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Every third Monday at 10:30
a.m., there is a Greene County
Community Support Program
(CSP) in the large conference
room in the Fort Jackson Hotel
on the third floor. The CSP
was established to support
people receiving mental
health services through a set
of principles. This CSP
program is for the
consumers. But mostly
providers come to the
meetings. The Greene
County CSP needs to have
more consumer
participation at their
meetings. You do not need
an invitation. Just come to
the meetings!
We hope to see you all
at 10:30 a.m. on March
21st.
Volume 1, Issue 4
The Open Arms Drop-In Helpful Center News
Special points of interest:
Greene County CSP –
March 21st & April
18th @ 10:30am
Western Region CSP
– March 11th & April
8th @ 10:00 am
CSP Recovery/
Education
Subcommittee –
March16th & April
13th
Inside this issue:
Mental Health Advance
Directive 1
Highlands Hospital
New Autism Center 2
CSP Subcommittee
Update 3
What Easter Means to
Me 4
VBH-PA Exhibitor
Reservation Form 5
Nomination Form for
Recovery Forum 6
Do You Have a Mental Health Advance Directive?
Mental Health Advance
Directives are a way of
planning for your future
mental healthcare in case you
can no longer make mental
healthcare decisions on your
own as a result of illness. You
can do this by creating a
Mental Health Declaration or
by appointing a Mental Health
Power of Attorney, or both.
A Mental Health Declaration
is a set of written instructions
that will tell your provider the
following:
What kind of treatment
you prefer
Where you would like to
have your treatment take
place
Specific instructions you
have about your mental
healthcare treatment
A Mental Health Power of
Attorney is a document that
allows you to name a person,
in writing, to make mental
healthcare decisions for you if
you are unable to make them
on your own. Your Mental
Health Power of Attorney will
make decisions about your
mental healthcare based on
your written instructions.
If you would like to have a
Mental Health Declaration or
a Mental Health Power of
Attorney, or both, please
contact an advocacy
organization such as the
Mental Health Association in
Pennsylvania by phone at 1-
866-578-3659 or 717-346-
0549, or by email at:
info@mhapa.org, and they will
provide you with the forms
and answer any questions.
It is important that you
share your written Mental
Health Advance Directives
with your mental healthcare
provider. If you do not
share your Mental Health
Advance Directives with
your provider, he or she
will not be able to follow
them.
March/April 2011
Community Support Program Participation
Of all the holidays, St. Patrick’s
Day eludes me the most. In
America we celebrate it by
wearing something green or we
get pinched by someone every
March 17th. We look for pretty
rainbows and see if there is a
leprechaun with a pot of gold.
Some places like nightclubs, bars,
schools, colleges and places like
Greene ARC, Inc. have simple,
enjoyable dances. Some places
hold bingo and billiard
tournaments for cash prizes.
Some restaurants even have
special meals on their menu at a
reduced price on St. Patrick’s
Day. McDonald’s serves
shamrock shakes around this
time—I really like the cool mint
taste of those.
In Ireland they celebrate St.
Patrick’s Day a little differently
than we do here in America.
You see, St. Patrick’s Day is
really an Irish holiday. They
have dances similar to our
square dancing. They eat
special types of foods. I do not
know what food they do eat,
but I am sure that it is very
tasty.
West Virginia. The Highlands
Hospital Center for Autism
will provide educational and
behavioral intervention for
children from the earliest
diagnosis through 22 years of
age. The director of the new
Center for Autism is Amanda
―Mandi‖ Freger. Mandi has
spent her entire life giving
back to her home community
of Southwestern Pennsylvania,
Highlands Hospital in
Connellsville Pennsylvania has
entered into a consultation with
world-renowned Cleveland
Clinic to provide the gold
standard of treatment for
individuals with autism.
Highlands Hospital will have the
only year-round ABA (Applied
Behavioral Analysis) program for
children with autism serving
Southwest PA and northern
and Highlands Hospital is proud
to have her as the Director of
the Center for Autism.
My Story on St. Patrick’s Day
Autism Center at Highlands Hospital
The 11th Annual
VBH-PA Consumer
Recovery Forum is
in the works!
Page 2
The Open Arms Drop-In Helpful Center News
Consumer Recovery Forum Planning Committee
will be speaking on Journey to a
New Horizon. ―Save the Date‖
flyers are out and the
Leadership in Recovery
Nomination Form and
Exhibitor Reservation Form are
ready and can be found on
pages 5-7 of this newsletter.
This committee is very
productive this year and the
forum is off to a great start.
The Value Behavioral Health of
PA (VBH-PA) Consumer Forum
Planning Committee has began
its preparation of the 2011 VBH
-PA Consumer Recovery Forum.
Keynote speaker, Joe Jankowski,
Ireland’s bars and taverns sell
alcohol at a reduced price, or
some just give it away for
free on St. Patrick’s Day.
I assume that every country
out there celebrates all of
the holidays of the year in
different ways. I am proud to
be among those that do.
~Submitted by Daniel S.
Latanation, Jr.
The committee is busy
planning the Leadership in
Recovery Awards
Ceremony, preparing the
registration form and
arranging speakers for the
afternoon breakout sessions.
Look for Individual
Registration Forms to be
available by the end of
March.
Jonas M. – March 23
Elizabeth P. – March 24
Brenda M. — March 26
Linda T. — April 3
Debbie B. — April 11
Janet T. – April 12
The Helpful Center News would
like to congratulate all the
consumers who have a birthday
in March and April. Following is
a list of the birthdays:
Franklin C. — March 9
Sharon M. – March 20
March and April Birthdays
Page 3
Volume 1, Issue 4 Update on the CSP Recovery/Education Subcommittee
The January and February CSP
Recovery/Education
Subcommittee meetings were
quite productive. The recent
survey that was distributed to
consumers in Greene County
was addressed and the results
were reviewed. There was a
good consensus that our
subcommittee needs to work on
transportation issues. Now that
we completed the survey for
those who need a ride, it would
be a good idea to develop a
survey for those who can give a
ride.
The committee decided to focus
on the localities of Franklin,
Jefferson and Cumberland. The
committee's plan is to do
outreach to churches and other
organizations in these areas. The
committee also came up with a
name for this upcoming program.
It will be called G-Trip which
stands for Greene
Transportation Resource
Improvement Program. A
logo is being developed by Jim M.
from the Waynesburg partial
program at Centerville Clinic.
The plan is to develop a flyer
to use for outreach and to
otherwise publicize our
program.
Healthy Food Choices Healthy food choices are readily
available in many grocery stores and
specialty markets today. In addition
to those places, one of my most
favorite places to visit is a farmer’s
market. Vibrant colors of red,
green, yellow, orange, and deep
purple greet me and I can’t help to
begin to create healthy entrees in
my mind. Think of a stir-fry with
green and red peppers, onions,
garlic and grilled chicken over a
nutty brown rice.
Marcia S. – April 14
Elizabeth S. — April 16
Linda S. — April 21
Kathy S. — April 22
Robert C. — April 23
What if you knew that making
healthy food choices not only
tastes great, but would also
reduce your risk to diabetes,
cancer and heart disease?
Choose foods that have the
greatest nutritional value. For
example, apricots have beta-
carotene. Vitamin A, and fiber.
Some of the healthiest
vegetables include onions,
artichokes, broccoli, spinach,
and garlic.
A balanced diet is the key. Eat
fresh, whole fruits and
vegetables, low-fat dairy foods,
lean meats, seafood, whole
grains and nuts. When we do
this, our bodies receive the
micronutrients it needs to
function properly.
But Easter is more than just
getting cards and candy. It is
about the sacrifice that Jesus
Christ made for mankind so
that we would not have to.
In the Catholic religion there is
an organization called the
Knights of Columbus, and each
of the seven Fridays before
Easter they have a fish fry for
lunch and supper. It is called
the Lenten season. You cannot
eat any meat on those Fridays
and you have to give up
something for Lent.
On Palm Sunday, we have a
special service where we pass
out palms to everybody and on
Good Friday, we have a candle-
light service. On Easter
Sunday, all of the people who
took the RCIA (Rite of
Christian Initiation for Adults)
get baptized and confirmed as
Catholic.
I can remember as a child
going to church on Easter
Sunday and listening to the
preacher preach a sermon on
the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. I also remember as a
child getting an Easter basket
full of different types of candy.
I even got a set of toy golf
clubs one year.
My parents and I would color
Easter eggs different colors
and they would hide them and
I, Stacey, Shawn and Steve (my
sister’s children) would try to
find them. Whomever found
the most eggs won a
chocolate Easter bunny.
These days I send the children
in my family each a chocolate
Easter bunny and an Easter
card telling them how much
they all mean to me. I send
them all a card for every
holiday.
Most families even cook a
special dinner on Easter Sunday
with all the trimmings. My
mother used to make pickled
eggs and beets. I never really
liked those too much.
Well, I am sure that the
different religions celebrate
Easter in their own special way.
That’s what Easter means to
me.
~Submitted by Daniel S.
Latanation, Jr.
What Easter Means to Me
Page 4
The Open Arms Drop-In Helpful Center News
The VBH-PA Family Advisory Committee Needs You!
The Value Behavioral Health of PA (VBH-PA) Family Advisory Committee is committed to
representing the views of families who support children and youth, with the goal of ensuring
appropriate delivery of behavioral healthcare services to all HealthChoices consumers. We
are currently seeking family members of adult and child consumers in Armstrong, Beaver,
Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland
counties to serve on this Committee.
Every member of our Committee receives a stipend for their attendance and mileage
reimbursement. The Committee meets the second Tuesday of every other month at the
VBH-PA Trafford Service Center. If you are unable to attend in person, you may attend by
phone on a conference call and you will still receive a stipend for your time.
If you are interested in joining our committee, please contact Karan Steele, Recovery and
Resiliency Specialist, at (724) 744-6537 or email her at Karan.Steele@ValueOptions.com.
Page 5
Nomination Form Continued on Next Page
Page 6
Page 7
24 North Washington Street
Waynesburg, PA 15370
Phone: 724-627-3213
E-mail:
openarms24@windstream.net
The door to the Open Arms Drop-In Center in Waynesburg opened on February 3, 2004. An open house was held on April 23, 2004.
Thanks to Value Behavioral Health of PA and Greene County Human Services. Now Greene County residents 18 years of age and older, who
currently have or have had a mental health issue, can socialize and learn. There are games, puzzles, bingo, and just a chance to chat.
Members have the opportunity to improve social skills and to develop and maintain healthy relationships in a safe and friendly atmosphere.
Open Arms
Wellness Recovery Action Plan
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