December 2015

Please join us in welcoming Nora Dunlap as the new Program Associate working with the RPC. Nora is based in the Sierra Health Foundation Center for Health Program Management’s Sacramento office. You can reach her by e-mail or by calling (916) 922-4755 x3213. Learn about Nora.

All of the incredible mental health respite work that RPC grantee organizations are doing in the community is making a difference! We would like to share this grantee impact story from Del Oro Caregiver Resource Center, which gives a glimpse into the value the community places on these services.

The Path to Feeling Less Alone
This is the story of a Del Oro client who cares for her 56-year-old husband with dementia. She works full time and is financially responsible for her family. She shared the following thoughts about being a recipient of Del Oro mental health respite services.

“I don’t think anyone is ever prepared enough for this disease. Del Oro came to me at a time when I was lost, struggling in every aspect, and at the end of the rope. The stress, the rushing, the days where I couldn’t breathe. The anxiety. I am thankful for the impact you [Del Oro] have made in helping me realize I am not alone in this journey.

Del Oro Caregiver Resource Center web site

The Grantee Learning Community meeting on November 17 included a presentation by Zero Divide on social media, with the aim of helping organizations leverage technology to increase the impact of their services. This introduction to the social media landscape gave grantees some concrete tools for beginning their social media journey.

Download Zero Divide’s presentation materials.

Grantees and RPC members also participated in table-talk discussions on topics such as social media, how to address staff compassion fatigue, comprehensive integration of services, sharing respite strategies based on the client population served, and the big picture: furthering the legacy of the RPC. Grantees had the opportunity to share their experiences and resources around the various topics, provide suggestions to RPC members and network with each other.

The next Grantee Learning Community Meeting will be held on February 18. We look forward to seeing you there!

Photo: Mike Rubio from Zero Divide presents on social media at the RPC Grantee Learning Community meeting.

The Sacramento Creating Community Solutions Network has developed significant project infrastructure and has made great strides in implementing Sacramento’s Mental Health Action Plan: Breaking through Barriers on Mental Health. The network, consisting of individuals representing service providers, school district officials, faith leaders, consumers, caregivers and young people, has had several significant outcomes, many specifically around youth-focused mental health initiatives.

This vehicle for community-wide mobilization developed as a result of Sacramento’s response to President Obama’s call for a National Dialogue on Mental Health to combat stigma, educate the community and increase access to mental health treatment. Learn more on the Sacramento Creating Community Solutions web page.

We are excited to announce an upcoming video project. There is an opportunity for each RPC grantee to have a two-minute video produced that highlights their organization, their mental health respite work and the impact these respite services are making. The videos are for organizations to use to tell their story of respite, such as by posting on their web sites or sharing with funders or at community presentations.

The first video completed is about TLCS Crisis Respite Center and highlights voices from staff, management and respite clients.

Photo: A client is interviewed for the TLCS, Inc. video.

On December 17, the MHSA Steering Committee is scheduled to discuss the potential sustainability of Round 3 respite services. The MHSA Steering Committee meetings include time for public comment. This is an opportunity for RPC members, other grantees and community members to speak as champions of the respite grantees and the RPC project.

The meetings are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Grantland L. Johnson Center for Health and Human Services, 7001-A East Parkway, Sacramento 95823 in Conference Room 1. We hope to see you there!

More information about the Steering Committee is available on the Sacramento County MHSA Steering Committee web page.

This newsletter is for you and by you! Please share stories, photos and upcoming events to be included. E-mail us your information.

If you or your organization uses Twitter, please use the hashtag #Respite2015 or #RespiteSac to call attention to the work you are doing in Sacramento! Follow the RPC @RespiteSac

February 2 – 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
March 1 – 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Sierra Health Foundation
1321 Garden Highway, Sacramento

January 26 – 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
May 19
Details to come

February 18 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Details to come

Sierra Health Foundation’s 2016 Speaker Series will focus on mental health and related topics that take into consideration the social determinants of health and health equity. Events are being planned now and will be announced next year.

The Sacramento Bee in October published an op-ed by Sierra Health Foundation President and CEO Chet Hewitt and TLCS, Inc. Executive Director Michael Lazar about the need for respite services in Sacramento. Read Community solution on mental health was born from crisis.