Partner To Partner
February 2014
Penquis Regional Linking Project e-Update
A creative twist on a Sanctuary Safety Plan!
The U Maine PRLP evaluation team sadly bid farewell to MSW intern Michelle Hansen in December, who completed her
400-hour internship at the end of the fall semester. Michelle was with us from May to December and participated in
several days of the Sanctuary training in August. As a capstone learning experience, Michelle created a presentation
based on the Sanctuary module about safety plans and led a
workshop for the evaluation team on the topic. The final
activity of her presentation was to lead the team through
the process of creating individual safety plans.
Michelle had to think creatively about how the team could
create safety plans in keeping with the spirit of being able to
have one’s plan nearby while also working within the culture
of the office, because staff at the U Maine Center on Aging
do not wear identification badges. She ultimately suggested
making mugs, using an online “make your own mug” website
– a perfect solution. Members of the evaluation team are
now proudly carrying their new Sanctuary Safety Plan mugs
to meetings and other Partnership or grant functions!
Collaborations
Several education and training programs are being offered in Penobscot or Piscataquis County which are being co-facilitated
and or hosted collaboratively with local providers and PRLP Navigators.
Wellspring staff and PRLP Navigators are offering the Nurturing Parent Program curriculum for Families In Substance Abuse
Treatment and Recovery at the Wellspring Men’s and Women’s Programs in Bangor. This is the second time this training has
been offered to clients at the Wellspring program. There are currently six clients attending the program which started February 19th and will run until April.
The Nurturing Parent Program curriculum for Families In Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery is also being offered at
the Bangor Area Recovery Network (BARN) located in Brewer. PRLP Navigators are co-facilitating the group with Penquis
Maine Families offering this program to members of the recovery community with the hope to reach families who may further benefit from being connected to the PRLP and to area providers. The group began the 17-session series on February
25th with 12 participants in attendance.
In Milo, PRLP Navigators in collaboration with Maine Families just completed their first offering the Nurturing Parent Program curriculum for Families In Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery. The Town of Milo supported the training by
providing use of space at the Town Hall. PRLP was able to provide the funding to maintain the 17-session program. In response to the early success of the program being held in Milo, Maine Families and PRLP are developing a Nurturing Parenting Program for Teens In Substance Abuse and Recovery to be held at Penquis Valley High School in Milo.
In January, PRLP staff teamed up with the Bangor office of Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and presented a cross training, “Understanding Addiction and Recovery.” Learning objectives for the training included: -Addiction as a
Disease; Stages of Change; Options for Treatment; and Recovery and Supports. The 90-minute training was attended by 35
DHHS case workers.
The Penquis Regional Linking Project is funded by the Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration
for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under grant number 90CU009. The information posted here
is the responsibility of the project and does not represent the official views or policies of the funding agency.
Penquis Regional Linking Project - Families And Children Together, 304 Hancock Street - Suite 2B, Bangor, Maine 04401
Contact us at (207) 941-2347 or 1-866-298-0896 FAX: (207) 990-3316 or e-mail @ [email protected]
Visit the PRLP Website @ www.familiesandchildren.org/prlp