For more information, please call 1-603-812-9031 or email seacoastpathways@gmail.com.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This important recognition was established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives, and to celebrate recovery from mental illness. This year, the National Alliance on Mental Illness encourages the amplification of the message “Together for Mental Health,” and to advocate for access to quality care for anyone affected by a mental illness.
The prevalence and impact of mental illness are hard to overstate. U.S. prisons are filled with people suffering from untreated mental illness. Incidences of mental illness have gone up significantly since the pandemic began in 2020, when The National Institute of Health reported that one in five American adults experienced a mental health issue, and one in 20 Americans lived with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. One in 6 young people experienced a major depressive episode, and suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for people ages 10-24.
The companies of The Fedcap Group understand that most people with mental health problems can recover, and that treatment and recovery are ongoing processes that happen over time. We also believe that work completes treatment. The first step is getting help, and each day across our agency we provide proven treatments, supports and community-based activities to help people living with a mental illness on their path to recovery, through a lens of long-term economic well-being.
Together we can fight the stigma of mental illness, and help build a world where care and treatment for mental illness are available to all.
Ann Strachan is Program Director of Seacoast Pathways and Assistant Director of Mental Health Services at Granite Pathways. Ann has a master’s degree in Counseling from UNH, is a graduate of the UNH Institute on Disability Leadership Series and serves on the NH Mental Health Advisory and Planning Council. Ann is a volunteer with NAMI-NH, and with a small group of others, was formative in bringing the evidence-based Clubhouse International Model of Psychosocial Rehabilitation to New Hampshire. They started Seacoast Pathways Clubhouse in Portsmouth in 2014 to foster recovery and improve opportunities for individuals living with mental illness.
In 2017, Ann received the Erik Cogswell Memorial Award for those who provide hope, education, and/or support for those living with mental illness. Ann participated in the collaborative Seacoast Community Care Team addressing individual cases with complex health, mental health, substance misuse and social needs, collectively finding solutions for clients’ care and safety. She served on the NH State BRSS-TACS policy group for Peer Support sustainability, and the NH State First Episode Psychosis Steering Committee. She is a current Board member of the NH Charitable Foundation’s Piscataqua Region Advisory Board.
March is National Women’s History Month, which recognizes the contributions of women to history, society and culture. The month-long observance, celebrated since 1987, honors women who changed history—women like Abigail Adams, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony and Rosa Parks—and countless others who, despite systemic discrimination, fought for equality and justice, and achieved greatness in their chosen field of endeavor.
Despite the incredible courage and hard work of generations of women, we are still a long way from an equitable society. Women constitute 27 percent of Congress, but over half the population. At Fortune 500 companies, women account for just over seven percent of CEOs. Women make up only 28 percent of the STEM workforce. Women’s median earnings are 80.8 percent those of men. A black woman has to work 19 months to earn what white men do in a year, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families. Latina women earn $0.57 for every dollar earned by white men.
Across the U.S., 15.5 percent of women live in poverty compared with 11.9 percent of men. Retired women are twice as likely as retired men to live in poverty. Workplace sexual harassment and assault are common, and drive many women from their jobs. Sixty-six percent of female service members report sexual harassment or assault. As many as one in four women are victims of domestic violence.
These inequalities and injustices were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a disproportionate impact on women’s participation in the workforce, placed greater burdens on paid and unpaid caregivers, and increased rates of domestic violence. Today, the constitutional right to abortion is threatened as States seek to restrict and deny critical reproductive health care and bodily autonomy.
Yet women everywhere, inspired by heroines who changed history, are making great strides in the ongoing fight for equality. According to A Proclamation on Women’s History Month, 2022 by President Joe Biden—“Women of the labor movement are achieving monumental reforms to help all workers secure the better pay, benefits, and safety they deserve. LGBTQI+ women and girls are leading the fight for justice, opportunity, and equality — especially for the transgender community. Women and girls continue to lead groundbreaking civil rights movements for social justice and freedom, so that everyone can realize the full promise of America.”
The companies of The Fedcap Group are represented by women at every level, and we are stronger for it. Please join us during this Women’s History Month in honoring women who have changed the world, and those who continue the struggle for equality and fairness.
Parents face more challenges than ever in having effective prevention conversations with their teens around marijuana use. Despite the fact that this drug is more potent than ever, perception of harm is at an all-time low due to legalization, medicinal use and methods of ingesting like vaping and edibles which seem so much easier and more palatable. We can’t give up! In this webinar, we will explore the important role parents play, discuss the landscape of cannabis products our kids may be exposed to, and learn how we can reduce the chances of our teens using.
Presenter Christine Storm has worked as a substance use prevention educator with Caron Treatment Centers since 2004. Over the years she has facilitated prevention and early intervention services in schools and child-serving agencies in the Greater Philadelphia, Washington DC regions and beyond. Christine has developed a reputation as a dynamic presenter who works effectively with a wide variety of student, parent and professional audiences. She has presented on the perils of substance use at many local and national conferences and has represented Caron extensively in the media.
Date: June 30
Time: 8:00 – 9:00 pm EST
Register here.
***Please note that since this is a rebroadcast you will not be able to participate in the question and answer section at the end***
Several critical bills are being voted on by the New Hampshire Senate on Tuesday, June 16. If passed, these bills could have major positive implications for the health and safety of our youth and families, the cost of prescription drugs, and access to quality health care now and in the future. Please take a few minutes to contact your state senator regarding these bills.
Tobacco 21
New Hampshire’s rate of tobacco use among youth remains one of the country’s highest and is continuing to rise. According to the 2019 New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 50% of Granite State youth have tried e-cigarettes and nearly 34% report current use. Tobacco 21 is the evidence-based age proven to support prevention, healthy development, and long-term health and safety.
Action: Call Senators and support Granite State youth!
RX Drug Price Relief
It is more important than ever that Granite Staters can afford and access the medications they rely upon to live. The package of drug price relief bills will help to limit cost increases by allowing New Hampshire to import certain medications from Canada, requiring insurance companies to cover epi-pens, capping the price of insulin, and creating a drug affordability board to develop cost-saving strategies and policies, among other measures.
Action: Call Senators and support RX price relief!
Telehealth
Telehealth, in which a patient has access to a health care provider via telephone or videoconferencing, goes far to increase access to needed health care services for thousands of Granite Staters. It is critical NH expand access to telehealth permanently to help us overcome COVID-19 and support the health and wellness of our state into the future.
Action: Call Senators and support health care access!
Behavioral Health Services in Schools
It is important we ensure NH youth get the social and emotional supports they need. This can be achieved by providing assistance to school districts to implement Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Behavioral Health and Wellness (MTSS-B). It is essential this evidence-based prevention framework is in NH schools to support our youth and help improve school culture. When a child’s social and emotion needs are met we know academic achievement can improve significantly.
Action: Call Senators and support youth behavioral health!
To be informed of updates to these bills, sign up with New Futures, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates, educates and collaborates to improve the health and wellness of all New Hampshire residents.
Online groups are available to support family members with a loved one affected by substance use disorder. Download Granite Pathways Family Support Groups – Online for a list of groups based throughout New Hampshire. Use the contact information to receive an invitation to a group. You are not alone!
Contact Lynn Fuller
for further information:
hopeforfamilies123@gmail.com
603-817-6174
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to spread across the world, Granite Pathways is taking a series of proactive steps to manage the risk to our staff, our clients and their families and the work of Granite Pathways.
Building on the literature from the CDC, OSHA and the McKinsey Group. Here are several of the actions we have or are in the process of undertaking:
We hold weekly discussions with our company leaders and senior executives to maintain consistency of communications.
There are areas of concern that we are focusing on including a) employees’ health, welfare, and ability to perform their roles; b) financial stress-testing and development of a contingency plan; c) supply-chain monitoring, rapid response, and long-term resiliency, and e) coordination and communication with relevant constituencies.
We set up a cross-functional Command Center including our CEO, Corp Counsel, Chief Strategy Officer and agency representatives from our health care services. These individuals meet weekly to ensure that we are working all aspects of our plan. The Command Center includes local and toll-free numbers and a dedicated e-mail address that are checked hourly.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Reed at pareed@fedcap.org or by phone at 603-493-9751.
Kim Haney, Director of The Doorway Program at Granite Pathways, is the winner of the New Hampshire Provider Association’s 2019 Treatment Provider of the Year Award!
The Doorways Program is an initiative to serve everyone in the state who seeks substance use disorder treatment – acting as the “front door” to an array of services and supports, including long-term recovery.
Kim began working in the field about 12 years ago, shortly after her own entry into long-term recovery. Kim spent years working for the Army National Guard Substance Abuse program. She came to Granite Pathways about two and a half years ago, serving first as manager of the program before being promoted to director. Today Kim oversees Granite Pathway’s two doorway locations in Manchester and Nashua.
“Our staff work so hard every day with people who are suffering from substance use disorders. Many of them are homeless and have no family left to support them. I am so grateful to accept this award, which recognizes the value of what we do.”
Congratulations Kim!
