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V is iona ry Jou rna lV is iona ry Jou rna l

Vail P lace | M inneapo lis M N | U S

Novem ber 2017 Volum e 2 Issue 11

Clubhouse Guarantees

A guaran teed righ t to a

p lace to com e.

A guaran teed righ t to m ean-

ing fu l w o rk .

A guaran teed righ t to m ean-

ing fu l re la tionsh ips .

A guaran teed righ t to a

p lace to re tu rn .

Le t U s G ive You

A SHOUT OUT

In Th is Issue :

Shout O u ts 1

C I D etro it S em inar 1

Em ploym en t 2

Vail C are 3

Photo G allery 3

Veterans’ D ay 3

Novem ber B irthdays 4

S tandards D iscussions 4

H eavy W eigh t o ff m y

Shou lders 4

D ecis ion-M aking R eport 4

N ew Jobs! 4

N ew sle tter C on tribu to rs 4

Inv ita tion to Thanksg iving 5

W ellness C omm ittee 5

Build Your Imm unity 5

Perks o f M em bersh ip 6

C I D etro it, con tinued 6

Vocational C elebra tion

D inner 6

Charles C : I love m y new

apa rtm en t! (S ee p ic , page 3 )

Jan M : W an ted to g ive a

shou t-ou t to a ll the fo lks w ho

pa rtic ipa ted in the D r. V a il

Hour (2 show s!) espec ia lly

Jona than D , K a tie L and

R ichard W !

G etting In terna tiona l

in D e tro it

C lubhouse is a ll abou t com -

m un ity . S o im ag ine w ha t it

m igh t be like to be in a com -

m un ity o f m ore than 600 peo-

p le from a ll ove r the w o rld ,

where they ’ve a ll have the ex-

pe rience o f be ing in a C lub -

house and a re eager to lea rn

ways to m ake the ir C lubhous-

es even m ore aw esom e .

Tha t’s w ha t fou r am bassadors

from Va il U p tow n—Chad B ,

Ka tie L , M ish M , and Josh

S—d iscovered in D e tro it S ep -

tem ber 23-28 . “E lec tr ic ,

fr iend ly , en thus ias tic , pass ion -

a te abou t w ha t they do , busy ,

and am az ing ” w ere som e o f

the w o rds these fo lks used to

describe the expe rience .

Eve ry tw o years C lubhouse

In te rna tiona l has an In te rna -

tiona l S em ina r w he re every -

one from every con tinen t’s

C lubhouses is inv ited to a t-

tend . C lubhouses from 43

s ta tes and 14 coun tries sa id

yes to the inv ita tion th is tim e .

O ur am bassadors a ttended a

va rie ty o f b reakou t sess ions

whose top ics w e re re levan t to

Va il U p tow n . They w ill be

p resen ting a fu ll report on N o -

vem ber 15 th . M eanw h ile ,

he re a re som e o f the ir take-

aw ays from the sem ina r.

Chad s treng thened h is re -

so lve to bu ild the em p loym en t

cu ltu re he re . H e saw how in -

te rconnec ted C lubhouses

(con tinued on P age 6 )

2

E M P L O Y M E N T N E W S

Transitiona l Em ploym en t:

M ike S .—Kowa lsk i’s H ennep in

Bob W . — Kow a lsk i’s C h icago Ave

Supported Em ploym ent:

Randa ll T .— C ross tow n C ovenan t C hurch

M ike J . – C oas ta l S ea food

Thom as C . – C oas ta l S ea food

Thom as S .— C oas ta l S ea food

G reg B .—Coas ta l Sea food

Jam es S .—Kowalsk i’s H ennep in

Vocational B ook – A re you look ing fo r a job? W ondering w hat types o f jobs a re ava ilab le in the comm unity?

There a re tw o Vocationa l Books in the C lubhouse; one is loca ted in the Em p loym ent space and the o ther is

in the C omm unity room on the firs t floo r. These books have job leads lis ted in them fo r you to rev iew . W e

w ork on these job leads in the B us iness D epartm ent, so com e up and lea rn how to v iew these and add to ou r

books.

Em ploym en t A ssis tance hours a llow m em bers to s ign up fo r 1 :1 tim e to w ork on tasks such as : em p loy-

m ent searches, app ly ing on line fo r jobs , c reating a resum e and o r cover le tte r o r to d iscuss em p loym ent top-

ics o r concerns . You can s ign up fo r ass is tance in the “g reen s ign-up” b inder located in the Em ploym ent D e-

partm ent. If Thursday a fte rnoons do not w ork fo r you p lease con tact m e, C arrie F ram sted, a t 952-945-4269

to schedu le your appo in tm ent.

Job Leads—W e post in fo rm ation about job fa irs and have a p lace to post job open ings you ’ve seen w h ile out

and abou t. H e lp your fe llow m em bers locate the job o f the ir d ream s!

Em ploym en t w ork in the B usiness D epartm en t Jo in in th is w ork on Tuesday m orn ings, Thursday and F ri-

day a fte rnoons.

JOB / C AREER FA IR

If you have not no ticed the changes to the bu lle tin

board in the snack bar check it ou t. W e are us ing th is

space to post upcom ing job fa irs as w ell as any job

leads tha t found by your co lleagues. So check th is

out next tim e you a re in the c lub.

Season Ends for Sea Sa lt

It w as ano the r success fu l season fo r ou r c rew

a t S ea S a lt. The las t day it w as open fo r bus i-

ness th is year is S unday , O ct. 22nd

. It a ll began

back in m id M arch w hen m em ber w ere s ign ing

up fo r the beg inn ing o f the season . It w as co ld

and ra iny ou t bu t fo lks w ere exc ited abou t the

summ er to have a job and en joy com rade rie

w ith the o the r s ta ff, as the ir add itiona l fam ily .

Congra ts to : C urlee J ., Je rry E ., M ike B ., M ike

S ., M itch S ., M a tt S ., Tomm y W . and B ob W .

Th is am az ing c rew covered a ll 7 days o f the

week from 10 :00 am to 10 :00 pm . W hen one

had a con flic t fo r w ork o r w as s ick , som eone

s tepped up and cove red the ir sh ift. S ea Sa lt’s

m anager B ill frequen tly m en tioned tha t

“everyone w orks ha rd , they do a g rea t job and

they a re pa rt o f ou r fam ily .”

W e w ill be tak ing ano the r c rew ou t nex t M arch

to s ta rt ye t ano the r season a t th is w e ll know n

ea te ry and ou r V a il P lace fam ily fr iend SEA

SALT . C a rrie F

Rob in M , Jane D and S ue G a t the com pu te r

s ta tions in the B us iness D epartm en t. The ir e f-

fo rts keep the depa rtm en t rock ing and ro lling !

3

W hat is “Va il CARE”?

O n Thursday , S ep tem ber 21 , K ris tina S and Ju lie P cam e

and spoke to us abou t V a il C are .

A re you s trugg ling to :

•Lose w e igh t o r s ta rt an exerc ise p rog ram ?

•H ave regu lar docto r appo in tm ents and ge t your doc to r to

lis ten to you?

•C ut dow n on your tobacco use or d rink ing?

•Low er your b lood p ressure?

•C hange your d ie t?

•Learn to m anage your illness and fee l in con tro l o f you r life?

Va il C are m igh t be a fit fo r you ! It’s a team o f support

inc lud ing a R eg is te red N urse , S ys tem N av iga to r, P ee r S up -

po rt S pec ia lis t, and /o r o the r C omm un ity H ea lth W orkers tha t

work w ith you to he lp you m ake p rog ress on your goa ls , im -

p rove your hea lth , and ge t you connec ted to ca re p rov ide rs

and comm un ity resources . They see you as a w ho le pe rson

and w an t to m ee t w ith you in your hom e o r in the comm un ity

to find ou r YO UR goa ls .

Your V a il C are team can pa rtne r w ith you to

F ind m ed ica l se rv ices and comm unity supports you need to

reach your hea lth goa ls , he lp ing you m ake appo in t-

m en ts and ge t fo llow -up ca re

G et your p rov ide rs ta lk ing about you r ca re and w ork ing to -

ge the r: Y our doc to rs , spec ia lis ts , psych ia tris t, the rap is t,

e tc .

Becom e m ore hea lthy by lea rn ing se lf-he lp s tra teg ies and

too ls and ge t ass is tance w ith p rob lem -so lv ing from a

hea lth coach to he lp you reach you r goa ls even w hen

it ’s d ifficu lt

G et th rough a tough tim e of trans ition , like w hen you a re

leav ing the hosp ita l o r ano the r fac ility back hom e

Am I e lig ib le fo r V a il C are?

I have M ed ica l A ss is tance o r a P repa id M ed ica l A ss is -

tance P lan (PM AP ).

I am no t w ork ing w ith a case m anager.

I am 18 years o r o lde r and have a docum en ted se rious

m en ta l illness .

Am I a good fit fo r V a il C are?

If you have one o r m ore ch ron ic hea lth cond itions

such as obes ity , tobacco use , d iabe tes , h igh b lood p ressure ,

resp ira to ry cond itions , e tc . and a re in te res ted in im prov ing

you r hea lth .

If you r hous ing is s tab le , you w ill like ly have tim e to

focus on hea lth and w e llness goa ls .

P lease ask a t a depa rtm en t m ee ting o r ta lk to s ta ff if

you a re in te res ted !

Photo G alle ry : A bove : W alk-

e rs on a recen t tr ip to Theodore

W irth P ark ; B e low : C ha rles C

show ed o ff h is apartm en t key

once h is long w a it w as over!

M any V a il P lace m em bers have

se rved the ir coun try in the m ili-

ta ry . W e honor them fo r the

sacrifice th is requ ired . P lease

jo in us in ce lebra ting V e ter-

ans D ay on S atu rday , N ovem -

ber 11 , from 10 un til 2 .

The re ’ll be a free lunch and a

chance to re lax w ith o the r

m em bers .

4

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

Clifton B. 11/1

David G. 11/1

Roger H. 11/1

Mike S. 11/2

Anna E. 11/5

Ibis K. 11/8

Erna J. 11/9

Eric C. 11/10

Jerry E. 11/15

Keith W. 11/15

Kandace K. 11/15

Mark M. 11/17

Marco P. 11/19

Douglas B. 11/19

Vinita D. 11/20

Danielle G. 11/20

Kelly W. 11/21

Yolanda T. 11/23

Lisa M. 11/25

Velvet F. 11/26

Ann M. 11/27

Lacy S. 11/28

Stephen S. 11/29

Carla N. 11/30

Stephen P. 11/30

C lubhouse D ec is ions

in O ctober

W e w ill be recru iting th ree

d ishw ashe rs fo r a ll m ea ls .

W e w ill de lay even ing soc ia l

rec . ac tiv ities un til the k itchen

is ready fo r the nex t m ea l

p rep .

W e have s topped se rv ing

C rys ta l L igh t and now have

wa te r in fused w ith fresh fru it.

The dow nsta irs ba th room w ill

be repa ired and pa in ted by

ou r handym an , bu t the up -

s ta irs ba th room s pa in ted by

vo lun tee rs and s ta ff.

Standards: The Heart of

Clubhouse

Jo in us as w e exp lo re the

s tanda rds fo r C lubhouse on

M onday, N ovem ber 6 th a t

1 :00 . W e w ill rev iew the sec-

tions o f “Func tions o f he

House ” #26—#32 . O n

Thu rsday N ovem ber 16 th a t

11am we like ly com p le te the

sec tion on “Func tions o f the

House #26—#32 .

Th is m on th ’s con tribu to rs :

Sue G

Josh S

Ka tie L

Carrie F

Jan M

Lynn F

M ish M

Den ise B

Be a pa rt o f the new s le tte r

team —jo in us in the B us i-

ness D epa rtm en t on

W ednesdays a t 11 :00 to d is -

cuss new s le tte r con ten t and

p roduc tion

“H uge W e igh t o ff

M y Shou lde rs”

One of the biggest worries with people

is debt. How did you accumulate debt

and what is your plan to repay it.

I spoke with Jim J. Last month he

came in one day and told me some

exciting news. He had accomplished

being debt free in five years. He had

made his last payment that day.

I was excited for him and asked him to

sit down with me to do this article. Jim

told me his story.

One day he received a letter in the

mail from a major credit card company

saying he was pre-approved for a

credit card and being excited he ap-

plied and got it. He started to buy

things he wanted. Then, more offers

came in the mail and he applied for

those cards and got approved. He

started buying more things. Jim said

he didn’ t need the stuff he was buying

but it made him feel good. He liked

coming home from work and getting a

package.

One day he realized that he couldn’ t

afford the minimum payments and was

deep in debt. With the help of his dad

they did what is called a debt consoli-

dation payment program. This pro-

gram sets you up on a one-payment-a-

month program instead of making little

payments to many places. They will

also negotiate lower interest rates. So

if a card was at 28% interest ra te you

could pay as little as 10% or less. If

you stay on this program and don’ t

take out other cards, you will be debt

free in 3 to 5 years.

An additional tip I learned in doing

research for this article is that you can

contact the credit bureaus and have a

freeze put on your credit report and

this will prevent you from opening

credit cards impulsively. It’ s like giving

yourself a cooling off period and you

can reverse this freeze by contacting

them again. If you would like more

information on a program, feel free to

ask me and I would be happy to help

you get started.

When you see Jim J., congratulate him

on his accomplishment. M ish M

Congrats on Your

New Job!

Mike B.

Mike S.

Sue W.

5

You are inv ited to the annua l Va il

Uptown C lubhouse ’s Thanksg iv ing

Celebra tion !

Thursday , Novem ber 23

10:00 un til 2 :00

O n the days be fore , he lp us p repare

the m oun ta ins o f food , the p iles o f

p ies , the c ide r and the cook ies and

squash and s tu ffing and o ther trad i-

tiona l and be loved foods as a m em -

ber o f th is comm unity . C om e and

be w ith the Va il P lace fam ily on

Thanksg iv ing Day , and bring a fam i-

ly m em ber o r fr iend as we ll.

BU ILD YOUR IMMUN ITY

As the seasons evo lve , you r body expe riences the s tress o f

ad jus ting to tem pera tu re and hum id ity changes . Th is d ra in

on you r body ’s ene rgy can leave you m ore vu lne rab le to

ge rm s and v iruses . W ha t can you do abou t it?

GET SLEEP It’s im portan t to ge t 8 to 10 hou rs o f un in te r-

rup ted s leep . A vo id sc reen tim e righ t be fo re bed , la te n igh t

sugary snacks and a fte rnoon ca ffe ine .

HYDRATE Y our w ho le fam ily shou ld d rink 8 g lasses o f w a -

te r pe r day . P ack a re fillab le w a te r bo ttle in your bag and

you r k ids ’ lunch bag .

EAT W ELL E a t a d ie t tha t is rich in nu trien ts , v itam ins , fibe r

and p rob io tics . R em oved re fined sugars from you r d ie t and

g ive pu re m ap le sy rup o r raw honey a try !

W ASH HANDS E ve ry day w e com e in to con tac t w ith the

ge rm ies t su rfaces ou ts ide the hom e, like res tau ran t m enus,

g rocery ca rts , res troom doo rs , o r doc to rs o ffices—80% o f

in fec tions a re transm itted v ia con tac t, o r touch ing in fec ted

su rfaces .

EXERC ISE A dose o f ligh t exe rc ise eve ry day can s treng th -

en you r imm une sys tem .

GET A FLU SHO T E spec ia lly if you have o the r ch ron ic

hea lth cond itions , a flu sho t can he lp you avo id th is nas ty

illness o r w eaken its e ffec ts if you do ca tch it. Josh S

W ellness C omm ittee M eeting –

Tues N ov 21 @ 3pm

Do you w an t to he lp support the

hea lth and w e llbe ing o f you r fe l-

low m em ber?

Becom e a

W ELLNESS AM BASSADOR

W e w ill:

P lan m on th ly “H ea lth Aw are -

ness” top ics and ac tiv ities

Exam p les :

D iabe tes Aw areness

M on th

Heart H ea lth M on th

Sm ok ing C essa tion

M on th

Be tte r B a lance M on th

W ork toge the r to cook a m on th ly

“W e llness M ea l”

Choose w eek ly “H ea lth W isdom ”

top ics

O rgan ize gues t speakers

P rom o te hea lthy lifes ty les w ith in

the C lubhouse

THE PERKS O F M EMBERSH IP

H ere a re som e “perks ” tha t m em bers en joy :

G rocery Shopp ing on W ednesdays : M em bers w ho need he lp

w ith ge tting g roceries can ge t to the g rocery s to re on W ednes-

days a t 10 :00 in the Va il P lace van. The d rive r (usua lly M egan H

or Jane D ) w a its w h ile the m em ber shops, takes the m em ber to

h is /her hom e w ith the ir g roceries , and then can b ring the m em ber

back to V a il P lace w ith them if tha t pe rson dec ides to re tu rn . S ee

your advocate w ith any questions .

D aily M ed ita tion : M em ber and s ta ff ga ther a t 11 :00 every day to

have a 20- to 30-m inute tim e fo r gu ided m edita tion . M any s tud ies

show that regu la r m edita tion he lps w ith a host o f s tress-re la ted

sym ptom s and inc reases the poss ib ility tha t a person w ill s leep

bette r a t n igh t. The g roup m eets on the 3 rd floo r. Access to the

3rd floo r is up the back s ta ircase, jus t o ff the k itchen.

W alking C lub : W e’ve schedu led a tim e fo r those w ho ’d like to

get ou t and s tre tch the ir legs a fte r lunch. W here you go and how

fa r you go is up to those w ho show up ! There a re m any p leasant

w alks you can have from the C lubhouse.

The M eal A ssis tance Fund : Th is is a fund fo r m em bers w ho a re

experienc ing short-te rm financ ia l d ifficu lties w ho need a little he lp

w ith food. Y ou can ta lk w ith your advoca te if you need he lp w ith

getting a free m eal. Y our advocate w ill g ive you a m ea l voucher

jus t like the one tha t you ’d get if you w on a contes t o r had a b irth -

day.

6

(continued from Page 1 )

are to the ir TE program s, and sa id it w as insp iring to hear s tory a fte r

s to ry about how C lubhouse , and w ork ing , has changed peop le ’s lives .

H e a lso saw how C lubhouses a re s trong advoca tes fo r m enta l hea lth

fund ing, an a rea o f hea lth tha t o ften gets shorted . C lubhouses every -

w here s tep up and push fo r po litica l and soc ia l changes. C had w ou ld

like to see Va il U ptow n be m ore engaged in the comm un ity tha t sur-

rounds it.

Katie found the trip insp iring . Be ing a de ta il-orien ted pe rson, K atie

so lid ified her unders tand ing o f C lubhouse ph ilosophy and the p ro -

found changes that a pe rson can experience th rough it. S ince N ew

M em ber In takes is the focus o f he r w ork , she w ants to m ake the in -

take p rocess less c lin ica l and m ore about w e llness and s treng ths.

Katie a lso env is ions a tim e w hen an in take is m ostly a team of m em -

bers w e lcom ing and teach ing new app lican ts about the C lubhouse.

M ish focused her w ork on lea rn ing m ore about Adv isory C ounc ils and

the ro le they p lay in a C lubhouse. S he got som e ideas abou t invo lv -

ing o thers in C ounc il in itia tives and how the C ounc il can he lp enhance

Va il U ptow n’s pub lic im age. S he a lso looked in to M em ber Leadersh ip

and Em pow erm ent, the on ly sess ion tha t w as to ta lly des igned and run

by C lubhouse m em bers. The idea l fo r a C lubhouse is m em bers tak -

ing the lead , w ith s ta ff as back-up. M em bers cou ld be c ross-tra ined in

a varie ty o f C lubhouse respons ib ilities so that they can teach one an-

other how to get the w ork o f the C lubhouse done. S he ’d like to see a

lo t m ore m em ber-to -m em ber recogn itions . She a lso got to know the

m em bers from H opk ins (C a lynn and R ob in) w ho a lso a ttended, and

bra ins to rm ed w ith them about th ings our tw o C lubhouses cou ld do

jo in tly . In add ition , M ish o rgan ized da ily b reakfast get-toge thers w ith

peop le she ’d m et so tha t everyone cou ld ta lk about the ir be loved

C lubhouses.

Josh reported tha t be ing a t the con fe rence w as energ iz ing . H e fo -

cused on W ellness p resenta tions . H e sa id tha t a ll C lubhouses a re

w ork ing hard and experim enting to see how to w ork the new s tandard

on W ellness in to the W ork O rdered D ay. There w as lo ts o f conversa-

tion a round how to com e to a consensus on ho t top ics like w hether o r

not to se ll soda o r a llow sm ok ing a t C lubhouses. O ne lens to look a t

these changes is , “D oes th is support the hea lth o f ou r comm un i-

ty? ” Josh cam e back w ith p lans fo r es tab lish ing a W ellness C omm it-

tee a t Va il U ptow n and rec ru iting W ellness Am bassadors .

These top ics and m any m ore w ill be covered in the p resenta tion on

N ovem ber 15th . Put it on your ca lendar! Jan M

VOCATIONAL CELEBRATION D INNER

W ednesday, N ovem ber 15th

a t 5pm w e w ill be

ce leb rating the accom plishm ents o f co lleagues

who are w ork ing , vo lun teering in the comm unity

or a ttend ing schoo l. P lease com e and jo in th is

ce leb ration and hear the ir s to ries .

Scenes from Detro it: The open-

ing ce rem on ies ; K a tie w ith som e

European co lleagues ; co lleagues

from H opk ins C lubhouse ; C had ,

Josh and M ish in U p tow n Va il tie

dye .