Community Connections | By Tori Hoffman

Tori Hoffman observes group discussions at the KDHE
statewide chronic disease reduction plan workshop.

As my summer practicum at the Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR) comes to an end, I realize how many contacts I have made with professionals in the community, especially in the healthcare field.

I was fortunate to have the chance to work with Amy Delamaide. She served as my preceptor. My focus this summer was a project on the integration of public health and primary care in Kansas with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Through the state summit in June and several regional listening meetings, I’ve had the opportunity to meet healthcare professionals from different cities across Kansas.

Two women in particular spoke with me about the work they do: a director of a nearby county health department and another woman who is working on an infant mortality project. These connections will be helpful as I finish my undergraduate degree in Health Services Management and Community Development and graduate in August.

I met Lynnette Redington, director of Harvey County Health Department, at the state summit. I was very shy and timid. Lynnette introduced herself and told me a little bit about her role at the health department. She also asked about me and what I was interested in. She was kind, energetic, and helped me feel comfortable. I also saw her at the Wichita Regional Listening meeting where we were able to catch up. Several weeks later I was able to connect with her again and ask her about her health department’s community health assessment. It was always nice to talk with Lynnette.

A few weeks ago I met Christy Schunn, executive director of KIDSNetwork, Inc., at the Wichita Regional Listening meeting. I was in the group where she talked about the project she was working on called Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR). I instantly became interested because after taking a class in epidemiology at Wichita State University last semester I knew that Sedgwick County had an extremely high infant mortality rate, especially among African-American infants. After the meeting I contacted her and asked if we could meet and talk more about her work. We met for coffee and talked for nearly two hours. She informed me about FIMR and how it is a fairly recent project. I found out that there is a community baby shower where pregnant women can get a crib and other essentials needed for raising a baby along with helpful information and education about being a good parent. She also shared information about the proper way to care for babies. I’m glad that there is an organization that recognizes this problem in Sedgwick County and that someone who is passionate about it like Christy is trying to change that statistic.

These women have made an impact on my outlook on the healthcare field and a connection that I’m very happy that I made. I look forward to having a chance to work with them in the future!

Tori Hoffman

Public Health Practicum Student

Psychiatric survivor, book author, CCSR peer educator, Nancy Jensen

Nancy Jensen, peer educator at the Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR), recently worked with Nathan P. Swink, PhD, to publish The Girl Who Cried “Wolf!,” the heroic story of Nancy’s journey through abuse at the hands of the mental health system toward recovery and independent living. The memoir includes the year she lived at the Kaufman House, the trial where she testified against the Kaufmans, as well as her experiences with mental illness and the road toward recovery.

You may recall the trial of Arlan and Linda Kaufman which was televised from the Federal Court house in Wichita in 2005 and the re-sentencing that followed. Arlan and Linda ran Kaufman House, a mental health facility in Newton, Kansas, where residents were subject to “nude therapy,” unchecked seclusion, and forced labor. 

Kaufman House was supposed to be a progressive answer for the mentally ill during the de-institutionalization era of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but it became a house of horrors. When Nancy tried to blow the whistle, she found that no one believed her. She was the girl who cried “Wolf!”

With the help of Nancy’s testimony, a federal jury found both Arlan and Linda Kaufman guilty. Since then Nancy has worked to pass a law creating an adult protective unit at the state level, received the prestigious Voice Award, and is currently a member of the Sedgwick County Mental Health Advisory Board. 

In her position at CCSR she works with a team training Certified Peer Specialists (CPSs) employed at mental health centers across the state and delivering the state certification exam. Nancy is a certified facilitator of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), an evidence-based, self-directed wellness tool to help people cope with stressors and deal with crisis situations.

“If it wasn’t for CCSR not only would I not be where I am in my recovery, but there would not be a book, Nancy said. “I say that because of the people who helped me make the book what it is.”

As Nancy has worked toward recovery, she continues to receive support from her family, friends and co-workers. She says that she heard about recovery and met some of the CCSR staff at the Recovery Conference in 2006. That was a pivotal time. One of those staff, WSU Psychology Professor Greg Meissen, PhD, and longtime friend, wrote the forward to the book.

Nancy Jensen, CPS

“…Nancy is a hero and a wise leader who serves as a role model for others with mental illness working with them on a daily basis,” Meissen wrote. “She is an advocate and champion for a Kansas movement to improve the lives of persons with mental illness. This is the best part of the story as Nancy persistently and courageously encourages many to work toward their recovery through her own story and how she leads her own life.”

“I see this book, hopefully opening up people, them wanting to know more about CPS, trauma informed care, and more about recovery”, said Nancy. “It opens the window of opportunity for more people especially those who suffer with mental illness or their provider to have a sense of how it worked for someone . . . me.”

After over 30 years in the system, Nancy has taken control of her mental health including eliminating medications and shifting away from Social Security-Disability in order to work full-time.

“It’s another life changing time in my life. It’s one thing to share your story face-to-face; it’s another to have it out there. It’s humbling. It’s a testament to the hard work.”

Book Signings

The Girl Who Cried “Wolf!” is available in paperback from Amazon.com. A reading and book signing will be held at Mead’s Corner, 430 East Douglass, in Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday, July 6, 2013 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. A book signed will also be held on July 25 in Newton at Pages Books & Coffee, 605 N. Main St.

For more information Nancy can be reached at nancy.jensen@wichita.edu.

How safe are you? | By Angela Gaughan

Personal safety is important at any age. I recently attended the Positive Aging: Protect Your Health, Wealth and Self conference for seniors. In addition to sharing information about our support group database (SupportGroupsInKansas.org), I also learned a few things.

 

I sat in on the Veteran’s Administration presentation, said hi to an old friend who was taking about advanced directives and learned a few things in the social networking session. At the end of the day I attended a class on personal safety and when it was over I had more tips than I could fit into this blog post. The session was facilitated by Deputy Joe Page with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Deputy Page shared information about a program for S.E.N.I.O.R.S. (Sheriff's Elderly/Disabled Notification Intensive Outreach Response System) where you can register your name, address, garage door code, medications, pet’s name, etc. If someone calls 911 from your address, the information is retrieved and may help emergency personal avoid kicking in your front door (a $500 expense). Your information is privately stored in a computer. https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/seniors/

 

Whether at home or at the office you may find that one or two of these tips will help you avoid being a victim of identity theft or being physically attacked:

 

HOME

• Lock your doors and windows
• Trim your bushes, thieves want to be hidden from the road
• Close your garage door and the front door of your house when you are working in the backyard
• You know what is right for your neighborhood, etc. if something looks suspicious, *call 911 and say that you have a non-emergency. If there is an officer/deputy in the area, they will stop by and check it out. That is how they catch bad guys with vans full of stolen items.
• Don't let strangers into your house--they might be looking around to see what they can come back and steal.
• Get 2-3 estimates before you have any work done on your home. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Vendors should have a local address and office phone number. Scammers target seniors (especially those who don't move very fast and can't see very well).

IDENTITY

• Buy a shredder! Shred your mail – anything with your name and address on it.
• Review your bank statement.
• Invest in a locked mailbox. Don’t have checks mailed to your house, call and arrange for direct deposit into your bank account.
• Everyone can get a free credit report each year from three credit bureaus -- space them out and request one every four months to keep an eye on your credit history.

AUTO

• Lock your car.
• Hide your valuables--don't let people see you put them in your trunk.
• Be aware of your surroundings—call 911 and report a non-emergency, if needed.

COMPUTER

• NEVER give your credit card number, PIN number, social security number, etc. over the phone. Your bank will never call and ask for this information.
• There's a new scam where the caller says that your computer has a virus or needs an update and you need to get to your computer right now and give them access. Next they put a virus on your computer, download your personal data and make it so that you have to pay to have it fixed.

Hope to see you at the conference next year. I’ll be at the black and gold booth with a basket of chocolates. Even seniors like chocolates.

 

The conference was hosted by the K-State Research and Extension, Wichita State University and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging. It was held at the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center.

Student flies through practicum experience and contributes to marketing support group initiative | Clinton Haas

Captain's Log: Star date -309722.13, (actual star date) I am going on my eleventh week of being a student at the WSU Center for Community Support and Research, and I must say things are going great. I am currently finishing up a marketing plan for the Support Group Services Team, and it’s starting to feel like we are coming close to finishing the updating process for the 2,500 support groups in the database. Oh, I should probably describe a little about myself and why I am at CCSR in the first place.



Clinton Haas

It is now November in the year 2012; I am a college super senior (5th year) at WSU, one semester away from finishing my bachelor degree in Healthcare Management and Community Development (HMCD). To tell you the truth I am pretty jazzed! Eighteen years in school, and it is finally winding down. The beginning of the next chapter of my life is a semester away.

For this hands-on learning I heard a plethora of good recommendations for going to this place called Center for ehh… let’s just call it CCSR. (Later I learned to remember the whole name.) Here they have five pillars that branch over a wide array of health, leadership, and community assistance.  I chose to join the Support Group Services side and help with a database. Truth be told, I thought that this initiative sounded rather easy, and it would add some strength to my resume.

Little did I know that Angela, my preceptor, would have me running around with a constant list of groups I needed to research, various tasks for other staff, and even have me start a marketing plan! I was tickled pink to have the opportunity to really dive down deep and do work in which I could be a strong asset.

Through the development of the plan I was asked to help decide what type of merchandise CCSR should buy, i.e. pens, cups, and memo kits. To my dying day I will remember Joyce saying how she will only use a thin point pen and how she outright hates anything larger.

Well, here I am, with my marketing plan in the review process. Most of the groups are updated in the database minus a few stragglers and, here I am feeling like this semester has been one of the bigger learning opportunities that WSU could give me.


At a recent conference, Clinton shares information about

support groups with participants.

The relationships that I have developed here, the learning process of how to facilitate a meeting, the number of daily e-mails I send out has quadrupled. Being a college student and saying that I have actually become accustomed to waking up, being somewhere at eight a.m. and still able to function fascinates the crap out of me.

Overall, I would say that my experience here has helped prepare me for the future. It’s what I have been striving for since I was eight years old. Thanks to WSU for requiring this practicum experience to graduate and a big thanks to CCSR for having me here to receive guidance!

Class: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the student Clinton Haas. His five-year mission: to explore strange new classes, to seek out new life and new learning opportunities, to boldly go where no student has gone before.

Youth Leadership Has a New Face in Kansas | Bailey Blair

Canaan Giesen, member of Wichita YLinK

Opportunities for youth leadership are rare, but especially for young people with disabilities. We at Wichita State University’s Center for Community Support and Research are honored to have the opportunity to facilitate one such opportunity for youth with mental health concerns to practice leadership in a safe and welcoming environment. Called Youth Leadership in Kansas, or YLinK, these groups are an extraordinary example of youth coming together to support one another, to fight the stigma attached to mental illness in our community and in our world, and to advocate for themselves and others like them.

CCSR was awarded a grant from KDADS last year to provide capacity building support to these groups in order to help them further their goals.

Through biweekly meetings, quarterly conferences, and community events, these groups from across the state of Kansas are making a significant impact not only on their own lives and futures, but also for those facing similar battles in the world around them.

The photo depicts Canaan Giesen, Wichita YLinK member, bravely participating in a recent activity that was designed to enhance self-confidence to overcome obstacles and focus on one’s strengths.

For more information regarding the YLinK program, participation, or hosting a group, please contact Bailey at bailey.blair@wichita.edu.
 



Online support group research offers insight, practicum student wonders about support groups in Nigeria | Gbolahan Alex Ajisope





Gbolahan Alex Ajisope

My experience with support groups started when I joined the WSU Center for Community Support and Research as a practicum student this semester. Before I started working on the Support Group Services (SGS) team, I never thought that there were organizations or groups of people who would come together in order to comfort and support each other during difficult periods in their lives.

I find it very interesting because as simple and casual as it may look, a majority of people have been able to gain comfort from many of the support groups listed in the SGS database (supportgroupsinkansas.org). I added some new support groups to the database and also updated some of the information.


For my project I agreed to research online support groups. I wanted to experience an online support group, so I joined one. It took a while to find one where I felt I could offer legitimate conversation and gain experience. Eventually I figured out that I needed to find a support group for college students. Then it didn’t take long to sign up for a group.

I had a lot of fun with the group. I couldn’t get anyone to talk to me online throughout the week, but eventually I met a lot of students and members on Saturdays and Sundays. I think that was because students were busy with school projects, assignment and work during the week and they seem to only come online on the weekends. They came together to relax and talk about everything going on in their academic lives as well as other issues. We exchanged a lot of ideas and advice, which was really cool.

The benefits people derive from support groups cannot be overemphasized. Groups help members gain a sense of empowerment and control. They also help people reduces stress, depression, and anxiety among other things.

My overall experience with support groups have made me wonder how I can start something like this in my home country, Nigeria, and how these can be spread to as many countries as possible.

Alex was accepted into the Masters of Public Health program at the University of Oklahoma and he plans to begin in the spring of 2014.

Amy Delamaide Named BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer



Amy Delamaide

BoardSource is pleased to announce that Amy Delamaide has been named a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer. Amy joined this select group of expert trainers after completing a rigorous application and certification process and is now certified to deliver BoardSource’s signature nonprofit governance trainings in the Midwest and Great Plains area.

For nearly 25 years, BoardSource has been supporting and promoting excellence in nonprofit board service by providing cutting-edge thinking and resources on board effectiveness and by engaging and developing the next generation of board leaders. The BoardSource Certified Governance Trainers are a select group that is proficient in board governance topics, advanced facilitation techniques, and the BoardSource training methodology.

Amy is now certified to offer governance training among nonprofit organizations in the Kansas area using BoardSource-approved curriculum in the following areas: roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards, board-staff partnership, board structure, board’s role in fundraising, the board-building cycle, and board performance assessment.

To learn more about these trainings or schedule one, contact BoardSource at (202) 349-2587 or Amy Delamaide at (316) 978-6773.

About Amy Delamaide

As a facilitator and nonprofit consultant, Amy Delamaide is experienced in strategic planning, leadership development, nonprofit start-up, and organizational capacity-building. As a civic leadership coach, she has completed more than 80 hours of coach-specific training and coached more than 25 clients.

Amy graduated from Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Art in anthropology and French. She plans to graduate in 2014 with a Master in Public Administration with a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from the WSU Hugo Wall School of Public and Urban Affairs.

Amy Delamaide is Director of Community and Organizational Development at WSU Center for Community Support and Research.

About BoardSource

BoardSource has long recognized the critical role that boards play in overseeing their organizations’ mission, finance, and strategic direction. With nearly 25 years of hands-on experience working exclusively with nonprofit boards, BoardSource has become the go-to resource for funders, partners, and nonprofit leaders who want to magnify their impact within the community through exceptional governance practices. BoardSource supports a community of more than 60,000 individuals with customized diagnostics, in-person and virtual trainings, and original publications. BoardSource is a 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, visit www.boardsource.org.