Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Running for Recovery Update

Linda reports from yesterday:

"Good rainy afternoon! I had to wear my hat today because of the rain. I always wonder what people are thinking about when they see a person running in the rain. I will give you updates about my sprinting after Wednesday's session. Sprinting is really important to remind my legs that I have to kick it in high gear at the end."



REMEMBER, THERE ARE 4 WAYS TO SUPPORT AU:

●Join us as a volunteer on October 10
●Make a contribution through
http://www.mindlink.org
●Donate using Mastercard or Visa through
www.active.com/donate/Advocacyunlimited
●Invite your friends and family to contribute!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Bazelon Center Releases Report on Olmstead Challenges Ahead

The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has just released "Still waiting...The Unfulfilled Promise of Olmstead: A call to action." The publication commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic decision establishing the right to services in the most integrated setting.

Main points of the report include:
  • States must determine how many people with disabilities are served in unnecessarily segregated settings and what community-based services are necessary to support reintegration and recovery. They then must shift funding from institutions to community-based services.

  • Implementing Olmstead programs through health care reform would save billions of taxpayer dollars by making essential community services available to people with mental illnesses.

  • Often pressured by profit-making providers, states continue to waste valuable resources by placing people with mental illnesses in costly, ineffective institutional settings. The cost of a supportive apartment is one eighth that of state hospital care, just over a third of the cost in a board-and-care facility.

  • It is critical to promote Supreme Court and other judicial nominees who have an understanding of and intention to uphold Olmstead, the ADA and other civil rights laws.

“On this pivotal anniversary of Olmstead, we must take a hard look at what really needs to be accomplished to adequately serve millions of people with mental illnesses so that they receive the most integrated care possible. We are encouraged by President Obama’s statement of commitment on Monday to Olmstead’s civil rights and community integration mandates, and we hope that the release of this report spurs additional action,” said Robert Bernstein, Ph. D, executive director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

To download a copy of the report, please click here.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Running for Recovery Update

Hartford Marathon
October 13, 2007
image: Bill Jankowski

Linda reports:

"One of my goals for the race is to finish with a time of 1:45 - that would take 10 minutes off last year. I talked to my husband and asked him to get a stopwatch and time me. We are going to the track tonight, after I run my scheduled 4 miles, and I'll practice sprinting. I will let you know my time for the 100 yard dash and we can track my progress together . . ."

(Linda promises to explain to us why sprints are an important part of training for a marathon!)

Friday, July 10, 2009

Running for Recovery Update

For the next twelve weeks, Grants Manager and Director of Training for Recovery University Linda Lentini will be sending in periodic updates on her training for the October ING Hartford Marathon. You can also follow her on our Twitter feed.

Linda Lentini - She's smiling today!

"Well, training starts tomorrow and I have planned my routes in my head. It is really amazing how much time and energy goes into training for a half marathon. The race only takes about 2 hours but the training can take months. I am really excited and I cannot wait to share all it with you!"

If you have any questions for Linda about her training, you can email her directly at llentini@mindlink.org. We'll post her answers here.

REMEMBER, THERE ARE 4 WAYS TO HELP AU:

●Join us as a volunteer on October 10
●Make a contribution through
http://www.mindlink.org
●Donate using Mastercard or Visa through
www.active.com/donate/Advocacyunlimited
●Invite your friends and family to contribute!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

AU Celebrates Fourth Hispanic Graduation at Hartford Foundation

Advocacy Unlimited held its Fourth Hispanic Graduation at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving on Wednesday, July 8 from 2-4. The ceremony honored graduates of AU’s Advocacy Education class, a 14-week course for persons in recovery from psychiatric disabilities and/or co-occurring disorders.

2009 Hispanic Mi Casa Class

This class, taught entirely in Spanish at Mi Casa Family Services in Hartford, was funded as part of a multi-year grant from the Hartford Foundation to create a Hispanic Initiative that expands Advocacy Unlimited’s service to Greater Hartford’s Latino community.

Annette Deonarine, AU Director of Education and Latino Initiative and Pete Rosa, Program Officer, Hartford Foundation

The keynote speaker was Pete Rosa, Program Officer, Hartford Foundation. Other speakers included Jorge L. Rivera, Founder and Executive Director, Mi Casa Family Services and Thomas A. Kirk, Jr., Ph.D., DMHAS Commissioner.

Jorge L. Rivera, Founder and Executive Director, Mi Casa Family Services

Thomas A. Kirk, Jr., Ph.D., DMHAS Commissioner, addresses the graduates.

Commissioner Thomas A. Kirk, Jr., Ph.D. (center), John Sims,
President of AU's Board of Director and Dr. Karen A. Kangas, AU’s Executive Director

At the ceremony, John Sims, President of AU Board's of Directors, presented Commissioner Kirk with The Karen Kangas Excellency in Advocacy Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of mental health and substance use disorders.

AU would like to congratulate the graduates and especially recognize Annette Deonarine, Director of Education and the Latino Initiative, for successfully leading the class and for tremendous work and dedication to this class and to all her students.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Save the Date: "Recovery Through a New Lens"

Co-Occurring Concerns:
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Recovery
Educational Forum

September 2, 2009


co-sponsors:
Advocacy Unlimited, Hartford Recovery Community Center
and Women’s & Children’s Program Connection Inc.

guest speakers:
Julienne Giard, MSW, Co-Occurring Project Manager,
CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS)
and Paul Acker, InterCommunity Mental Health

time:
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
doors open at 9:30 am)

location:
Hartford Recovery Community Center
198 Wethersfield Avenue
Hartford, CT 06114

space is limited
light refreshments will be served

for more information or to RSVP, please contact Lyne Stokes,
Program Director, Advocacy Unlimited, at 860-667-0460 or
at lstokes@mindlink.org.

Running for Recovery: Training for the ING Hartford Marathon

For the next twelve weeks, Grants Manager and Director of Training for Recovery University Linda Lentini will be sending in periodic updates on her training for the October ING Hartford Marathon. You can also follow her on our Twitter feed.

Today, Linda reports:

"These are the sneakers that will be on my feet for the next 12 or so weeks. As a runner, I have to plan my sneakers around my training. I was able to run 10 miles on Friday for fun, and now I need to do some speed runs. More later this week!"

If you have any questions for Linda about her training, you can email her directly at llentini@mindlink.org. We'll post her answers here.

REMEMBER, THERE ARE 4 WAYS TO HELP AU:

●Join us as a volunteer on October 10
●Make a contribution through AU's Website
●Donate using Mastercard or Visa through www.active.com/donate/Advocacyunlimited
●Invite your friends and family to contribute!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Advocacy Unlimited Celebrates 38th Graduation Ceremony & Fourth Hispanic Graduation

Congratulations to the graduating students of the 2009 Hispanic Mi Casa class, the fourth AU course taught entirely in Spanish!

To recognize and honor these courageous individuals as they begin their journey as AU Advocates, a commencement ceremony will be held on

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
2:00 - 4:00 pm


- at -

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

10 Columbus Blvd, 8th Floor
Hartford, CT 06106




The commencement ceremony will feature keynote speaker Pete Rosa, Program Officer, Hartford Foundation. Other speakers will include Jorge L. Rivera, Founder and Executive Director, Mi Casa Family Services, and Thomas A. Kirk, Jr., Ph.D., DMHAS Commissioner.

A complimentary reception will follow the commencement activities.

AU has held 54 Advocacy Education Courses throughout Connecticut since its founding in 1994. Over 390 students in recovery from psychiatric disabilities or co-occurring disorders have graduated from the Advocacy Education Course and become AU Advocates.

Click here for directions to the Hartford Foundation and for parking information.

* * * * * *

For more information about the Advocacy Education Course, visit http://www.mindlink.org/ed_overview.html

For information about Spanish-language classes, visit http://www.mindlink.org/espanol/default.html

Schizophrenia linked for first time to chromosome region

From Stanford University School of Medicine:

"Researchers at Stanford and 14 other institutions carried out a study of common DNA variations throughout the genome, and then combined forces with two independent studies to complete a pooled analysis of 27,000 individuals. The largest genetic differences between the study participants with and without schizophrenia were found on a stretch of chromosome 6 containing numerous genes associated with immune response (and some with other roles). This raises the possibility that immune function plays a role in schizophrenia."

See the full story at http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2009/july/schizophrenia.html