May Newsletter 2009 Community Catalysts of California Protestors Demonstrate on Capitol Sidewalk On April 22, 2009, over 2,000 people marched from the Sacramento Convention Center to the State Capitol to protest against budget cuts to persons with disabilities, mental health needs, seniors, community organizations and workers who provide services. Protestors chanted “find another way” as they marched and demanded that cuts to In-Home Supportive Services, Medi-Cal optional benefits, SSI/SSP grants, CalWORKS grants, regional center services and other programs have their funding restored. in honor of dani ford On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, a special Memorial Service was held for Plum House consumer Dani Ford who passed away on Sunday, April 12, 2009. Dani was born on October 23, 1973 in Ukiah. She was diagnosed early on with autism, but she did not allow this to hold her back. She was a partner in the Busy Bistro Dog Cookie business where they made organic Snickerpoodles and delivered them to veterinarians and pet stores. She also volunteered her time at the community garden at the Buddy Eller Center. Dani enjoyed the outdoors and spending time with animals and in nature. Dani will be remembered for her adorable smile, her kindness and the way she kept everyone on their toes. She has impacted the lives of so many, including her parents, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, house mates and staff at the Plum House. Employee Anniversaries 21 years Jim Jenkins - CORP 14 Years Judy Powell - STK 10 Years Ann Marie Miller - SC 8 Years Carolyn McKinley - STK 7 Years Karen Garcia 4 Years Veronica Borinsky - CORP 3 Years Laura Cole - UK Edwardo Cortez - RH 2 Years Derrick Adams - MCD Cherolyn Howard - STK Krista Hribar - SM Ruthann Leonard - FSO Shawn Mendelsohn - UK 1Year Mayra Barocio - SAL Rose Mayfield - RH Caryn Morris - SM Tara Ramirez - EC Thanks for Your Patience We here at the Corporate Office would like to say thank you for all of your patience as we have we have begun using ezLabor. We know it has been a lot of work learning a new system and we appreciate your flexibility as we continue to work out the kinks. As the saying goes, “when it rains, it pours!”. We couldn’t just stop with changing our time and service logs - our online training, Essential Learning, also underwent an upgrade. If you have not signed on to the new site to see the upgraded site, please do so. The look of the site has completely changed and the navigation through the courses is quite different. A training course giving you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the site has been assigned to all staff, so take a moment and give it a try. Please refer to the memo that your Office Manager/ Assistant passed out to you for login instructions. If you need to know your password or have any questions, give Jayme Dix a call directly at (858) 569-1065. Thanks again and keep up the great work! News From Ukiah the happiest place on earth David S. and Paul R. enjoyed a 5 day trip to Disneyland. This was their first real vacation in a long while and they had a fantastic time. Staff Katie and Karen worked hard before, during and after the trip to make it so much fun. Thank you!! Birthday Celebrations Albert P. celebrated his 82nd birthday with friends and, of course, his roommate Marie. They also enjoyed a nice Easter dinner at a local restaurant. Many staff and consumers spent time with friends and family on Easter day, enjoying good food and good company. Harry H. had a big birthday celebration at the Plum House. He’s not telling his age but he says he feels 17. Way to go Harry! Staff Samantha Jackson also had a birthday. Many happy returns of the day! Consumer Anniversaries 14 years Cynthia A. - SD Forest F. - FSO Michelle Y. - SM 13 Years Edward G. - FSO Linda N. - MCD JoAnn C. - SM 12 Years Michael B. - MDO Alicia P. - FSO Loc K. - SM 11 Years Mart W. - SC John K. - SC Dan B. - SD 10 Years Andrew B. - SC Ronald E. - SC Patricia S. - SC 8 Years George V. - FSO 7 Years Brian S. - SC Paul R. - UK Melinda O. - SM 6 Years Danette R. - MCD Primes H . - STK Marisa E. - MDO Dylan C. - SAL 4 Years Corey S. - FSO Gregory B . - FSO Dharmesh P. - SAL James L. - STK 3 Years Lloyd P . - UK Diane H . - SC Jorge S. - FSO Stephen W. - UK Paul M . - FSO 2 Years Andrew R . -MCD Veronica A. - SAL 1 Year Jose A. - SAL Daniel P . - SC Mark H . - MCD Brian G . - SD Central Valley Fresno & Merced Fresno office has been “carfed”! The Fresno Office has been officially CARFed! We’ve had the pleasure of meeting Fred Domingez (CARF Surveyor) and spent 2 1/2 days educating him about Community Catalysts of California and what great work we do as well as in other areas. Now that the stress is over , I would like to take this opportunity to thank key people who have made this CARF experience a success: Christian Clement (Employment Specialist), John Mendoza (Employment Coordinator), Sylvia Ruiz Ortiz (Office Assistant), Alexandria Underwood (Office Manager), Jayme Dix, Melissa Downs, Sandy Caldwell, Pebbles Dumon, Wendy Forkas, & Jim Jenkins. It’s a great feeling to know that Community Catalysts supports their people as well as their area and we are proud of services we provide every day. Here’s to another three years! Welcome Fresno Office would like to welcome John Mendoza (Social Recreation Aide & Employment Coordinator) & Patricia Castro (Social Recreation Aide). We are so happy to have you both on our team! Congratulations Christian Clement has been working diligently in the Fresno County area and has secured employment for four consumers. Congratulations to Robert V., Tina R., Lakisha B., and Tammy W. as they were all selected as Concession Workers at the Grizzlies Stadium. They are all extremely busy with baseball season and are doing a great job! first quarter award of excellence While Wendy was in Fresno for CARF, she had the perfect opportunity to present Deborah McCowan, First Quarter Award of Excellence recipient, with her award. The whole Fresno Office staff gathered together to share the great announcement. Deborah received her award, certificate, and all her goodies. Deborah stated that she is here for the long haul and totally believes in Community Catalysts of California’s purpose, visions, and values. Keep up the awesome work you do each and every day! Social Rec. Update Parent/Consumer Meeting April 9th we held a Parent/Consumer Meeting. We were so excited about the turn out. We had approximately 40 Parent/Consumers, a CVRC Counselor and a representative from one of the day programs that a couple of the Consumers attend. We went over lots of information and played Bingo using key Words about our program. It was a great success! Merced News Congrats Merced Office would like to start by congratulating Deborah McCowan for receiving the Quarterly Award of Excellence. Way to go Deborah! Also, congratulations to Nicole Dahlgren and her Hubby, Dusty. His band Moonshine Bandits just signed a record deal and he will be going on tour very soon. Just remember us little folks Dusty! Having a Great Time Merced consumers and staff enjoyed going to an all- you-can-eat BBQ and a Modesto Nuts Baseball game this month. The staff there treated consumers like royalty! Los Banos went to the Merced County Spring fair this month and had a blast. Fun was to be had by all! North Valley Modesto & Stockton Advisory update On Sunday, May 3rd, the Advisory put on a Casino Night. There were Black Jack tables and a poker table for everyone to enjoy. Refreshments were also supplied and at the end of the night you turned in your winnings for raffle tickets to win prizes. Everyone had a great time and the dealers were very generous. Hopefully we will have pictures for next month’s newsletter. The Advisory is also planning a car show soon! They are getting closer and closer to their goal of the Disneyland trip! Good job Advisory Committee and to all of those that put in many hours of their time and energy for these events. Employee news Modesto DSA staff Jamie Boling just bought a new motorcycle. She is planning a big ride to Las Vegas this summer with her family. Have fun Jamie! Of course all of us Mom’s are worried about her and think she is crazy. So we say, BE SAFE! Modesto DSA, Dwight Mahabir finished up his play which ran through May 10th. It received great reviews and Dwight was fabulous. Direct Service Aide Christina Coonfield’s husband came in first place at the Stockton/99 Speedway. Aaron is pictured in front of his car with his daughter Kendra and his first place trophy. Congratulations Aaron! Modesto Continued The Modesto Bee The following is a quote from an article in the Modesto Bee called “Play opens door to White House history” by Lisa Millegan about Dwight Mahabir. “It must be extremely difficult to remember more than two hours worth of lines and perform a show by yourself, but Mahabir makes it look easy. If he was struggling with the material, it didn’t show at Saturday night’s performance. Although the monologues can be dense at times and hard to follow, Mahabir keeps things interesting by varying the tone throughout. Sometimes he’s serious, sometimes funny, sometimes angry. Through it all, he maintains an admirable dignity and strong sense of self. As a bonus, we also get to hear his gorgeous singing (Mahabir is best known as a musical theater performer in this area).” For the full article, go to: http://www.modbee.com/arts/reviews/story/673652.html Great job Dwight! We are so proud of you!! Stockton’s Baby News Stockton would like to say a big congratulations to Shawn Benson, House Manager in the Stockton area. She is proud grandmother of a beautiful, 6 pound 3.5 ounce baby girl named Iyannah. The baby news doesn’t end there for Shawn though! She has another grandchild on the way. Congratulations Shawn on the new addition and soon to be addition to your family! Southern California San Marcos, San Diego & El Centro SOCAL Staff Meeting The Southern California offices gathered for a staff meeting where CEO, Jim Jenkins presented on the budget. Additionally, we played CCC Bingo, a game to get to know each other better and learn some of our policies and procedures. We also discussed exciting new changes including our new ezLabor system and presented “attaboys” to personally recognize how each of our wonderful staff contribute to the quality services of CCC. San Marcos staying busy in san marcos In San Marcos, the Supported Employment program received four new referrals and placed two consumers at jobs at the Wild Animal Park. Congratulations to Case Manager Teri Geston and her team! Teri has been very busy at work as well as outside of work. Teri just attended her family reunion where she met over 100 family members that she didn’t even know she had. The San Marcos Office is also busy coordinating the Annual Wheelchair Regatta. It will be an all day event with lunch, music and cruises in the San Diego Harbor, sponsored by the Silver Gate Yacht Club. Details of the event to come in next months newsletter. San Diego Admistrative Professionals Day The San Diego office honored Alice on Administrative Professionals Day by decorating her office area and taking her to lunch at the Tofu House. The Tofu House is a Korean Restaurant where we cracked raw eggs into sizzling bowls of broth, meat and veggies and watched it cook right at our table. Alice provides administrative support in both our San Diego and San Marcos offices. She is extremely organized and detailed and keeps all of us operating efficiently. Thank you Alice for all of your hard work and dedication to CCC! El Centro The El Centro office received a donation this month for a conference table and desks. The newer and larger conference table was well needed for the meetings that sometimes have over 20 combined staff and consumers. Additionally, we held a advocacy training at our advisory meeting. We reviewed consumer rights, the role of the staff and the consumers responsibilities. During our busy month, we received two referrals for our SE program. Congratulations Luz for the new referrals! The El Centro office also recognized Alex on Administrative Professionals Day by decorating her desk and taking her to lunch at Lucky’s, a local Chinese restaurant. Alex is a wonderful support for the office. She is great with the paperwork and accomplishes all the tasks given to her. Thank you Alex for your dedication and hard work at Community Catalysts of California! Swine Flu Anxiety and Prevention While the media coverage about the Swine Flu outbreak can make people feel on edge and anxious, education is the great equalizer! Instead of choosing to stress which tends to make you more susceptible to illness, get busy finding out the facts about Swine Flu and learn about how to prevent the spread of germs at home, school and work. Here are some tips for staying healthy, calm and informed. Stay Healthy These steps may help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses such as the flu: Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze-throw the tissue away immediately • after you use it. Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. If you are not near water, • use an alcohol-based (60-95 percent) hand cleaner. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect • them from getting sick too. If you get the flu, stay home from work, school, and social gatherings. In this way you will help prevent • others from catching your illness. Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs often spread this way.• Stay Informed Knowing the facts is the best preparation. Identify sources you can count on for reliable information. If a • pandemic occurs, having accurate and reliable information will be critical. A source for updated information on swine and pandemic influenza is the Centers for Disease Control and • Prevention (CDC) Hotline at: 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636). This line is available in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Look for information on your local and state government Web sites. • Listen to local and national radio, watch news reports on television, and read your newspaper and other • sources of printed and reliable web-based information. Talk to your local health care providers and public health officials.• stay Calmit’s important to be cautious, heed warnings if they are issued, and do what you can to prepare and prevent, but there’s no need to panic. anxiety that you may be feeling is your body’s natural way to motivate action, but once you’ve done what you can to prepare, it helps to let go of anxiety. Because stress affects your immune system, excessive worry won’t help you, and at this point, there’s no call for it. if you find yourself stressing over the swine flu outbreak after you’ve taken every possible step to prepare, try the following stress management techniques: Meditation: • meditation is one of the most popular stress relievers for good reason: it brings far-reaching benefits! Breathing Exercises• : Breathing exercises are simple and convenient. they're easy to learn and can be practiced anywhere. Yoga:• yoga can help support physical and emotional health in many ways. Exercise:• if you find yourself absorbed watching the updates on television, turn it off and get outside. working out or simply going for a walk is a great way to blow off steam, keep your body healthy, and relieve stress at the same time. Listen to Music: • music can be a great stress reliever, and putting on some soothing music can help you and everyone around you passively relieve stress. Talk To A Professional: • if you feel persistently anxious about this or anything in your life, the anxiety is interfering with your regular activities, and regular stress management techniques aren’t helping, it’s a good idea to talk to a counselor or doctor for further help. workplace Preventionmanagers can prepare their employees by educating them about how to help prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria in the workplace. employees should know and practice routine hygiene measures such as: Cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.• wash their hands often. Proper hand washing technique includes washing with soap and warm water for • 15 to 20 seconds. when soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers. in addition managers should encourage annual vaccinations. while a seasonal human vaccination will not • specifically protect against swine influenza, it can help prevent “co-infection” of two different influenza viruses, which could lead to the emergence of a new strain of virus that could cause widespread illness. if you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them. • Getting Helpif you would like more information, you can call our employee assistance Program toll-free number 800-523-5668. source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Community Catalysts of California is proud to announce that David Bergheim was selected to receive the Catalyst P.R.I.D.E. Award~Leading by Example for April 2009. David has been with Community Catalysts of California for almost 5 years as a Direct Service Aide for the ILS Program in Santa Clara. David was recognized for his ongoing excellence and for his willingness to go above and beyond his call of duty. David volunteers much of his time at each CAC activity and always maintains a positive attitude. He works with a high volume of consumers and finds the time to provide focused attention on each one as needed. David is a great example to everyone around him and always has the best interest of his consumers in mind. He is professional, dependable and encouraging and is truly a great help to the ILS Program in Santa Clara. We appreciate the great service and dedication to the vision of Community Catalysts of California that David has provided and would like to recognize him for his hard work and for Leading by Example. DaviD Bergheim Consumer Catalysts of the MonthMay 2009Edna DietrichEdna started working with Community Catalysts of California in our Independent Living Services program in the Stockton area a little over a year and a half ago. Our involvement at the time was quite minimal as Edna lived at home with her mother and father and received support from them in the home she grew up in. Community Catalysts would assist the family with delivering Edna’smedications on a routine basis, really only having contact with her a few times a month. Currently Edna is in our Supported Living Program as big changes in her life have increased her service needs. Since this past August, Edna and her siblings have had to endure the death of their mother and then the death of their father in January. These events would alter anyone’s life, but with Edna, the changes in her life resulting from her parent’s deaths were enormous as she knew no other world than the one that she had shared before. Edna took on the new challenge with strength and an open heart. She has embraced her independence thanks to her very loving and supportive sisters and other family members who all want the best for her. She continues to live in the family home, receiving assistance with learning new skills as she explores her life. Edna stated to us a while back that she “was fine on her own and didn’t need any help”, and she is certainly on her way to proving us right! We commend Edna for her strength, perseverance and dedication to her family that she loves and that loves her in return. Edna deserves to be recognized for how far she has come in such a short time and in the aftermath of such grief. We know she can and will be successful in what she sets out to do! Congratulations Edna!