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| NEWSLETTERS This web site provides newsletters from the Community Mental Health Affiliation of Mid Michigan and well as some of our internal newsletters put out by our programs within this CMH. Click the buttons on the left for these newsletters. CMH NEWS & VIEWS -June 2009
Substance use disorders affect almost 69 percent of people in this country, whether it is their own or someone else’s problem. July Employee of the Month
Debbie Heinze has been selected
CEI's Employee of the Month for July, 2009. Debbie Heinze has been with CMH for
22 years, making valuable contributions in every department she's worked.
She's made her presence felt as the Affiliation Secretary in the Affiliation
Department, by keeping things organized, timely, and efficient. Somehow, she
manages to keep up with the demands of the Community Mental Health
Affiliation of Mid Michigan without ever saying "no" when you need her. She
seems to always make time for you and find a way to help you with whatever you
need...and she does all of this with a positive, supportive attitude. I She has
a selfless team player approach. She displays creativity and intelligence.
It is her willingness to share her remarkable talents with the Community Mental
Health of Mid Michigan, that makes her deserving of July's Employee of the Month
award. CMH Closes Methadone Clinic CMH staff ensured seamless care
during the closing of methadone clinic: The transfer of the operation of the
region’s methadone clinic (a service funded, not by CMH, but by the MidSouth
Substance Abuse Commission) from CMH to Victory Clinic went forward with little
disruption in services to clients as possible - due to the commitment of the CMH
staff who work in the Methadone Clinic. The Victory Clinic is renting the space
in which CMH operated its methadone clinic - allowing the methadone clients,
served by CMH, to continue to receive their care at the same location - greatly
reducing the potential loss of services that normally accompanies a program
closure. On May 31, CMH ceased operating the clinic and on June 1, Victory
Clinic assumed responsibility for the clinic’s operations. While the closing of
CMH’s Methadone Clinic was difficult for all of the staff involved in the
program (especially, of course, for those staff who lost their jobs as a result
of the clinic shut down), all of the Methadone staff have acted with the
greatest professionalism and care in ensuring that the transfer of clients to
the new clinic was seamless. This is a transition which marks the end of CMH’s
30 year life of CMH’s methadone clinic.
Walk a Mile in My Shoes Rally 2009
Why do we walk? This walk is a walk for mental health and developmental disabilities advocates. We walk because we want to let legislators know we need to work together to stop negative feelings about mental illness and developmental disabilities. We walk to show that the services provided by the Community Mental Health Agencies are important to our state. We want legislators to support parity legislation and State funding. We walk to show we oppose budget reductions that will affect CMH services. This year over 2000 people surrounded the State Capitol and 83 counties across the State of Michigan were represented. The sun was out and there were smiles on the faces of those who joined the rally. Over 2000 bags of materials were distributed. The representatives from Eaton County were Mike and Brenda. Ingham County representatives were Mike and Serralee and Clinton County representatives were Les and Glenna. Creative Recovery The Creative Recovery program has executed 22 individual workshops since October 1, 2009. The program has expanded to include those with a developmental disability. Many individuals from group home environments are now attending. They are usually transported and accompanied by staff. This has significantly increased our overall attendance since October 1. We have had 356 contacts, with some repeat participants. This is up over 100% from past years when contacts averaged about 150. The average number of participants for each workshop is 16.18, with more people attending crafts activities and less attending our ongoing writer’s workshops. Consumers come from Lansing, East Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Charlotte, Mason and other Eaton County areas.We have begun to incorporate MSU social work students into our volunteer pool. We had two students this past school year. We also have five others who include a retired special education English teacher, a memoir writer/folk singer, a line dance specialist, a registered yoga instructor, and an extremely competent crafts instructor. Plans for the future will include inviting MSU social work students to volunteer again in the fall. They can use this as a part of their diversity certificate activities. We received a grant in the amount of $11,257 from the Capital Region Community Foundation, $1400 from Waverly High Students who raised the funds rocking in rocking chairs for 9 hours, and we have been promised $5000 from the Janssen Pharmaceutical Corporation which is taking a long time to receive. We have applied for a Capital Region Community Foundation grant for the 2010 fiscal year. Creative Recovery Creative Recovery held it's first talent day. Over 65 persons participated either as part of the audience or part of the talent. There were a lot of smiles and it was a lot of fun.
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