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¡Bienvenido!
Welcome!
Happy
New Year from Northeastern Center, Inc. If you have been a
recipient of the Bienvenido Program newsletter you will notice
we have a different format. We hope this new format makes it
easier for you to read and brings you quick and informing news
regarding the Bienvenido Program. We wish you much success
during this coming year!
Bienvenido
Program Evaluation Extension
Our
Bienvenido Program evaluation was to be completed at the end
of January; however, NEC has decided to extend the evaluation
until March in order to complete three additional Bienvenido
pilot groups. A summary report will be made available to
Northeastern
Center
by Dr. Delia Saldaña at the end of January and a full report
will be available in March. Two pilot groups have completed
their work and three additional groups were started in
January. We are excited about being able to reach more Latino
immigrants through the Bienvenido Program.
Latino
Behavioral Health Network Survey
In light of the
positive response by various organizations and individuals in
attendance at Latino Behavioral Health Summit, Northeastern
Center decided to create a survey that would ask summit
participants and community leaders and residents regarding
their interest in being part of a Latino behavioral health
network. Northeastern
Center believes that
the creation of a network of behavioral health professionals
and leaders from Indiana would move us
closer to better understanding the behavioral health needs of
the Latino community.
The
short survey will serve as listening tool to better determine
if Northeastern
Center
should proceed in the direction of creating a Latino
behavioral health network in
Indiana.
It is envisioned that Northeastern
Center
will invite interested survey participants to an initial
meeting to discuss the creation of the network. You can view
the survey at the following link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=31913028915
Community
Dialogues
Community
Dialogues initiated by Northeastern
Center
in Ligonier continue to unfold. A group of 19 community
residents decided to work on the following issue on January 17
and January 23: Alternatives for youth of Ligonier. The
dialogues are for community residents, professionals, and city
officials. It is envisioned that the community break down
barriers of communication and work together to create
more
dialogue amongst various groups in the Ligonier
community. Northeastern
Center
has decided to transfer leadership to the Celebrate Diversity
Project, a not-for-profit organization in
Noble
County,
which addresses diversity issues. If you have questions
regarding the Community Dialogues, feel free to contact
Margarita White at 260-894-9078.
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Reaching
out to LEAP of Noble
County
Northeastern
Center (NEC) is reaching out
to LEAP of Noble
County and its students
during the next nine weeks by providing the Bienvenido Program. In
November NEC approached LEAP to discuss the possibility of
collaborating. Matt Bell, Executive Director of LEAP, and Gilberto
Pérez, Bienvenido Program Director, agreed that combining adult
literacy and mental health education would be beneficial for both
groups.
On January 11 NEC will
meet for nine weeks with 24 LEAP students to address the following
topics: good mental health, family and mental health, communication,
managing anger, risk factors and protective factors associated with
arriving in a new country, and incidence of alcohol and drug use in
the adaptation process. The program will be conducted at Ligonier
Elementary on Thursday evenings.
Both LEAP and NEC are
excited for that students and mental health professionals will
interact with one another. NEC hopes participants will come away
with a new appreciation for their mental health. NEC is committed to
improving the quality of life of Latino immigrants and it will
continue to venture beyond the four walls of its mental health
center. In Noble County LEAP and NEC will continue to reach out and
partner for a better community.
Northeastern Center to
partner with Learning Generation Initiative
In
October 2006 NEC entered into a conversation with the Learning
Generation Initiative (LGI) of LaGrange,
IN.
The Learning Generation
Initiative is a not-for-profit organization that provides adult
literacy and vocational training to residents of LaGrange and
Elkhart
Counties.
LGI invited NEC to submit a proposal for the training of adult
literacy teachers in the Bienvenido curriculum. LGI included this
Bienvenido proposal in a grant proposal to the Indiana Office of
Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) with hopes of receiving funding
to expand their work in the Northeastern region of
Indiana.
In December 2006, NEC received word from LGI that their grant had
been approved by OCRA. NEC and LGI will partner in the training of
50 adult literacy teachers in the Bienvenido curriculum beginning in
April 2007.
Northeastern
Center
begins cultural competence
self-assessment
On
January
10, 2006
the cultural competence self-assessment team will begin its work on
the organizational
self-assessment. NEC
believes that assessing attitudes, practices, policies and
structures of administrators and clinicians is a necessary,
effective and systematic way to plan for and incorporate cultural
competence with an organization. By evaluating the current status of
culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services NEC
will move to establish clear and direct policy that impacts the make
up of our corporation and consumers who receive our services. The
self-assessment will last between three to six weeks and a final
report will be available late February.
The
committee is made up of Steve Howell, Chief Clinical Officer, Jon
Fisher, Chief Operating Officer, Ron Chupp, Staff Therapist,
Kathleen Martínez, Quality Assurance Coordinator, and Gilberto
Pérez, Bienvenido Program Director. Two consumers are also a part of
the self-assessment team.
Latino Behavioral
Health Summit
The Latino Behavioral
Health Summit held on November 9-10,
2006 at
Pokagon
State
Park in
Angola, IN was sponsored by
Northeastern
Center and co-sponsored by
Goshen
College,
Drug-Free
Noble
County, and Celebrate
Diversity Project. The event brought together over 90 participants
from different fields of work: social workers, therapists, case
managers, researchers, health care workers, directors, ENL staff,
universities, professors, probation officers, drug court directors,
social work students, chief executive officers, chief operating
officers, nurses, physician, and others to discuss important topics
related to Latino behavioral health. A total of 11 eleven break-out
sessions were conducted and five keynote speakers brought current
information regarding Latino behavioral health and interpreting
issues with Latinos. Keynote presentations can be viewed on our NEC
website: www.nec.org
A few comments shared
by summit participants:
“Please
continue with this summit.
Excellent effort."
“Bringing in Senator’s
Reps and very skilled keynote speakers was very enjoyable. All
topics in breakouts were relevant to my job”
“I hope some more
pastoral counselors can be attracted to attend such a high quality
conference-excellent organizations planning and quality of
speakers.”
“Keynote speakers were
excellent. I appreciated the professionalism, clear and concise
presentation, and integration of policy and
practice.”
“Great job of
attracting such a diverse group of professionals. We can learn from
each other.”
Upcoming Bienvenido
Presentations:
February 23,
2007 –
Northeast
Indiana
Area
Education
Health
Center.
March 12,
2007 – Indiana Department
of Education K-12 ESL Conference.
April 18,
2007 –
Indianapolis Referral
Network.
June 8,
2007 – National
Association of Social Workers, Specialty Practice Section
Teleconference.
June 15,
2007 – University of
Southern Indiana, School Social Work
Institute.
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