2829 uniVerSitY aVenue Se

Suite 400

MinneaPOLiS Mn 55414Continued on page 5

Inside this issue

hOPe, heaLing and WeLL-being

I was fortunate enough to join Touchstone Mental Health as Executive Director in late December 2006, just as Touchstone Mental Health’s Board of Directors and management team were collaborating on the development of a revised mission and vision for the organization.

The newly revised mission is:

Touchstone Mental Health inspires hope, healing and well-being.

The revised vision is:

Touchstone Mental Health is an innovative leader in creating opportunities and sustainable communities for people living with mental illness.

In addition to the revision of the statements specifying our mission and vision, the agency identified five new strategic objectives:

Touchstone Mental Health pursues thoughtful and intentional programs that meet the changing needs of people living with mental illness.Touchstone Mental Health develops innovative and sustainable communities that provide a range of supportive options for people living with mental illness.Touchstone Mental Health develops and supports creative healing services that promote a holistic approach and a sense of well-being for people living with mental illness.Touchstone Mental Health attracts and retains exceptional people to continue an organizational culture of innovation that is flexible and adaptive to a changing environment.

Touchstone Mental Health supports organizational viability and autonomy through sustained and diversified funding and increased visibility.

Although it is early in 2007, we have taken the revised mission, vision and strategic

outcomes to heart:

We have hired staff for our second Intentional Community, which has begun taking referrals. See Carol Rynders’ article on page 3 about this new program.

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Kind Wordsfrom touchstone mental health

VoLUME 7

ISSUE 1SPRInG 2007

Work Energizes 2

Virtual Mental Illness 2

Beginnings: The Second IC 3

Hopes and Dreams 3

Clients’ Wish List 4

Mental Illness in America 4

Donors 2006 and 2007 5

Expanding Assisted Living 5

Quilting 25 Years 6

Staff’s Wish List 6

virtual ride, I found it almost impossible to concentrate on anything because the auditory and visual stimuli were so distracting.

I can’t imagine coping with such experiences on a daily basis. And I would find it almost impossible to function with such a constant barrage of unsettling information that made me feel fearful and anxious.

Many other staff members took this virtual tour as well. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to work with individuals who suffer from such symptoms.

Janssen uses the tool to teach doctors and others who want a more insight into the illness.

board MembersLiz Sjaastad, Chair

Michaela Diercks, Treasurer

Sara Barron-Leer

Bill Cochrane

Sharon Toll Johnson, LICSW

Merrie Kaas, Ph.D.

Shelley Majors

Kelly Robert

Martha Lantz, LICSWExecutive Director

Glen Albert, LICSWDirector of Supportive Housing, Assisted Living

Birgit Kelly, LICSWProgram Director, Case Management Services

Margo Cohen, LICSWTreatment Director, Residential Treatment

Lynette AndersonFinance and Human Resources Director

Peggy WrightCommunications and Development Director

Mary WoodburyFinance Assistant

editorial StaffMartha LantzPeggy Wright

ProgramsaSSiSted LiVing aPartMentS7376 Bass Lake Roadnew Hope, Mn 55428-3861(763) 536–8134assistedliving@touchstonemh.org

CaSe ManageMent SerViCeS2829 University Avenue SE, Suite 400Minneapolis, Mn 55414-3230(612) 874–6409casemanagement@touchstonemh.org

intentiOnaL COMMunitieS3223 East 25th Street, Apt. 5Minneapolis, Mn 55406(763) 536–8134intentional@touchstonemh.org

reSidentiaL treatMent2516 E. 24th StreetMinneapolis, Mn 55406-1209(612) 722–1892residential@touchstonemh.org

administrative team

PAGE 2ToUCHSTonE MEnTAL HEALTH

WOrk energizeS

Newly employed with Byerly’s, Shawna is celebrating her success, having persevered and found employment after looking for nearly a year. Previously, Shawna, a resident at our Assisted Living Apartments, held a janitorial job that ended due to budget cuts. Now she works alongside cashiers at Byerly’s and interacts directly with the public by bagging groceries and carrying them to cars in parcel pick-up.

Shawna’s new job has energized other residents as well, who decided to do some shopping at this special store. On a recent winter day, three of Shawna’s friends from Assisted Living visited Byerly’s during one of her shifts. The three decided to splurge and buy something special for themselves, including one who purchased some freshly cut tulips. The trip to Byerly’s

not only allowed Shawna to feel supported by her peers on the job but also served as inspiration for others through visiting the workplace of a peer.

Shawna credits her success to the help she received from Deb, her Mental Health Coordinator at Touchstone and to

staff members Amy and Shin at the Workforce

Center. “If it weren’t for Deb and Amy, I

wouldn’t have my job. They helped me.”

The Workforce Center also supplied her with transportation for two months as she makes the transition back into the workforce. Shawna also

indicates that the Minnesota Resource Center will be providing her with a job

coach who will help her keep her job.

VirtuaL MentaL iLLneSS

As a member of Touchstone’s staff, I recently had the opportunity to participate in an enlightening but seriously unnerving experience.

Staff from Janssen Pharmaceutica, a company making drugs to treat schizophrenia, brought a virtual-reality machine to our offices.

Developed with the help of individuals who suffer from serious auditory and visual hallucinations as a result of serious mental illness, this multimedia simulation allowed me to undergo what such a person might face during a bus ride to a pharmacy.

Even though the virtual tour took fewer than five minutes, I came away from the experience truly changed. During the

PAGE 3 To UCHSTon E M EnTAL H EALTH

beginningS

in the idea of an intentional community is the development of friendships where people share common interests and are available to each other for social, emotional and practical support.

As the program supervisor of our intentional communities, I have had the privilege during the referral and intake process of hearing the stories of individuals’ struggles with mental illness and their hopes and dreams for fulfilling lives.

With the assistance of Hennepin County Behavioral Health, Touchstone Mental Health has been able to expand the capacity of its intentional communities to 40 total members. Touchstone now can offer 25 additional consumers the support of a community, also supplying them with supportive services including transitional housing subsidies. Please see our web site at www.touchstonemh.org for more details.

To date, the second Intentional Community has seven members. It is our sincerest hope to meet their dreams.

“i need friendships, sober supports, things to do, long-term housing.”

The individuals who want to become members of our second intentional community do not take the things mentioned above for granted. In fact, they have found them hard to attain.

The experience of mental illness tears at the fabric of a person’s life. The losses and setbacks that result are multiple and severe.

Most people aspiring to join our program have not lived independently in the past year. Since the onset of their illnesses, almost all have experienced one or more psychiatric hospitalizations. Most have received treatment in a residential setting, and some have experienced homelessness.

And the routine goals of work and education have taken a back seat to the need to manage their illnesses and to find places to live.

In our process for enrolling new members in our intentional communities, we are matching the promise of an intentional community to the hopes and dreams of the applicants.

our second intentional community is starting to take root. The promise embedded

on our application for membership in our intentional community, we asked the question “What do you hope to gain from being part of an intentional community?”

As you can see from individuals’ responses, support is crucial to recovery:

“i need support for living alone and dealing with everyday life.”

“i want to improve my stability and my ability to have a roof over my head, pay my bills, buy groceries, and go to work, cook and clean.”

“i hope to gain the skills i need when i am stable and the support i need when i’m not.”

“i like to be around people, and i realize that being part of a community helps me to ‘keep things real.’ i also like to find and get to know people who have similar interests. the biggest thing is having a sense of not being alone in my recovery.”

“to be able to communicate openly in a community of people, build relationships, increase my personal comfort and further improve life with my mental illness.”

hopes and dreams

PAGE 4ToUCHSTonE MEnTAL HEALTH

Dental floss; toothbrushes & tooth paste; dental workDeodorantDonations for medication copaysFacial tissue, toilet paperGift certificates for new shoes, clothingShampoo & conditioner; hair care MultivitaminsYM or YWCA or health-club memberships

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CLientS’ WiSh LiSt

Art supplies, including colored pencils or markers, craft kits, a latch hook for rug hooking, knitting yarnBus passesGift cards or certificates to coffee shops, McDonald’s, Target, CubHousehold products—dish soap, laundry soap, antistatic sheets for the dryer, paper towelsHousehold items—Flatware; rugs; table lamps, lamp shades; laundry baskets; TVs, DVD players; microwaves; firm pillows Long-distance phone cardsRecreational products—Magazine subscriptions, movie tickets, games, VCR tapes/DVDs, 10-speed bicycles; film; WalkmanPunch cards for the FUMC therapeutic poolFree or low cost veterinarian servicesA reliable used automobile

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PerSOnaL Care iteMS Or SerViCeS

Other iteMS

MentaL iLLneSS in aMeriCaMental illness is common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2% of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental illness in any given year.

Using the estimate of the residential population ages 18 and older from the 2004 U. S. Census, this figure translates to 57.7 million people. Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the U. S. and Canada for ages 15 to 44.

Even though mental illness is widespread in the population, the main burden of illness falls on a much smaller group who suffer from a serious mental illness— about 6% or one in 17 people.

Many people suffer from more than one mental illness at a given time. Almost half, 45%, of those with any mental illness suffer from two or more disorders, with severity strongly related to multiple diagnoses.

In 2004, approximately 11 out of 100,000, or 32,439, people died by suicide in the U.S. More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental illness, most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder.

Mood disorders include major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder (or chronic, mild depression for two or more years), and bipolar disorder. Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse. Major depressive disorder is more prevalent in women than in men.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling thought disorder that affects about 1 percent of people all over the world. It affects men and women with equal frequency.

Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (oCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and phobias. Most people with one anxiety disorder also have another anxiety disorder.

national institute of Mental health

14.8

6.7%

3.3

1.5%

5.7

2.6% 2.4

1.1%

6

2.7%2.2

1%

7.7

3.5%

6.8

3.1%

15

6.8%

1.8

0.8%

19.2

8.7%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Major Depressive Disorder

Dysthymic Disorder

Bipolar Disorder

Schizophrenia

Panic Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome

General Anxiety Disorder

Social Phobia

Agoraphobia

Specific Phobia

Number of People Ages 18 and Over in Millions (U.S.)Percentage of Population

on February 26, Touchstone Mental Health received approval from Hennepin County Behavioral Health to establish two additional Assisted Living programs for persons with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI). We hope to establish one new program in Minneapolis and another in the suburbs. We will phase in the second program after the first becomes fully operational.

In recent years, we have sought to expand the range of housing and services that we offer to our consumers. With the changes that the State of Minnesota and Hennepin County instituted in 2003 to the residential treatment system, we saw the opportunity to establish our first Assisted Living Apartments in new Hope, the first such program in Minnesota for persons with SPMI.

now we will be able to offer this option to additional consumers. We envision a setting similar in size and nature to our current Assisted Living Apartments, with each location housing 20 residents.

dOnOrS Late 2006 and 2007in Memory of Scott SandersonMark and Mary Sanderson

in Memory of Cynthia riggs Elene AikenDick and Madeleine LinckConnie and Bill RiggsDavid Sagula

in honor ofSusan Armstrong in

honor of Peggy and Milton Wright

Don and Betty Cashin in honor of Kathy Cashin

Holly and Tim Cashin in honor of Kathy Cashin

PAGE 5 To UCHSTon E M EnTAL H EALTH

Peter nordell in honor of Kelly Robert

Bev and Richard Steele in honor of Lyn Gerdis’ 40th birthday

Devona and Harley Swiggum in honor of Tami Swiggum

Ceil raleigh endowment fundHelen RaleighLynette Anderson in honor

of Helen Raleigh

individualsAnonymous (1)Sandy Accolanancy Abramson

Judy BernierBirgit BirkelandSarah Brew and

Denny DraghiciuMichaela DiercksLyn and Michael GerdisRonald and

Martha HemmerDianne JensenMerrie KaasAllen nelsonKatherine PollockKelly and Rafael RobertMargaret and Carl RoserLiz and John Sjaastad

businesses and OrganizationsGreen Espel P.L.L.P.

in kind donationsIndividualsDenise DavisJulie DavisJan PageSarah PetersonJulie RolesMargaret and Carl Roser

Businesses and OrganizationsSt. Raphael’s ChurchU. S. Bank

expanding assisted Living

We have begun the process of redesigning our case management services. Changes may include providing assertive community treatment (ACT). This program would be a comprehensive service that incorporates a multidisciplinary team approach to delivering customized and flexible treatment, supports and services. We also have begun the process of developing two more Assisted Living

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hOPe, heaLing and WeLL-being, Continuedprograms for persons with mental illness, with hopes of opening the doors in early 2008. See the article on this page about this development.We are also pursuing alternative sources of funding for expansion of our healing services.

Staff at every level has assisted in program-specific strategic planning to ensure quality

assurance and improvement in core areas.

not only do we hope to inspire hope, healing and well-being in the consumers that we serve, but also we are continuing to reinforce the belief in ourselves that we can make a difference.

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Copier paper, whiteCDs. blank PC Garbage bags (40 gal & 12 gal)Laundry soap, dryer sheetsLaser printer, new Monitors, flat-panel Mouse, cordless (1 or more)Pens, black Services from a print shopSnow removal for residential sites

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Staff’S WiSh LiSt

Our MissionTouchstone Mental Health inspires hope, healing and well-being.

QuiLting 25 YearSThe case management and administrative staff are marking Touchstone’s 25th Anniversary in an interesting way. Everyone is making a quilt square that we will incorporate into one or more quilts to hang on a wall at our offices on University Avenue.

Case managers also have invited clients to participate. Donated fabric and other materials and some purchased items are available for individuals to use.

Many participants are creating squares by appliquéing designs onto a background. This technique requires the quilter to cut out shapes, such as a flowers, from one fabric and sew or

fuse them onto another fabric that acts as a foundation. Several individuals have appliquéed trees as a symbol of growth and vitality. Another has made a three-dimensional flower that she has appliquéed to the ground.

Fabric paints are also available and at least one person has painted a square. Another individual has beaded a design of flowers on the ground.

When we have finished the squares, we will create the actual quilt by adding a border around all squares, or potentially, by appliquéing the squares to a larger piece of fabric.

2829 uniVerSitY aVenue Se

Suite 400

MinneaPOLiS Mn 55414