Birmingham Group
Health Services'
CrossRo a d s
Summer 2005, Volume 4, Issue 2
BGHS Goes To Washington to
Help Fight Federal Budget Cuts
n June, Birmingham Group Health Services’ President/CEO, Marilyn
Cormack and Vice President of Services, Trudy Higgins, traveled to
the nation’s capital as part of a national contingent of mental health professionals to lobby for the
reduction of a $10 billion cut
to Medicaid over the next
five years. The cut, which
was part of a federal budget
Special Giving Tree Section Inside! resolution passed on April
28, 2005, directly impacts
persons with mental illness by reducing funding for
case management services and jeopardizing funds for
emergency room psychiatric services, inpatient hospital
beds and community detoxification facilities.
I
BGHS’ President/CEO, Marilyn Cormack, and Vice
“The trip to Washington provided us with the crucial
President of Services, Trudy Higgins, along with
opportunity to meet face to face with our congressional mental health professionals from across Connecticut
and the nation, traveled to Washington in June to
delegates and give them a local perspective of what is
protest federal cuts to Medicaid.
actually going on in the communties they represent,”
said Marilyn Cormack. “We were able to express how dramatically these cuts would impact people
with mental illness in our communty and make the ‘voices’ of our consumers heard.”
A
Healthy
Outlook... In addition to voicing opposition to the Medicaid cuts, Cormack and Higgins also lobbied for
Improves representation of mental health providers on a commission that is being...
the
BGHS Annual Block Party Draws Hundreds
In May, Birmingham Group Health
View.
(continued on back cover)
Inside this Issue....
Pg2..........President's Message
Pg3..........VMHC
Pg4..........Rehab
Pg5..........Umbrella
Pg6...........VSAAC
Pg7..........Foundation
Attendees at the BGHS annual Community Block Party
enjoyed free hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, and beverages.
served buffet style by BGHS staff.
Services capped off its May is
National Mental Health Awareness
Month activities with a community
block party that drew hundreds of
Valley community members, political
leaders, business owners and BGHS
consumers. The block party, an annual
event and a favorite among BGHS
consumers, staff, and the Valley
community, was held in the back
parking lot of BGHS headquarters...
(continued on pg 3)
President’sMessage
Dear Friends,
Customer Service…it’s not a phrase that quickly comes to mind when discussing
non-profits, but customer service is, in fact, at the heart of what we do. Non-profit
organizations provide “services” to people, or “customers,” in the same manner
that “for profit” businesses do. As with “for profit” businesses, the growth and
success of non-profits relies in large part on our ability to please our customers
and satisfy their needs.
At BGHS, meeting the needs of our customers, or “consumers” – persons,
families, and children affected by mental illness, domestic violence, substance
abuse, and HIV/AIDS – is our primary focus each and every day. We pride ourselves on our person-centered
approach to treatment and care that allows our consumers to become directly involved in their treatment planning, in supporting and aiding the recovery of others, in advocating for themselves and their peers, and in guiding
the policies and treatment practices of the organization. By empowering our consumers to become actively
involved in all aspects of their recoveries, we are providing the ultimate customer service experience.
Over the past year, we have been working diligently to improve customer service by expanding programs and
implementing new ones, streamlining intake procedures and paperwork, improving and expanding crisis services,
and creating multiple access points for service. Most recently, we began expansion of our out-patient clinic
space to provide a larger, more comfortable waiting area for consumers, more offices for assessment and intake,
and a larger space for record keeping and charts. Plans for the future include the training of all staff in customer
service techniques and the possibility of expanded service hours and open appointments. We are listening to our
consumers and following their lead.
But our efforts to provide exceptional customer service do not end with our consumers. As a community-based
service provider, BGHS recognizes that our “customer base” also includes our volunteers, supporters, board
members, private citizens, businesses, groups, legislators and private and public funders who have a stake in our
success and our ability to provide a critical safety net to persons in need. In this regard, providing good customer
service has entailed maximizing resources, responding to larger, more global community needs, demonstrating
fiscal responsibility, and above all, producing successful outcomes that benefit the Valley community as a whole.
In today’s competitive marketplace, providing good customer service is essential to any business, or non-profit
organization’s success. At BGHS, we have always understood this and we will continue to make customer
service our number one priority, for all of our customers, now and in the years to come. After all, providing
good customer service isn’t just a smart way of “doing business” - as a non-profit service provider, it’s what
we’re actually in “business” to do.
Warmest Regards,
Marilyn Cormack
President/CEO
CrossRoads Page 2
Mental Health Month Activities Help Educate Community
aintaining good mental health is key to living a healthier,
happier life. That was the message conveyed at a variety of
community events organized by BGHS staff and consumers during
May Is Mental Health Awareness Month (MIMHAM) - a national
observance promoting awareness of mental health issues.
M
As part of their education efforts during
MIMHAM, BGHS staff and consumers
organized a traveling mental health exhibit, hosted
a free “Enlightened Luncheon” for the public at
the Valley Social Club, and held “mental health
fairs” where people could take quick “stress
tests” and receive information about mental health
issues and resources. BGHS capped off the
observance with a Community Block Party
(see article on front cover and below). “With the
Thomas P. Kirk, Commissioner of the CT Dept.
help of these activities, we were able to reach
of Mental Health and Addiction Services, was the
hundreds of citizens who we would not normally
featured speaker at an “Enlightened Luncheon”
hosted by members of BGHS’ Valley Social Club
come in contact with,” said Higgins. “That’s
during May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
hundreds of people who learned they’re not alone
and that there is help and hope if they need it ”
Local children try their luck at breaking a colorful
pinata during the BGHS annual May Is Mental Health
Awareness Month Community Block Party.
VMHC
According to the National Mental Health Association, mental illnesses
such as anxiety, depression and stress-related disorders affect more
people than cancer and lung and heart disease combined. Despite
BGHS staff conducted a mental “health fair” at
the prevalence of mental health disorders, many persons affected by
the Valley YMCA during May Is Mental Health
Awareness Month.
them are reluctant to seek treatment, mainly due to the stigma
associated with a mental health disorder. “There are so many misconceptions about mental
illness,” says Trudy Higgins, Vice President of Services at BGHS. “That’s why observances
such as Mental Health Awareness Month are so important. They help us educate our
community and give people the tools to make informed decisions about their health.”
To learn more about
BGHS, join our
Block Party (continued from pg 1) Newsletter
Mailing
List, or notify us of a
...and the adjacent Veteran’s
change in address,
Memorial Park and featured a
contact:
Hawaiian luau theme. Free food,
BGHS, Office of
drink, entertainment, live music,
Development,
contests, and games were focal
P.O. Box 658,
points of the event which
435 East Main St.,
provided the opportunity for
Ansonia, CT 06401,
community members to mingle
(203) 736-2601,
with, and learn about, persons
E-mail:
affected by mental illness.
[email protected].,
or visit us on the web:
Information about BGHS
programs and services, as well as www.bghealth.org
mental health issues, was also distributed
continued pg
CrossRoads Page 3
Rehabilitation
DMHAS Emphasizes Role of Work in
Treatment
T
he Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Services (DMHAS) has asked their local mental health
authorities, including BGHS, to develop plans to ensure
that employment and/or education opportunities are made
an integral part of an individual’s overall treatment plan.
DMHAS has always provided funding for employment
services, recognizing that work is a major factor in how
successful an adult becomes in society. In the past,
however, employment and educational services have
been treated as less of a priority than other mental health
services. DMHAS’ directive will change that by making
employment and educational needs a central component
of all treatment plans.
Work is a major factor in aiding
an individual’s successful recovery.
In response to the DMHAS directive, BGHS has brought together representatives of
all departments, as well as two individuals receiving services, to develop a system
to better integrate employment issues across services. The committee will present
a proposal to DMHAS in the Fall.
In the meantime, the Rehabilitation Department has been tracking the employment/
educational activities of individuals participating in their services for the past nine
months. In the first six months of tracking, it was found that 44% of individuals
receiving services were either working or involved in educational activities. The
department’s goal is to eventually collect statistics on all persons receiving services
at BGHS and to track whether the percentage of those involved in work or educational activities increases after the DMHAS changes have been implemented
Housing Program Benefits BGHS Consumers
GHS’ first HUD funded permanent supportive housing program “opened its
doors” this spring to area residents. The SHP’01 housing program, as it’s
being called, is funded through the federal government under the McKinney Vento
Act, which helps to fund the majority of homeless services across the country.
B
SHP’01 will serve 15 individuals who are without adequate, safe housing and who
may benefit from supportive services throughout their tenancy. The program leases
privately owned apartments in the towns of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Shelton and
Seymour which are then sublet to persons being served by BGHS. All participants
pay 30% of their income towards rent and receive supportive services from BGHS
and area agencies that assist in successfully maintaining the terms of the lease agreement
and in gaining greater independence. Such services include employment training and
placement, money management and budgeting, meal planning and preparation, tenant/
landlord mediation and connection to a variety of community supports that promote
healthy and happy lives.
CrossRoads Page 4
As of June 2005, 59 persons have applied to SHP’01. Eight have been accepted and are
now living in permanent, safe, affordable housing
New Technology Assists Umbrella Staff
R
ecently, The Umbrella was awarded a technology grant
from the Verizon Foundation to implement a database
program called “Alice” that will help The Umbrella to track and
report program statistics – a crucial step in applying for funding
from both public and private sources and in demonstrating the
need for domestic violence services in the Valley community.
“The numbers and types of reports that Alice generates are impressive,” said Goodell.
“That and the fact that Alice was created specifically for domestic violence organizations
and other non-profits was the reason we chose it over other programs.” Over the past
few months, The Umbrella has received tremendous support from Alice’s creator, Mark
Shapiro, in implementing the program and maximizing its usage. In May, Shapiro visited
The Umbrella to personally guide staff through several applications. During his visit,
Shapiro explained that Alice was borne out of his frustration as a non-profit director to
produce the reporting data necessary to satisfy funders. He shared his hope that if
funders understood the difficulties presented by some of their required reporting, they
would ultimately update their application processes. But until that time comes, Alice has
offered the possibility to deliver
Something to Smile About...
Umbrella
clients’ smiles
were enhanced
recently by the
generosity of a
group of area
dentists and
hygienists. Mariann Driscoll of the New
Haven Association of Dental Hygienist
organized the delivery of free dental care at
the Yale Dental School to ten Umbrella
clients and their children. Following their
visit to a hygienist, the women and children
also received follow-up treatments at no
cost. One woman was even given a new
smile which required state of the art dental
procedures valued at $25,000. “We are
extremely grateful to Mariann and all who
donated their time and talents to the dental
clinic project,” said Susan DeLeon,
Director of The Umbrella
New “Sister” Store Opens
In March, BGHS opened a new thrift store in
downtown Ansonia to help generate funds
for The Umbrella program. The store, called
My Sister’s Attic, is located at 379 Main
Street and offers new and gently used funiture
and household items at discount prices. The
new store is an adjunct to My Sister’s Place
(located directly across the street from the
new store) which offers discount clothing,
shoes, and accessories for the whole family.
Proceeds from both stores
benefit The Umbrella domestic
violence program.
“Originally, we had intended to
open a duplicate of My Sister’s
Place in another town,” said
Joan Kayser, Manager of the
‘My Sister’s’ stores. But when
space became available across
the street all that changed.”
The Umbrella
“Historically, statistics for many aspects of The Umbrella program have been altogether hand calculated,” says Sherri
Goodell, Umbrella Program Coordinator. “This presented
challenges for us when trying to complete dependable, accu“Alice” creator, Mark Shapiro, demonstrates the database
rate reports required by our funders.” The implementation of
program’s versatility during a visit to The Umbrella’s
Alice has made data collection and reporting much easier,
offices this past May.
enabling staff to complete all intakes on the computer, enter in
statistics themselves, and generate accurate, dependable reports. Alice also allows staff
to track community resources and events, speaking engagements, and volunteers.
Shoppers peak through the windows of
My Sister’s Attic in downtown Ansonia.
(continued on back cover)
CrossRoads Page 5
CAP Training A Success
VSAAC
The Valley
Substance
Abuse Action
Council, in
collaboration
with the Valley
Parish Nurse
Program,
recently held
a highly
successful
workshop for
members of
Representatives from 27 Valley parishes participated in
VSAAC’s recent Congregation Assistance Program (CAP) the Valley’s
training workshop.
faith-based
communities. The Congregation
Assistance Program (CAP) training
took place over three consecutive
Tuesday evenings and was developed
to give attendees the knowledge and
skills necessary for them to become
resources for prevention and
intervention within their own ministries.
CrossRoads Page 6
Forty-seven congregation members
from 27 different parishes
participated in the CAP
training, which provided
useful information about
addictions such as
substance abuse and
gambling, mental health
issues, and recovery.
Participants also spent
time developing intervention skills and learning
about treatment and
referral resources
available in the Valley.
Former “Winston Man” Councils
Valley Students Against Tobacco
In April, VSAAC, in collaboration with the
Ansonia Drop Out Drug Free Council and the
Derby Local Prevention Council, hosted an
anti-tobacco presentation for middle school
students in Derby and Ansonia. The presentation
was conducted by Dave Goerlitz, the former
“Winston Man,” whose appearance in over 42
Winston tobacco ads during the 1980’s helped
make Winston cigarettes the number two best
selling brand in the world.
Once the “poster boy” for cigarette smoking,
Goerlitz is now a leading anti-tobacco advocate.
Hooked on tobacco by age 13, Goerlitz
parlayed his addiction into a career as the lead
model for Winston cigarettes during the 1980’s.
In 1988, Goerlitz took a historic stand against
the tobacco industry by publicly participating in
the “Great American Smoke-Out” and
condemning the tobacco industry for targeting
youth in their advertising campaigns. Since then,
he has been on a
personal crusade to
undo the damage
his ads may have
done in addicting
3,000 to 5,000
young people per
week to tobacco
products.
In his presentation
to Derby and
Ansonia middleschoolers, Goerlitz
Dave Goerlitz, former “Winston Man,” delivered an
“This was the first time
used his personal
anti-tobacco presentation to Ansonia and Derby
that VSAAC has offered a
middle school students this past spring.
story, humor, and
program tailored specifiinteractive elements
cally for our faith-based community
to engage students and keep them open to his
members and we are so pleased that
anti-tobacco message. “What’s great about
the response was so positive and the
workshop so well attended,” said Pam Dave’s presentation is that he keeps students
laughing and thinking by using messages that they
Mautte, Director of VSAAC.
can relate to,” said Lorrie Driscoll, Prevention
To learn more about CAP training or to Specialist for VSAAC. “His fame and his realregister for the next series of CAP
life experience has an impact that’s incredibly
workshops, call VSAAC at 736-8566
effective in teaching kids to say no to tobacco ”
Bowl-to-Benefit Raises
$56,000+ for The Umbrella
irmingham Group Health Services’ 17th
Annual Bowl-to-Benefit the Umbrella,
sponsored by the W. E. Bassett Company,
was held on Saturday, March 5th, 2005, at
Valley Bowl in Derby, CT. One-hundredsixty-five teams, with a combined total of
The Shelton Intermediate School Staff Team was the
top fundraiser at the 17th Annual Bowl-to-Benefit The
809 bowlers, registered to bowl in the event,
Umbrella. The team raised $4,765 in pledges.
raising over $56,000 in pledges, event and
lane sponsorships, pin sales, and raffle ticket purchases. Top fundraisers included Shelton
Intermediate School, Shelton High School, Derby High School, Seymour High School, the
CT JCI Senate, and Wesley Village. In addition to the over $32,000 raised in bowling
pledges, over $18,000 was raised via event sponsors, over $1,000 from paper bowling pin
sales, almost $3,000 from event registraiton, and almost $2,000 from the event’s raffle!
B
Birmingham Group Health Services would like to thank the hundreds of community
members, businesses, organizations, and groups who helped make the 17th Annual
Bowl-to-Benefit the Umbrella such a tremendous success!
Birmingham Group
Health Services’
2004-2005 Annual
Appeal Campaign has
raised over $29,000
for programs and
services, a roughly
36% increase over last
year’s campaign total.
“This is the most
successful year we
have ever seen for
the campaign,” said
Arlene Greco, Director
of Development at
BGHS. “We are so
grateful to our
community for their
faith in our mission
and we continue to be
honored and humbled
by their generosity and
support ”
Anne Barton
Shuana Beafore
Tammy Burrell
Robert Chonko
Anne Cribbins
Susan DeLeon
Judith Dunne
Gail Grant
Arlene Greco
Christina Greco
Maureen Gulick
Tammy Hazen
Joel Hurliman
Joan Kayser
Nicole Lindley
Melissa Pucci
Josephine Quinn
Kathy Ramia
Patricia Reynolds
Tony SanAngelo
Rose Marie Sheehy
Larry Thomson
Foundation
Annual Appeal
Campaign Raises
Over $29,000
17th Annual
Bowl-to-Benefit
Committee:
Co-Chairs:
Gloria Hollo
Ernie Luise
Al Patuzzi
CrossRoads Page 7
NON-PROFIT
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit #111
Derby, CT 06418
STRATEGY COUNCIL
Marilyn Cormack, President/CEO
Trudy Higgins, Vice President, Services
Lorraine Branecky, Vice President, Finance
Arlene Greco, Director, Development
Nilda Maignan, Director, Human Resources
Mary Nescott, Director, Quality Assurance
Scott Migdole, Director, Outpatient Clinic
Susan DeLeon, Director, The Umbrella
Pamela Mautte, Director, Valley Substance
Abuse Action Council
Sandra Lombardi, Director, Case Management
Services
Ralph Despres, Director, Recovery Services/
Grant Development
Gail Green-Singleton, Recovery Services
Director
Robert Benczkowski, Systems Administrator
Glenn Casey, Manager, Information Systems
Washington Trip
(continued from page 1)
...established to recommend policy changes to the
Medicaid program. Proposals from the Leavitt
Commission, as it is being called, are intended to help
Congress achieve the $10 billion budget target as well
as produce more fundamental Medicaid changes. “It
is imperative that mental health providers are represented in some capacity on the Leavitt Commission to
ensure that decisions aren’t being made in a vacuum full consideration needs to be made for the people,
families, and children who depend on Medicaid and
the essential services it funds,” said Cormack.
The national lobbying trip to Washington was
organized by the National Council for Community
Behavioral Healthcare and early reports of the
contigents’ impact have been extremely positive.
As of the publishing of this newsletter, the Leavitt
Commission has indeed been established with
representation from the mental health community, and
inroads have been made regarding revision of
proposed Section 8 housing legislation that would
have removed important protections for people with
disabilities
New Store
(continued from page 5)
Since its grand opening, My Sister’s Attic has done a
small but steady business which BGHS hopes will
increase with time. Said Kayser, “We hope the community will see the tremendous value in supporting both
‘My Sister’s’ stores, not only for their terrific bargains,
but also for their ultimate purpose in helping victims of
domestic violence.”
Both stores are currently accepting donations of quality
used furniture and/or clothing. For more information,
call (203) 734-2960
Don’t miss the “My Sister” Stores’
Back-To-School Sales!
Take advantage of
special prices on clothing,
accessories, and dorm
and other furniture for
college, high school and
grade school students!