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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