What's new in the world of Mental Health

Lots of things are going on, so pick and choose what you wanna read.

Will intersperse with a little levity and photos.

  Albert Camus, French-Algerian author, who wrote in the tradition of absurdism, said "Without Work, All Life Goes Rotten."

Here from Abington Patch, is a list of jobs.

My friend CC sent me two articles from Oprah magazine about the mentally ill.

I found these stories really interesting.

Rev. Donna Allen, PhD, a survivor of PTSD and sexual abuse, says it does no good to pray to get healed. You gotta have help to fix yourself.

The Gould Farm in Massachusetts is a safe place where folks with very severe mental health issues may live.  Also in Oprah mag, read about it here.

Thanks, I needed that!

Mary Ann Copeland has regular retreats from her home in Vermont.

Read about her latest program.

Now we're gonna hear selected articles from Susan Rogers and Fran Hazam from their Key Update of the  Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

HHS Issues Game-Changing Rules That Promise Increased Research Transparency

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has taken a step toward creating more transparency in clinical research, NPR has reported. Sharing the article on Twitter, prominent psychiatrist @AllenFrancesMD, author of Saving Normal, wrote,

"Wonderful new rules force much more honest reporting of clinical research so that negative results don't get buried." According to NPR, "Since 2007, scientists have been required to post results of experiments on a government website, https://clinicaltrials.gov/.

But many top universities and drug companies have failed to meet those standards, according to academic studies and investigative journalists." The new rules take effect in January 2017; researchers will have 90 days to comply. For the NPR article, click here. 

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September is Suicide Prevention Month. Read SAMHSA's Suicide Prevention notes here. 

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Report on Smart Solutions to Our Growing Female Prison Population Is Available

The Oregon Justice Resource Center has issued An Alternative to Women's Prison Expansion in Oregon: Presenting Smart Solutions to Our Growing Female Prison Population and Identifying Who Has the Power to Reduce It. 

 "The relentless growth in Oregon's women's prison population over the last 40 years shows why Oregonians can no longer hope to incarcerate their way out of problems such as trauma, addiction, mental illness, homelessness and poverty," the report notes.

Three of its suggested six "fixes" are "Expanding eligibility and use of the family sentencing alternative pilot program," "Streamlining the clemency process," and "Early release for terminally/severely ill, permanently incapacitated or elderly prisoners." For the other solutions and the rest of the document, click here.

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New Resources, Including a Webinar, Are Available from the TU Collaborative on Community Inclusion

The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion has published three new guides: Addressing Sexuality and Intimacy Interests of Persons with Mental Health Conditions: Recommendations for Program Administrators (for more information and to download, click here), 

Adding Recreation to Your Coping Toolbox: An 8-Week Protocol (to download, click here), and Peer Facilitated Community Inclusion Toolkit (click here). In addition, the TU Collaborative will sponsor a one-hour webinar, Supporting College Students with Psychiatric Disabilities, on October 11 at noon ET. For more information and to register, click here.

 
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Scientific American Reports on How the FDA Manipulates the Media

A recent report in Scientific American notes that the "U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has been arm-twisting journalists into relinquishing their reportorial independence."

"[T]he FDA assures the public that it is committed to transparency," the article continues, "but the documents show that, privately, the agency denies many reporters access-including ones from major outlets such as Fox News-and even deceives them with half-truths to handicap them in their pursuit of a story.

At the same time, the FDA cultivates a coterie of journalists whom it keeps in line with threats." For the story, click here.

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An Opera Based on the Life of Elyn Saks Can Be Viewed for Free Online

An opera about Elyn Saks, the MacArthur Award-winning law professor whose memoir chronicled her recovery from a diagnosis of schizophrenia, is available for free viewing on the Mental Health America website.

Saks co-wrote the libretto for "The Center Cannot Hold" with composer/psychiatrist Kenneth B. Wells. "I am delighted and just a little overwhelmed to have Ken make an opera out of my story," Saks told MHA. "I feel as if Ken has captured my experience and my voice." To view the opera, click here and scroll down to "View the Full Opera."

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Y A W N  !!!!!

Snack Break.

Peanuts and Raisins. 

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 Rally to Close Rikers Island Tomorrow, September 24, in NYC

Tomorrow, September 24, at 1 p.m., people will gather at a march and rally with the goal of shutting down Rikers Island, an infamous correctional facility in New York City.

As The New York Times has editorialized, "The sensible thing to do with Rikers is to close it." Just Leadership USA, which is organizing the event, is helmed by Glenn E. Martin, who served time on Rikers as well as several years in a state prison and has become a nationally known advocate for criminal justice reform. In a long interview published by The Atlantic, Martin said, "It seems like such an abomination for us to have this facility continue to operate." For the revised details about the event, click here.

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And finally a word from State Senator Stewart Greenleaf about Legal Aid 

Numerous people in our group need expensive legal help, so why not try Legal Aid if you qualify. 

When my former husband and I divorced many yrs ago - he lived in Texas - and I lived here - I used Legal Aid as my counselor. Is that the correct term, Ron?

Civil Legal Aid

For those who cannot afford legal representation, there is a state-wide network in place to provide legal aid to resolve critical civil matters such as child custody, illegal evictions by a landlord, or home foreclosure. Today, only about half of the 2 million Pennsylvanians who qualify for legal aid get the help they need. Funding for legal aid has fallen sharply in recent years, even as poverty has increased. As of 2014, out of the state’s 12.8 million residents, 1.8 million were living in poverty, up from 1.6 million in 2012.

With the legal system far too complex for a lay person to navigate, many are left without recourse for wrongs done to them or when they have been denied basic needs. When an individual comes to court without representation, the process can be very long and burdensome to both the plaintiff and the court system.

In 2007, the Pennsylvania Bar Association passed a resolution stating that the Commonwealth should provide legal counsel as a matter of right to low income persons where basic human needs are at stake. They pointed to research that has shown that for every dollar spent on legal aid, there is more than a 10 fold savings in costs of shelter and basic needs.

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This note was so much easier to write on my blog than on the cumbersome email marketing tool I use.

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Have a great Friday night and weekend!

Ruth Z Deming, MGPGP, Founder/Director
New Directions Support Group since 1986
Donations available on our above website!

(Mis)Adventure at Barnes & Noble - Poem: Mirror Mirror on the Wall

So I think I'll be sophisticated like all the Starbux fans, so I order a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I can barely get the words out of the my mouth bc I don't know how to pronounce Pumpkin Spice Latte.

My aim is to wander the store to find a b'day gift for a friend.

First I sit down and sip on the pumpkin spice. I can't believe it. It has absolutely no flavor atall! I'm also ashamed of myself for ordering it. It cost over four dollars.

Leonard Maran on FB says Starbux is toxic. That's the first thing that comes to mind.

Seems like they've never gotten a request to return something, unlike our Giant Supermarket.

It takes approx 20 mins to return it and get a very strong Decaf which I fill with arf and arf. I'm a 'black' woman but

wanted the taste sensation of "coffee with cream, please."

There's nothing more ridiculous than wandering around the store with coffee in your hand. You might spill it.

Here's where I spilled it.

I went to sit over by the magazines, boot and I, and attempted to take a sip. Since I'd added cream, I hadn't replaced the lid correctly.

The hot coffee spilled down by blouse - I was shocked - that must be what it's like to have an instant heart attack - but worse still - it spilled on two books I was looking for as gifts.

I wiped it off pretty well on this book, but not on tother, where it left a stain on the cover.

  I turned both books upside down on anudder bench and wondered how I could redeem myself.

I did, sort of, by buying two books for my friend. I showed Scott, who agreed they look great!

Both by a woman I'd never heard of.... Candice Millard.  Born in 1968.

Funny, cuz she wrote about presidents and her last name is, well, Millard Fillmore.

You know how drivers are always in a hurry?

You should have seen one person on the way home. She or he was actually teetering on the median so she could make a quick left turn.

Here's my FB poem for this morning.

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL

What shall Ruthie wear today?
The squrrels are gabbing as I choose
This isn't any ordinary day
It's fall and I is chilled.

Opening up a drawer marked
"Sweaters" in Aunt Ethel's
ivory-white chest of drawers
my old friends greet me

So many favorites. How could
I have forgotten you over
the summer of sandals and
tank tops and dresses

Eyes closed, I pick YOU,
darling blue and white
stripes with a useless
tie for decoration or
to feel like a mariner

And now I go out into
the world. Same as ever.
But dressed to kill.

Met my new friend Evelyn at the Willow Grove Barnes and Noble

Evelyn and I agreed to meet at 7 pm at the B&N. I had 45 minutes to wait. What was I to do? Went to Scott's next door to tell him. Then I said I've gotta motivate myself to write a short fiction story.

Well, don't do it, if you're not in the mood, he said.

Don't worry, I said, I'll get in the mood when I start to write it.

What I wanted to write about was a view of a river. I could see it in me mind's eye. But where was this river and why did I want to see it?

Somehow I thought of my old friend Walter Straus. We used to be great friends. He was born in December of 1918 and lived in Bristol, PA. In fact, he would swim across the Delaware River.

W/o doubt, Walter is the most interesting man I've ever met. So I decided to write about him for one of the many lit mags I've never submitted to. It's called Matchbox. The writing on the website is teeny-tiny.

I began with a quotation, so I wouldn't forget it and also b/c it was a good quote and in keeping w their recommendation to write about what's going on today.

Mailed it off to Marf, who really liked it. You can't imagine how relieved I was. Was worried it was no good.

Evelyn was a little late to B and N, so I wandered about and wondered, Will I recognize her? I've only see her once.

Yes, there she was.

Aha! Just remembered why I was thinking about Walter. He used to read me poems at his high rise. One of his favorites was Evelyn Hope by Robert Browning.

Evelyn. I do know a couple of Evelyns. One likes to be called EVie.  Met with her this year .

We saved 10 percent as I used my mom/laws phone no. Scott reminded me of this. I had my dinner there,
something Mexican whose name is impossible to remember. Farout Fallujah?

Evelyn has older parents, in their 80s. Each one drives but not far from home. They all live in Abington.

She loves photography and I invited her to show her photos at our Arts Fest.

She said she has some nice ones from Cuba.

Cuba? I shouted. You've been there?

Then I mentioned Randy Kane who showed his photos from Cuba last year. She thinks she's heard of him. He shows neat photos daily on FB.

  Cuba, from our Arts Fest.

One thing Evelyn and I have in common is that when we're doing our work, we're so focused that nothing else exists. When someone calls on the phone, we can't bear to break our concentration. 

Mom got a flu shot yesterday from Dr Foxhall

Today she was in excruciating pain. When she called, they told her to put ice on it and take Tylenol.

Whew! My 94-yo mom is tough, but she's also fragile. Lemme try and write a quick poem about her. I'll take a sip of decaf .... hold on..... I'm sipping away...it's 9:54 now...


Rockabye Mama in your pillow covered bed
Rockabye Mama take a rest from the many
years you've been around, Cleveland,
North Carolina, Englewood Cliffs,
Huntingdon Valley, where your soft
white hair, fine as corn silk
rests exhausted on your pillow

You are not old, your voice is lively
never defeated even by today's terrible
pain from the flu shot.

Did I ever mention You are the best
mama I ever done have. May the healing
powers of sleep bring you nothing
but joy in the morning.

Good meeting tonight - Return of the Preying Mantis - Poem: Are you never satisfied woman?

Carole Hodges worked as the Greeter. She does a fab job running the Loved Ones Group.

 Gail Hill, director of Peace Valley Nature Center, gave a fascinating talk about the wonderful park.

She brought some of the animals that frequent the park and also the surrounding areas. Scott often sees a skunk when he walks through the little woods in back of our houses. The skunk is as tame as a household pet.

Gail said the skunk does a little warning dance before he shoots his juice at the enemy's eyes, which is the best place to demobilize him.

Mr Skunk will even do this when he's crossing the street but his enemy, the car, kills him anyway.

As a gift we gave her Martinelli's Sparkling Cider.

It's a staple in our family.

At last I'm listening to good audio books. In the kitchen it's the late Frank McCourt's TIS:  A Memoir. What a great storyteller.

In the car I'm listening to Kevin Mitnick's Ghost in the Wires. He's a world-famous computer hacker.

Read about his book here.

This morning I stepped out on the front porch

Got this carton for junk mail from the beer dept at the Giant. Filled it with groceries but when I got home it was leaking!

I put it out on the front porch where first it gathered grubs underneath, later ants.

Yuck! I carried it to the side of the house.

er.

Can you see the preying mantis on my window?

Click to enlarge.

As soon as I saw him - and they come round every fall - I thought of my late father. When he was dying of cancer, I saw a mantis and considered it good luck.

Here's a couple of poems.

This is a secret so please don't share it. I'm getting tired of my red couch. That's quite ridiculous but I can't help dreaming of buying another one.

Here's the poem I wrote about on FB. No one has noticed it yet.

ARE YOU NEVER SATISFIED WOMAN?

That's one of the lines from a
film noir I watched last night
A broad in a long silky peignoir
and lighted cigarette was looking
through a brochure that came in the mail.

Darling, she said, to one of three men
who fancied her, I'm sick of my
raggedy old couch and want a new one.
Might you, Darling, just might you....

He took her by the shoulders, looked
into her deep brown eyes, How fine she
looks, but said nothing

and out tumbled the exact wrong words,
Of course my darling Ruthie, anything
you want. Shall we head to Gamburg's
now?

Gamburg's, she mewled. It's Lord and
Taylor in New York or NOTHING.

And cool Johnny Ice walked out
of her life forever.

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