NAMI Southern AZ Mental Health Walk 2015

I am so glad I had the opportunity to volunteer at this year’s National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Southern Arizona Mental Health Walk. This is an annual community event to raise funds and awareness. As you know, I publish mental health-related blog posts from time to time. So many participants out this year doing the 3 or 5K. Some walk and raise funds as a team, others come by themselves, and many join friends and family. Fortunately, the walkers crossed the finish way before the temps reached into the 90’s. It was a hot one! I had a chance to see many old friends (as I often do at health events), so it made my day really special. It’s one of the best things in the world: being around a group of caring, non-judgmental people.

This year, walkers were warmed up with high-energy Latin dance aerobics and later treated to a post-walk Mariachi performance. It was a really fun time! NAMI hosts walks all across the U.S., so you may want to search for one in your area (if this is a cause you would like to support). I didn’t take a ton of pics this year, but here are a few:

Getting ready for the big walk! Many teams design and wear their own t-shirts.

Cafe 54 Food Truck serving hungry walkers (read more about their amazing work here).

Mariachi! I always love the outfits! They were awesome!

NAMI Store Tent

This banner from the Community Partnership of Southern Arizona really touched me. No shame, no fear, just help.

If you have a moment, please take a look at my mental health series posts. They can be found under the Health category of my blog menu. For your convenience, I have linked to them below. In addition to the blog posts themselves, I have listed many article and resources links. Further articles are frequently featured in My Way posts as well.

Mental Illness Discrimination & Exploitation

World Mental Health Day, 2014 & NAMI Multicultural Action Center

Mental Illness Awareness Week, Mental Illness Facts and Myths, & Cafe 54, Tucson, AZ

What is Stigma?

NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness Stigma Alerts Archive (many of these archives are no longer listed, so I may post a few at some point)

University of Arizona Camp Wellness

My Favorite Places: Casa de los Niños Thrift Store

The Casa de los Niños Thrift Store is one of my favorites in Tucson. I love thrift stores in general, but this particular one supports a great vision and mission:

“Casa de los Niños promotes child well-being and family stability in our community.

Every day in Arizona, about 12 children are abused or neglected. The effects of child abuse and neglect last a lifetime and are often passed along to the next generation.”
casadelosninos.org

Please visit their website for more information on their much needed and appreciated community work.

As far as thrift stores, recycling, upcycling, etc., goes, I found this surprising statement on the Tucson Habitat for Humanity website:

“Did you know that about 80% of what Americans throw away is recyclable, yet our recycling rate is only less than 30%? You can help by shopping and donating to the HabiStore. Before you toss out that sofa, appliance or porch light, give us a call. Your unwanted item may be just what someone else is looking for and, by donating it, you help keep over 250 tons of material out of the local landfill.”
habitattucson.org

I must admit, I am a bit disappointed in the availability of recycling in certain areas of Tucson. I recall living back East, the waste management companies would not even pick up your trash if it contained recyclable materials. I hope we will see increasing recycling opportunities as time goes by.

I wanted to share a few pics from my last thrift store visit. I get excited over little things, so forgive me 🙂 .

Records are one of my fave thrift store finds:

In case you want to reduce (with the off-the-record record, of course, lol):

Great selection of books to make your library look distinguished:

I found My Fair Lady! Awesome! I already have Babe. I love that meanie cat in the movie. She tells Babe that humans eat poor little piggies, “Pork, they call it. Or bacon.” So evil!

And, Miss Marple is always fab to watch:

A few more, and I’ll let you be!

Nice little fixer-upper. Just needs a bit of TLC:

Beanies and hats if we get a cold spell:

But, many I see are wearing something like this for the warmer days (hopefully, it stays that way!):

I didn’t know they made fortune cookie machines:

I love this guy!

Thanks for humoring me with my pics! Take care!

National Wear Red Day, February 6, 2015 & CPR/AED/First Aid Training

Get Involved in the Fight Against Heart Disease and Women – Go Red For Women.

I recently had to re-take CPR/AED/First Aid class for my personal trainer re-certification. An American Heart Association staff member informed me that tomorrow is National ‘Wear Red Day.’ So, I thought I would pass along this info to help raise heart disease awareness:

“It’s not just a man’s disease.
Heart disease and stroke kill 1 in 3 women, yet it’s 80% preventable.
Help us raise awareness to end this killer of women.

Make a change on National Wear Red Day and all year long!
1. Wear Red to show your support for saving women’s lives
2Show us how you Go Red on your social media profiles using #GoRed
Donate to help raise funds for awareness and research”
goredforwomen.org

I see a wealth of information on this site, including How to Reduce Stress at Work, What Exercise is Right for You, Portion Control Advice, a Women’s Heart Disease Checklist, as well as personal testimonies. I hope you all will take advantage of what they have to offer!

I also want to mention that even if you are not in a profession that requires CPR/AED/First Aid, I highly recommend it for everyone. Just a few hours of your time could save someone’s life. The American Heart Association has many classes available all throughout the U.S. Check out this link for more information.

Christmas Luncheon Pics

I hope you all are having a fabulous Holiday season! I had an absolutely wonderful day serving at the Salvation Army’s public Christmas meal. So, I wanted to share a few pics with you all. This was the first time I have participated on Christmas Day. I usually just help carve the turkeys a few days before the Holiday (a joint venture of the Jewish Federation and SA). I had no idea the extent of what goes into this day. There must have been at least 100 volunteers cooking, dishing out food, cutting pies, pouring beverages, serving the plates, etc. It was amazing to witness the love, time, and preparation involved. The church had seating inside and out, so thankfully it was a warm day. I was blessed to see several younger children volunteering. It’s great to have kids start helping others when they are young — it can help set a pattern for the rest of their lives.

When I arrived, I saw quite a few people standing in line with coolers and boxes. I thought perhaps they were waiting for food to go. The organizers told me they were waiting to deliver food to people in the community. I didn’t even realize that was a service they offered. What a blessing! It was also cool to see our newly-elected Congresswoman out serving meals with us. It’s nice when those in public offices put action to their words! I had such an amazing experience, and those served were so appreciative and kind. I hope I will be able to participate in the coming years.

Soup’s on! Stock for the gravy and dressing:

Turkey time!

Flowers going out to the community along with a hot meal:

Precious! Placemats by young artists:

Church hall before the crowd arrives:

And after:

Serving up the food:

Santa & Friends:

Santa’s Helper:

The entertainment! Love the ‘Rockette-type’ outfits:

Digging in!

Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week!

The Haven, Tucson, AZ

Welcome to The Haven, Tucson Arizona.

Today, my charity spotlight is turned toward The Haven, located in Tucson, Arizona. You can find my other posts in the category of ‘Charity’ here. Charity is simply love manifesting itself.  And, that’s exactly what The Haven seeks to accomplish:

“The Haven’s Vision:

A safe, drug free, compassionate community that respects individuals, and does not stigmatize addiction and dependency.

The Haven’s Mission:

As an influential leader in the community, The Haven’s non-profit mission is to offer the highest quality prevention and treatment services for women who, but for our program, would be homeless and hopeless. The Haven offers women ‘Recovery with Respect’ while encouraging their spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical development. The Haven values affordable, safe, state-of-the-art substance abuse therapy that puts the Client and their Family first. Our focus on women and the acceptance of their children into residence is unique in our community.”

I have worked with so many attendees and graduates from this program, and I can truly say that its value is tremendous. Having your hope restored is something I will never stop speaking on. Please take a moment to look at this wonderful organization’s FAQs page to learn more about them.

For newer readers of my blog, I will probably continue to reiterate that most of my posts in this category will be Arizona-based. But, I hope you will find other organizations and charitable works in your own community. I have a non-profit background and my heart is deeply connected to social service works. So, you may see many of my posts are from that arena. I have also been in the for-profit sector, though, so I will most definitely include those organizational highlights as I come across them.

Mental Illness Awareness Week, Mental Illness Facts and Myths, & Cafe 54, Tucson, AZ

It seems like I just wrote upon the subject, but I thought to broach it again as this is Mental Illness Awareness Week and October 10th, World Mental Health Day.

http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=mental_illness_awareness_week

“Mental Illness Awareness Week, Oct. 5-11, 2014

In 1990, the U.S. Congress established the first full week of October as Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) in recognition of NAMI’s efforts to raise mental illness awareness. Since then, mental health advocates across the country have joined with others in their communities to sponsor activities, large or small, for public education about mental illness.

MIAW coincides with the National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery and Understanding (Oct. 7) and National Depression Screening Day (Oct. 9.)”

Some facts and myths about mental illness can be found here:

http://promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/publications/myths_facts.aspx

And here:

http://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/myths-facts/index.html

Why is it so important to know these myths, facts, and dispel the stigma surrounding mental illnesses?

“In this age where technology emerges at rapid pace there remains a baffling amount of misunderstanding about mental illness. The medical science related to diagnosing and treating mental illness is as extensive as the science related to treating diabetes or arthritis. The fact remains that even among educated people, mental illness is often seen as a fault and not a physical health affliction. Stigma about mental illness is predominant and implies that mental illness is a flaw of character. Stigma is harmful because it is an obstacle for many to receive psychiatric treatment and it directly stands in the way of social acceptance.”
(http://www.westlakebayvillageobserver.com/read/2014/09/16/end-stigma-and-create-compassion)

During this week of awareness, I wanted to highlight a wonderful organization right here in Tucson, Arizona:

http://www.cafe54.org

Cafe 54’s mission is “to support individuals recovering from persistent, chronic mental illnesses; to help them regain their ability to move towards their recovery with a focus on reintegration into the community…

[Participant’s in] Cafe 54[‘s] training program have spent months working under the instruction and scrutiny of job coaches at our full service, high quality bistro where all the food is made from scratch, including all entrees, breads, salads, and desserts. Trainees who complete the job training program at Cafe 54 have been taught a variety of jobs and have an understanding of kitchen safety, food safety, knife skills, customer relations, customer service, effective work-place communication, and personal accountability.”

Along with the fabulous cafe (which, by the way, does indeed serve some marvelous food — see my pic above), this community work has an art foundation.

“Café 54 Art Foundation was established to provide and assist individuals recovering from mental illness the opportunity to express themselves through the creative arts. All tips from the Café and the Café’s catering business go to the Art Foundation Fund. This funding is available to any individual who is recovering from mental illness and currently working with a Behavioral Health Program, who shows a desire to express him or herself through visual art.”

There are many things I hope to write on this subject at some point. But, for now, I will leave you with a few articles for your reference. If you would care to read my previous posts on mental health, you can find them here and here.

http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2014/9/15/6140189/fifa-mental-health-research

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/i-will-listen-how-social-media-can-diminish-the-stigma-of-mental-illness/

http://www.thehealthsite.com/news/vandrevala-foundation-to-improve-mental-health-in-india-worlds-suicide-capital/

http://newsok.com/oklahomans-must-move-into-21st-century-in-dealing-with-mental-illness/article/5344880

http://centraljersey.com/articles/2014/10/03/newswire/doc542e187e455f1023533263.txt

http://www.roosevelttorch.com/news/view.php/849627/Stigma-around-mental-illness-needs-to-st

http://www.benefitscanada.com/benefits/health-wellness/taking-action-on-mental-illness-57255

http://www.queanbeyanage.com.au/story/2599474/artworks-on-show-for-mental-health-awareness/

http://psychcentral.com/lib/responding-to-mental-illness-in-your-workforce-following-the-law/0008503

Tucson Urban League | Empowering Communities Changing Lives

Tucson Urban League | Empowering Communities Changing Lives.

Continuing in my posts about charitable organizations, I wanted to highlight the Tucson Urban League:

“The Tucson Urban League is an empowerment center. Our programs identify people in need and connect them to services to eliminate opportunity disparities and increase economic and social outcomes. For over 43 years, our programs have been critical to making our region’s economy grow and meet today’s workforce needs. Our programs address the needs of Southern Arizonans of all ages and ethnicities and move people out of poverty and into a livable wage to support their families and community…

The mission of the Tucson Urban League is to advance economic and social prosperity for African Americans and other under served Tucson area residents by creating access to opportunity through advocacy, community partnerships, and programs and services.”

The Urban League here in Tucson, Arizona serves the community in areas such as affordable housing, childcare centers, employment and training help, K-8 tutoring and mentoring, breakfast and lunch programs for seniors, utility assistance, and weatherization services. If you reside in Tucson, you might consider giving your time or charitable donations to this worthy resource center. If you live elsewhere, I hope you will still check out the link and let it inspire you. These types of services are much needed in the area, and I am truly blessed by the dedication of this organization’s team.

Interfaith Community Services, Tucson, AZ & The Value of Volunteering

Interfaith Community Services – Tucson, AZ – Social Services

On my blog menu, I have a category for charities. I will include charities across the US in my posts, but they will probably predominantly be those located in Arizona. My hope is that even if you are not an Arizona resident, you may seek out similar charities in your area.

Some people may not be able to give much monetarily to charitable organizations, but don’t forget you can always give your time. Volunteer work is much needed for non-profit organizations and can be crucial to their success. Volunteering is one way to give to your community and may also be beneficial for your career. I read an article many moons ago about volunteering being a “Career Secret Weapon.” It could be an avenue to get your foot in the door of an organization that you may have never even been able to get a job interview for. If the management team sees that you are dedicated, willing to learn, show up on time, etc., you might be in the right place at the right time when they decide to hire new employees. And, even if you do not gain employment with an organization you are volunteering for, it can still go on your resume for future job searching.

Interfaith Community Services in Tucson, Arizona is such a stellar organization. They offer a broad range of help to those in need. With two locations in Southern Arizona, they house a food bank, provide emergency financial assistance, have a job resource center, provide support to seniors (including mobile meals), they host a “Back to School” supplies drive, and more. Check out their page for more info on their amazing community work.