Community-Based Care from MHA (Aired on Aug. 28, 2022)

           

Mental Health America of Dutchess County (MHA) provides a wide range of services to veterans, families, children, and those who, because of poverty, need help from local nonprofits or government-sponsored services. MHA’s CEO, Andrew O’Grady, returns to Radio Rotary to describe several of the programs that MHA has in place to provide community-based solutions to mental-health problems. The 250 workers at MHA are not all therapists—although some are—but they are all able to meet with those in need, direct them to sources of assistance, and follow up for as long as necessary. MHA partnerships with local businesses lead to employment opportunities. A newly donated building will enable MHA to set up a one-stop-shop for veteran’s services. Apartments and community residences can help with housing. MHA services are free or very inexpensive for its clients.

Learn More:
Mental Health America of Dutchess County (MHA): https://mhadutchess.org/
Veterans Services in Dutchess County: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Veteran-Services/Veterans-Services.htm
Home and Community-Based Services: https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/American-Indian-Alaska-Native/AIAN/LTSS-TA-Center/info/hcbs

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September 2, 2022 · Posted in Addiction Recovery, Dutchess County, Housing Assistance, Mental Health, Service Organizations, Veterans  

Rebuilding Together in Dutchess County (Aired on Aug. 14, 2022)

        

Poughkeepsie-Arlington Rotarian Darcy McCourt, Executive Director of Rebuilding Together in Dutchess County, is the guest on this week’s Radio- Rotary program. Rebuilding Together grew out of an annual event called “Christmas in April,” for which volunteers on one day in April would repair homes of low-income senior citizens. The name was changed to “Rebuilding Together”
to reflect its transition to a year-round program. The mission, however, remains the same, although expanded: to make critical repairs for safety in private homes of those who cannot afford to pay for similar work. Rebuilding Together Dutchess County provides critical repairs, accessibility modifications, and energy efficiency improvements for seniors, persons living with disability, families with children, and active or retired members of the armed services. These services are provided at no cost to the homeowner. The work is done by local volunteers while much of the funding comes from grants or from local businesses.

Learn More:
Rebuilding Together. Dutchess County: https://www.rebuildingtogetherdutchess.org/
Rebuilding Together (national network): https://rebuildingtogether.org/

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August 22, 2022 · Posted in Aging, Dutchess County, Housing Assistance, Service Organizations, Veterans  

Helping Vets and Others Prepare for Jobs (Aired on May 15, 2022)

Ron Ferris, Operations Manager at Mid-Hudson Works in Poughkeepsie, visits Radio Rotary to describe how this unique 75-year-old nonprofit helps veterans and persons with disabilities find work in the Hudson Valley. In 1947 as World War II veterans, many still in their early 20s or even younger, returned home and needed work, IBM (then International Business Machines) started a program to train these veterans, many of whom had never held a job outside the armed services. Today this work continues in a huge brick building on Washington Street in Poughkeepsie, a place that hires, trains, and places today’s veterans along with others who may need training for such work as packing or assembling, skills useful in the many distribution centers of the Mid-Hudson region. Paying work also takes place within the building, providing a useful aid for local businesses.

Learn More:
Mid-Hudson Works: https://midhudsonworks.org/
Mental Health America of Dutchess Country: https://mhadutchess.org/
MHA Veterans Programs: https://mhadutchess.org/services/vet2vet/
Dutchess Country Veterans’ Services: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Veteran-Services/Veterans-Services.htm
Think Dutchess (Dutchess Alliance for Business): https://thinkdutchess.com/

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May 23, 2022 · Posted in Business Assistance, Developmentally Disabled, Service Organizations, Veterans  

Diveheart Improves Lives with SCUBA (Aired on January 9, 2022)

Downers Grove, IL, Rotarian Jim Elliott, founder of Dive Heart, and Tinamarie Hernandez, Executive Director of the Diveheart Foundation, visit RadioRotary to describe the work Dive Heart does in providing the experience of SCUBA (Self- Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) to persons with disabilities, including veterans with PSD. The experience of floating free underwater is
especially important to those who have lost the use of their limbs, but it has also been shown to benefit persons with all kinds of differences, such as autism, cerebral palsy, ALS, traumatic brain injury, or ADHD. Dive Heart provides trained instructors to work with individuals across the United States, and also provides training in how to use SCUBA with persons with disabilities. The SCUBA experience has been shown to build confidence and self-esteem, changing perspectives and even providing relief from pain.

Learn More:
Diveheart Foundation: https://www.diveheart.org/
Downers Grove Rotary Club: https://downersgrove.clubexpress.com/
SCUBA Therapy: https://www.neurologyinsights.com/2021/03/04/have-you-considered-scuba-therapy-for-your-patients/

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January 13, 2022 · Posted in Developmentally Disabled, Mental Health, Service Organizations, Veterans  

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