, 559-621-7816, by no later than Tuesday, May 26.

 On April 10^th, The William R. Mead Training Academy held graduation on the Hacienda grounds.  With family and friends present, four graduates were honored for their achievements.  Jenny Bates welcomed everyone and explained about the Academy and how hard these graduates worked to achieve their goals.  For the last ten months they have spent every Saturday except holidays learning about special populations in the alcohol and drug field.  The information covered included Motivational Interviewing, ethics, co-occurring disorders, gender and criminal justice.  Each student was called up to receive their certificate and a rose.  The significance of the rose is used by MHS at many of their various graduation ceremonies.  It is not for the student, but rather it is for the someone or someone(s) who have had an impact on the students’ life while going to school.  This part of the ceremony is always so inspirational.  Many times the receiver of the rose has no idea of their effect or impact on the other person.  In our everyday life we never know whose life we may touch or whose life may touch ours.  It was definitely a two Kleenex moment.  Also on hand to congratulate the graduates were Doug Rolly, Linda Condon (instructors at the academy) and Susan Murdock (program manager for MHS).  A yummy potluck ensued after the ceremony and was followed by a congratulatory chocolate cake.  We especially want to thank family members who attended this event not only for their support at this event, but hanging in while their friend or family member attended school.  These students commitment to improving themselves and learning new concepts and ideas is awe inspiring.  For more information on the WRM Training Academy to www.wrmta.org  or call Jenny Bates at 559-264-7521 and press option 2. 

 

The Graduates: Left to Right:

Velvet,  Lynn, Manuel

Center: Deanna

The Hacienda has been coming alive with activity.  This past Saturday (March 21) a volunteer group of men and women from PG&E came to assist us.  Within the first hour and a half they filled a commercial dumpster with everything including a few kitchen sinks.  They helped clean out and consolidate rooms, trimmed trees and cleaned areas of the property.  They did such a FANTASTIC job.  They were helpful and we appreciated their help so much.

 

Volunteers are the life’s blood of any organization.  Extra helping hands are what keep all of us going.

Without people giving of their time and talent, we would not be able to have the ability to do all the things that we like to do for our clients.  We are so grateful that these volunteers took time out of their busy lives and especially on a Saturday to help us.  This sets a good example for our clients to see how reaching out and helping others touches everyone’s lives—the ones volunteering and those receiving the help.  As a community we benefit from this volunteer spirit.  Edmund Markham reminds us of how we can take this spirit and aid others as well as ourselves.

 

There is a destiny that makes us sisters and brothers

None goes their way alone

All that we send into the lives of others

Comes back into our own

 

The volunteers were with us for a short time that day, but the imprint that they have left will be with us always.

 

The volunteer’s time with us concluded with a tour of the Hacienda.  They were impressed with the vast expanse of the property. It was a pleasure to have them here with us.  We would especially like to give a big shout out to Pat Barr for arranging for this volunteer event. THANK YOU Pat, you are awesome! We look forward to a continued association with this group from PG &E.

 

 

 

Did you happen to see the smoke billowing from the Hacienda a few weeks ago? It wasn’t a fire, thank goodness, but a fire extinguisher training put on by Simplex Grinnell. All of the Fresno FIRST staff as well as Hacienda Administrative and Facility staff were involved. On a cold that turned to a rainy day we gathered on the Northeast corner of the property to participate in an activity that could someday save our lives or the lives of those around us.

In the training we found out that workplace fires are responsible to killing and injuring thousands of workers each year. One way that this type of tragedy can be limited is to make portable fire extinguishers an important part of a company’s fire prevention program. When used properly, fire extinguishers can save lives and property by putting out a small fire or controlling a fire until help arrives.

We also learned how fire extinguishers work and also how a fire works. Fire is a very rapid chemical reaction between oxygen and a combustible material which results in the release of heat, light, flames and smoke. To have a fire you must have enough oxygen to sustain combustion, enough heat to raise the material to its ignition temperature and some sort of fuel.

What is contained in a fire extinguisher? The agent contained in that extinguisher must either be cool burning fuel, displace or remove oxygen or stop the chemical reaction so a fire cannot continue to burn. When the handle of an extinguisher is compressed, agent is expelled out of the nozzle. A fire extinguisher works very much like a can of hair spray.

At the training everyone including some client volunteers had the opportunity to put out a fire. The fire was in a controlled environment (and it was raining) so there was no chance of a problem and judging from the fast response of all the trainees, if there is a fire here at the Hacienda it will be handled with ease and professionalism. The training ended with everyone receiving a certificate for their participation. The pictures below show just how expert our staff was in putting out the fires. Thanks to Simplex Grinnell for a great hands on training

FIRE!

Help is on the way

Our brave staff!

Things at the Hacienda are going well. Our facilities department is starting on Phase 2 of our project and is making progress. When we began this project we had no idea of what was in store for us, but it has been exciting and exhilarating. We look forward to what each day brings, ready to take on whatever challenges come our way. As I have said before it is great to have the women on the property. The story that I am about to share with you is inspiring. I will start by telling you what she said about Fresno FIRST and I quote “Thanks to programs like Fresno FIRST, I have a chance to live—I mean really live!” The story that this individual shares is much like many others, but what is unique is that she is making it work. She has been to prison and thus had her life turned upside down, hit rock bottom but she’s still here with us, getting healthy and ready to join her community. Her life of abuse began at age 9 with alcohol and then cigarettes. Drinking and smoking became her way of life and after high school she received a series of DUI’s. She turned to other drugs and eventually ended up at CRC—California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, CA. If you are not aware, CRC has housed female drug addicts in what is called the Civil Addict program. Individuals are required to complete a drug program and once they are out of custody, they must continue their drug education. This individual has been on probation more years than she can count. Her first trip to prison was scary. The guards gave her a number (CDC numbers that identify inmates and hers was an N- that identifies her as a civil addict. She was thrown into an environment that was bigger than her own town. She had lost every aspect of her freedom. She was assigned to one of the drug programs and went in kicking and screaming. She thought that she wasn’t hurting anyone with her addiction. Once in the program she found that she was wrong—not only was she hurting the people who loved her, but she was hurting herself. The program taught her do what was good and right and she learned about her addiction. Since coming to the Fresno FIRST program, the light bulb has finally turned on. It shines brightly for all to see her growing and emerging into the person that she could only dream of being. At Fresno FIRST she receives the guidance, support , encouragement and power to do all the things she has been unable to do while she was an addict. She has learned to take charge of her life. She is one of those miracles we see every day and all of us at the Hacienda are proud to be a small part of this and other miracles of sobriety.

Having the women join us on the Hacienda campus has been awe inspiring.  They are working at making the Hacienda their home and each day are moving towards being productive members of our community.  We asked several women to write a brief synopsis of their story for a project that we are working on.  In the coming weeks I would like to share some of these with you.

 

The first story deals with heroin addiction.  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Report Series Heroin is a highly addictive drug, and its abuse has repercussions that extend far beyond the individual user. The medical and social consequences of drug abuse – HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, fetal effects, crime, violence, and disruptions in family, workplace, and educational environments – have a devastating impact on society and cost billions of dollars each year.

Although heroin abuse has trended downward during the past several years, its prevalence is still higher than in the early 1990s. These relatively high rates of abuse, especially among school-age youth, and the glamorization of heroin in music and films make it imperative that the public has the latest scientific information on this topic. Heroin also is increasing in purity and decreasing in price, which makes it an attractive option for all.  Click here for more info on Heroin. 

This story begins like many of them, cared for and loved by family until something changes, in this case she was told that she needed to support herself.  Soon she found herself selling drugs to college kids and soon she met a man, fell in love, quit school and started living on the streets.  Along with her boyfriend they spent $40,00 on Heroin in 4 months.  Her family was devastated, but she continued to live a life of chaos and addiction. Because of her addiction she threw away a marriage and her wonderful children. She was finally caught when she sold drugs to the wrong person.  Now at Fresno FIRST she is putting her life back together.  She writes:

“I now have a new and better start in life.  I have gained back the support of my family and realized that I am my own master of my destiny.  I will not allow heroin to take me out like I did before.  I think about the man that introduced me to the drug and pray that he is peaceful.  Drugs are real, it takes lives every day.  Addiction is a lifelong process but in the end you persevere to the goal—a happy, healthy and good life.  I am enjoying the things that are important to me—I am here to cherish the people you love and need you.  I want sobriety.”

Everyone from affluent to non affluent are affected by substance abuse.  You might have a family member who has a problem or someone in your office.  What is important to realize is that there is hope and Fresno FIRST is a place of hope, renewal and a new start toward a productive and healthy life.