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August/September 2010 NAMI Queens/Nassau PATHways Page 12 Miniature Golf at Spring Rock Golf Center by STEPHEN C. It was a sunny day when I arrived at Spring Rock Golf Center and met the Friendship Network on May 16 th . Cliff and Alice greeted members under the tent and divided us into two groups. One group headed to the Romeo putting greens and the other group to the Juliette putting holes. I went to the Romeo section, where we divided into three groups and started at the first hole. I was playing with Janine and Sam. The object of the game is to get the fewest strokes possible under par or par to receive a good score. We each had some impressive plays, and in the end all three of us had a good time. The holes were challenging in a variety of ways: there were twists and turns on several holes; one hole deposited the ball from a top section of three holes to a bottom section of one hole; another hole represented a grotto with a waterfall. Afterwards the group drove over to Charlie Brown’s steakhouse. I sat at a round table with Janine, Alice, Andrea, Jeff and Barbara. We helped ourselves to a salad bar, which we enjoyed. Alice and I took two servings at the salad bar. There were lots to choose from. Three bean salad was my favorite along with the chick peas and several other legumes. We each chose a different entrée, which came with a baked potato with either butter or sour cream. We got onion rings also! For dessert, Alice treated us to a chocolate layer cake and cheesecake. At the end of the evening we said goodbye; all the members had a good day filled with entertainment and dining. I’m sure all of us will attend the next golf and dinner get together. What Friendship Network Means to Me By ADRIENNE M. A friendship can be like a flower, beautiful and sweet. It only needs a warm hello to start out and make it grow. Throughout the year I’ve been with Friendship Network I’ve made many new friends and enjoyed some fun and exciting events. For me personally, it’s been a long time since I’ve had so much to do. Because of this, the loneliness faded and blossomed to brightness and hope—the sun came shining through. I know others may have similar feelings. Friendship Network is an organization that really creates friendships and enjoyment. It can keep you busy and help you stay away from the negative feelings that brought you to the group to begin with. I hope Friendship Network stays in existence for a very long time because the smiles and happiness it can bring is truly something to be cherished. My thanks to Friendship Network and all those involved with it that make it the special and fun place that it is. Friendship Network News A Cool Evening At Citifield While Met star Jose Reyes was boiling mad in the 7 th inning, we were all freezing upstairs. He was ejected from the game, and we started filing out early as the Mets took a hard 3-2 loss. Pitcher John Maine started what ended as a close game. It seemed as if the Mets were trying too hard. The whistling wind saw them attempting to come back, but even my favorite Met, David Wright, didn’t do too well at the plate. All in all, it was an interesting night as we did our best to enjoy the game and the music during the innings at the same time as fighting the cold at Citifield. Special thanks go to Rosalie and the Friendship Network for their great effort of putting together a memorable night of baseball and fun! Luncheon at Jani’s and Bowling By JANINE B. and ROSINA L. Today a group of us met at Jani’s, a Japanese-Chinese restaurant in Mineola. We started the afternoon with Wonton soup, fried noodles and duck sauce. Everyone was hungry – you could tell by the empty plates. Next they served us egg rolls as an appetizer. It seemed everyone was enjoying the lunch. The waitress was very nice and the service was very good. Each of us had a chance to order from the menu. And everyone seemed to be pleased. After our meals, a few people ordered ice cream for dessert, as the rest of us were on our way to meet up at the bowling alley. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed talking with each other. At the bowling alley, as the teams were setting up for good bowling action, one friend thought he could not play because he did not have socks to wear with the bowling shoes. Well, goodhearted J. to the rescue, no problem for her – she went to the nearby discount store and bought him a pair of socks. A few minutes later C. came in and declared she couldn’t play because she did not have socks – J. directed her to the discount store and C. purchased socks and enjoyed being a player rather than just a spectator. Everybody was now set for great bowling. There was good energy, a true spirit of joy!! We cheered each other through the games. I personally played one game because I chose a heavy ball, a ball that had power to knock down those pins. It got me a few strikes and a good score, but my hand hurt from the weight, so I bowed out of a second or third game. Some friends had bowling fever and did bowl two and three games. There were hoorahs when the pins were knocked down and aahs when the ball curved into a gutter ball. Everybody gave it their best effort. A good time was had by all. Thank you goes to Alice, Nancy and Barbara for arranging that special day.
August/September 2010 NAMI Queens/Nassau PATHways Page 13 Homes, Not Jails or Prison, Are What's Needed for People With Mental Illnesses By DEBORAH DE SANTIS, President and CEO of the Corporation for Supportive Housing Huffington Post, June 2, 2010 Homeless and severely mentally ill, Lavelle has been arrested more than 150 times in the last decade, traveling between Chicago's littered skid row and the Cook County Jail without ever getting any meaningful treatment. A recent study issued by the National Sheriff's Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center, entitled "More Mentally Ill Persons Are in Jails and Prisons Than Hospitals: A Survey of the States," shows that Lavelle is not alone. The study describes the shocking fact that there are now three times more mentally ill persons in American jails and prisons than there are in hospitals. In many urban areas, it's much worse. In California, it's about four times worse, in Florida, the figure is five times, and in Arizona, there are nine times more people with mental illness imprisoned than in psych wards. The human and financial implications of this worsening national trend are frightening. People with mental illnesses should have mental health treatment and a safe place to live instead of languishing in already overcrowded jails and prisons. Shockingly, in the end, it's the taxpayers that get stuck. In California alone, more than $100,000 a year is spent to incarcerate a single person with mental illness. Today, I'm joined in this blog by Martin F. Horn of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, former Commissioner of NYC Department of Correction and Probation, and the Honorable Evelyn Stratton of the Ohio State Supreme Court, both co-chairs of CSH's Returning Home Advisory Committee, to say that there is a better way. And the Sheriff's Association report provides a road map. It calls for more mental health courts like the ones in Ohio that get people into community treatment programs rather than imprisoning them. It calls for overhauling our mental health laws and improving community-based services as is happening in states like New York. And we also need supportive housing -- safe, affordable housing that is closely linked to the mental health services and other supports people with mental illnesses need to thrive in the community and stay out of jail. Communities across the country are proving supportive housing works. These communities are making certain that people with serious mental illness move into apartments and get the services they need when they are released from jail, rather than being dumped homeless on the streets. By making supportive housing available, cities have been able to drastically reduce the number of days people with mental illness stay in jail. In New York, the reduction has been 53%, in Denver the reduction is 76% and in Rhode Island it is 79%. A recent study by John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that supportive housing not only broke the cycle of incarceration and homelessness, but also is expected to begin saving tax dollars after three years by reducing stays in jail (which costs $129 a day) and reliance on homeless shelters (which costs $68 per day). Lavelle adds a human face to this story. After his last stint in jail, he moved into supportive housing, was enrolled in treatment, got re-connected to his family, and has remained out of jail since then -- something that even he thought would be impossible. The National Sheriff's Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center's disturbing report has sounded yet another alarm about our need to stop incarcerating people who are seriously mentally ill, homeless, and suffer from co-occurring disorders such as alcoholism and drug addiction. For those who listen the report demonstrates that addressing the housing needs and providing services to Lavelle and the thousands more like Lavelle is the right solution. NYAPRS Seeks Queens-Based Peer Wellness Coach NYAPRS is pleased to announce it is hiring for a Peer Wellness Coach in Queens to work in its cutting edge collaboration with OptumHealth, aimed at helping to engage and support Medicaid beneficiaries with mental health, substance abuse and major medical conditions to receive access to more personalized, better coordinated package of care and to advance their own self care and recovery. This is a paid, part-time position for a peer in recovery from mental health and substance abuse challenges. The person hired will be an employee of NYAPRS and will work with Optum- Health staff in a special ‘chronic illness demonstration project’ developed by the NYS Department of Health. It requires up to 20 hours a week in a varied schedule, including evenings and weekends. The person hired must have a valid NYS driver license and have access to a legally registered vehicle. Responsibilities •Using provided contact information, seek out identified Medicaid recipients to explain program, encourage them to enroll in program, and complete initial enrollment forms •Engage enrolled individuals to form trust-based relation- (Continued on page 14)
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