2013 CCL Award Nominees
THE BARB BREEN LODGE MEMBER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
Tiffany P: When Tiffany moved into the lodge shehad a hard time talking to people and getting involved in activities. At our drop in center “The Cove,” Tiffany would sit at a table by herself with her head down, looking at the table. Slowly, Tiffany began to get to know people, talk to others and became involved in activities. Now Tiffany is huge asset to The Cove, spending several hours a week socializing, participating in activities, classes and presentations, and volunteering her time to help with parties and events. She also helps train nursing students who volunteer at The Cove.Tiffany also gives a lot of her time volunteering and fundraising for the “Relay for Life.” She babysits for a friend, she joined a church where helps decorate for holidays and helps run the nursery and with religious classes.
In between Tiffany’s work, volunteering, medical appts. and therapy Tiffany does her part in maintaining the lodge, sharing meals and activities with lodge members. She has also gone back to school to get her CDA (Child Development Associate Credential); she has completed the course and is waiting to take the test. This certificate will advance Tiffany’s employment credentials.
Along the way, Tiffany has made great strides in her recovery, working to overcome issues that haunt her on a daily basis. Tiffany was abused at different times in her life, but has learned coping techniques and positive ways to deal with the issue. She now meets with groups of sex offenders, with police & correction officers and at the annual day of training for Certified Specialist Program to tell her story. This is one way she helps others learn to take back control of their lives.
When Tiffany moved into the lodge she was working at Arby’s. Since joining the lodge, Tiffany gained employment as a WAC (Work Activities Coordinator) with people who are intellectually disabled. She is saving for her own vehicle and her own place. Tiffany is also in the process of taking over the Child Program at her church where she will oversee the program and the activities.
Brian H: Brian has been an advocate for positive change at the Spotless lodge in a number of different scenarios. In addition to being able to manage his own mental health, Brian has been supportive with helping others with their symptoms by directing them to use a variety of coping skills. For awhile, Brian was helping run an Illness Management and Recovery Group for other lodge clients - a group which previously had been run by staff. Brian has also made progress with abstaining from gambling and recently achieved a medallion for going 6 months without any form of gambling. While Brian has been working on his addiction he has been very supportive of his lodge peers struggling with their addictions, and has helped others maintain sobriety.
Brian has improved his own physical health by changing his diet and increasing his exercise. He has also made extra effort to cook a healthy meal for the entire lodge group each week for the past year. In addition, Brian has helped his lodge come together as a group. He encourages a variety of different recreational activities for the group to do each week including frequent golfing. When Brian’s lodge went fishing over Memorial Day weekend (without staff assistance), Brian’s effective planning was especially critical to keeping the costs down so that everyone could enjoy this relaxing vacation.
When the lodge’s long-standing treasurer needed surgery, Brian took full responsibility of the lodge finances. Since then, the lodge has had money left at the end of the month, for the first time in years. With extra money, the lodge was able to purchase an expensive riding lawnmower, which would not have been possible without Brian’s financial planning.
Allen M: During his stay in the Lodge, Allen has become a Master Gardner through a program at the University. That made Allen available to the public to answer questions about gardening and a great resource in our green house and for our farming projects. He also is a talented stained glass craftsman. He creates and sells original works of art using stained glass. Allen is a driver for our program and takes folks to appointments, shopping and to work. He has come a long way spiritually and takes several people to worship at church each Sunday. He is a leader in his Lodge. He also serves on the Coalition Board. Since coming into the program he has made great strides in his recovery and continues to move forward.
Paul B: No Lodge Member in New Visions’ history as encompassed a spirit of Fairweather like Paul. Paul had been in every form of treatment Pennsylvania has to offer. When he arrived at the lodge, Paul was afraid of everything, and unwilling to trust others. Paul now opens up to the possibility that people are not automatically enemies. And he has blossomed into a leader with in his Lodge.
Paul’s years in the Lodge have been a struggle, testing both his Lodge mates’ patience and agency’s policies. But he has responded to peer pressure, and shown a knack for supporting his peers. Despite his personal demons, his lodge mates value his leadership and guidance; three times, they have voted him back into the lodge after his behavior had caused the agency to ask him to leave.
In the Lodge, Paul serves many roles. He motivates his peers to do the needed house and yard work. He is the primary grocery shopper; his input into the menu planning and cooking have helped teach his fellow lodge mates both budgeting and basic culinary skills. Paul speaks up, gives advice, and directs others to staff when they contemplate taking action which might be contrary to the Lodge’s best interests. He serves as a medication monitor for one of his peers to assure his medications are taken properly.
Paul shines at work. He assures that vehicles used by PASU are kept clean. He facilitates timely and accurate completion of van runs. He monitors the schedule and handles changes smoothly. And Paul really cares about the clients we transport. He has a special bond with some of the autistic children, making sure they get special treats on the last day of the season, and keeping in contact with some families afterward.
Recently, Paul was instrumental in saving the life of one of our clients. He arrived at a dialysis center on a 90 degree day to find a woman outside, in a wheelchair, sweating under an afghan. Paul offered to take her directly to the hospital, but she refused. Remembering what it is like to have ones wishes be ignored as a consumer, Paul took her home; but upon arrival, she was incoherent and unable to exit the vehicle. Paul immediately called an ambulance. Hospitalized for 2 weeks, the woman called Paul from her hospital bed to thank him for respecting and caring for her.
Tim D: Tim is a member of the Champs Lodge, where he has been an endless source of support and encouragement for his peers. Tim works at the Air Force Base, where he has proven himself to be an invaluable member of this team.
Tim’s humility and empathy have made him a wonderful peer to have in the Lodge, always the first to offer support to his peers during difficult times. When peers at his lodge experienced losses of family members, Tim’s quiet empathy was an essential source of strength for them. Tim took time to spend with these peers to talk, participate in an activity, or simply be with them during times of grief.
Tim draws on his own experiences to assist others. After many years of struggling with addiction issues, Tim has learned to draw on family and peer support during times of increased difficulty. Now Tim quietly celebrates his abstinence and mentors a peer struggling with similar addiction issues, meeting once per week as a one-on-one support.When asked about supporting his peers in this way, Tim says he gets so much out of the meetings that helps support his abstinence, even though others are at different stages in their recovery.
Tim is incredibly selfless, always conscious of what others may need. Tim consistently considers his peers when deciding on a course of action always listening to all sides of conflict in order to remain empathetic to everyone. During times of conflict in the lodge, Tim asks to hear the opinions of everyone, and uses active listening skills to ensure everyone is heard. Tim encourages his peers to structure their free time with productive activities. He makes sure to spend time each week with a peer who struggles to manage his free time, and he brings peers with him when he volunteers at Feed My Starving Children, packaging food for events. Tim also visits his ailing father each week.
Though Tim would never admit to being an exemplary lodge member, his perseverance, empathy and humbleness are admired by his peers, which motivate them to take part in their own recovery. By example alone, Tim encourages those around him to be productive, positive individuals and to make themselves responsible for their own success.
Jason M (WINNER): Jason has lived in the Jordan Lodge since August 2011 and has been integral this year in building a true Fairweather lodge atmosphere. Prior to this year, there was very little peer support; Jordan Lodge was more like 8 individuals simply sharing a space. Lodge meetings were only 20 minutes long with little real sharing of issues, there was no group recreation activity, and no house bank account. Beginning in January, Jason agreed to take on numerous house duties and roles to help build a true Faireather lodge environment.
Jason helped open up a lodge business account (which took several months of paperwork, signatures, and trips to the bank) and since then has been responsible for lodge finances, holding lodge members accountable to pay their lodge fee and paying all the bills independently and on time.
In January, Jason became the primary lodge van driver. Jason drives his peers and himself into work each day and is very responsible. When peers need transportation to medical and psychiatric appointments, Jason is always willing to give them a ride - even as early as 7:30am.
Jason stepped up to be the peer support buddy for a new lodge member. Jason helped the new lodge-mate to complete all the requirements in order to make the transition, providing rides, answering questions, giving tours, taking the time to make him feel welcome.
Jason cares about his lodge mates and their mental health. He is the leader in opening up about his own mental health at group meetings, and notices when other peers are having increased symptoms. Jason pointed out when one peer was quiet and isolating in his room, typically a sign he isn’t doing well. Jason also noticed when one peer was having increased symptoms of humming and helped set in motion a necessary med. change. When one lodge member failed to pick his meds up on time and joked about not needing them, Jason was assertive, “If you want to stay in this house you need to take your meds”.
THE DAVID SANDERS LODGE COORDINATOR OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
Pete Franklin (WINNER): Pete puts his heart and soul into the program, taking care of 5 Lodges with up to 32 members. He is stretched thin,having to deal with a downsized staff. Yet he perseveres and keeps the members moving forward in all aspects of Lodge life.
Lodge members seek out Pete’s counsel for problem solving, support or dealing with life issues. And many lodge members seek spiritual guidance from Pete. During his time in the Lodges, many people have turned their lives around and have become productive members of the community.
Pete is not hesitant to put time in. Often times you will see him in the Lodges during weekend and evening hours.Pete also comes up with ideas for the vocational program and will have meaningful projects for the members to become employed in. With all he does, it is hard to realize Pete is 70 years old.
Katie Hessefort:Katie began her tenure at Tasks Unlimited as a mental health worker, filling in at various programs and worksites. In 2011, she was promoted to Lodge Coordinator of Oakwood Lodge, Tasks’ lodge for moms with serious mental illness and with, or trying to regain, custody of their children.
At the time, four whole families resided at Oakwood and Tasks provided more staffing than other lodges. But shortly after Katie began, Hennepin County discontinued its funding for Oakwood due to declining resources, and Oakwood was forced to continue with staffing similar to a typical Fairweather Lodge.
Katie exhibited incredible patience, creative problem-solving, and an overall positive, supportive demeanor during this REALLY TOUGH transition. The families of Oakwood went from relying heavily on staff, to making their OWN decisions, successfully, in less than a year. And Katie was the perfect guide; there are no words to explain the amount of work and dedication Katie provided, teaching the group how to make tough decisions themselves around parenting and child behavioral issues. Katie did a fabulous job building their confidence in the mom’s decision-making power. Since the transition, the mothers of Oakwood have become more successful in securing formal childcare, but have also frequently supported each other, in true Fairweather fashion, by providing supervision for each other’s children in times of need. Katie never once said, “No we can’t do this,” or “No this can’t work,” even when it would have been really easy to say. She kept a smile and the family’s interests and well-being at the forefront of her work, while empowering a group, who was previously very dependent, to solve their own problems and make their own decisions.
THE DOROTHY BERGER PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENT NOMINEES
Tasks Unlimited Mailrooms: In 1995, Tasks was awarded a contract for operating the mailroom at the Army Corps of Engineers in St Paul, Minnesota. Tasks expanded employment opportunities in this field by adding the USDA in 2000, and the IRS in 2004. Almost twenty years later, all are going strong.
Mailroom operations presented unique challenges - outside of Tasks experience. Two and sometimes three workers can be huddled together in a small space, sometimes for up to 8 hours a day – testing tolerance and inter-personal relations to the limit. And customer service demands a skill-set which people with a mental illness don’t always possess.
Tasks has not only survived in the mailroom contracts; we have thrived. Our customers love us, the rapport is excellent., and we are always hearing good feedback. Additionally, each of the three mailrooms have won national awards: Most Improved, Best Customer Service, and the Excellence Award.
Mailroom jobs are a coveted position at Tasks and the workers work especially hard, well aware that there are other consumers that would love to have their job. The requirements for the job, are predictably high. You can’t really allow yourself to have a bad day; the public is always there, and you have to be ready to serve them, and serve them well. That means smiles even when you’re not feeling so hot; you must leave your troubles at the door. And we do.
Fairweather Training Lodge of Erie (WINNER) has been in service for ten years, during which hundreds of people have benefited; not only have we prepared people for life in a long-term Fairweather Lodges but also for other types of community living. Of the 97 people served last year, 72% are living successfully in a lodge or elsewhere in community - staying out of hospitals and correctional facilities.
Many who have left stay in touch, as the Training Lodge has become their - - survival family. Many have expressed how “undesirable” they felt prior to coming, but at the Training Lodge, people feel accepted, not judged. All learn about the power of helping each other.
Though most have multiple issues that they are facing, the Training Lodge has helped them find their strengths. This experience gives people back their confidence and builds their self-esteem, making them personally stronger to face the challenges ahead. And of course, having a job and a paycheck is really something – a truly life-changing experience, as most are coming from poverty.
The following statements, shared between the lodge members and staff, speak to the true essence of the training lodge experience: