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| Table of Contents Raffle
will help "Catch a Falling Star | Adirondack
Booster Club Donates $3,500 to "Breaking the Silence" | Catching
a Child before his or her World Darkens | Recovering
in the Community | Peer-to-peer
| AMH Annual Dinner- Honoring the Exceptional
| Council will host training with Dr.
Minkoff Raffle will help "Catch a Falling Star" The Glens Falls Rotary Foundation became an advocate for mental health in May when they selected a project of the Stigma Action Coalition as recipient of proceeds from their PT Cruiser raffle. The project, Catch a Falling Star, now joins another Coalition effort, "Breaking the Silence-Teaching the next generation about mental illness", which was recently funded through a Community Mental Health Project grant (CMHP) administered by the Mental Health Association of New York State. Although not initially conceptualized as companion pieces, the two projects augment each other and will reach middle school kids through the curriculum created by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Queens/Nassau and NYS and a "Mental Health Survival Kit" produced by the Coalition. "Catch a Falling Star" is a pilot project composed of several parts. One, an audio CD, will have teens-those with a mental health diagnosis - talking with other teens-those who sit in classrooms with these kids-about why they act and feel the way they do and what's on their minds and in their hearts when their worlds meet. The goal is to encourage constructive decisions by growing understanding through education. For example, some kids are alienated from their school world because of behaviors that may accompany their illness. These behaviors are often misunderstood and a series of actions and reactions occur that limit growth-anti-social behavior, withdrawal, school failure. In the absence of intervention, problems can magnify. "Catch a Falling Star" is more than teaching tolerance. It will be designed to change perceptions so new and different solutions can be recognized and explored. By learning about mental illnesses and emotional disorders, some kids who feel alone in their problems may see a reflection of themselves-and seek help. Others may begin to see the multi-faceted person behind a singular behavior and relate differently, which can help others function beyond the labels they have often come to believe about themselves. In discussions with teachers, the Coalition learned that they were often uncertain how to interpret and respond to behavioral problems in today's classrooms. The idea for the mental health handbook part of the project came from this awareness. Contents will be created from teacher suggestions and will provide necessary and practical inform such as mental health services, constructive intervention techniques, definitions and behavior descriptions. The project should be completed by next year and will be available free of charge to organizations that work with youth. "Breaking the Silence -Teaching the next generation about mental illness" will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to area schools with an initial target group of six middle schools. Contact Karen Padowicz (747-2284, ext. 237 or karen@www.wwamh.org) to participate. SURVIVAL
KIT -
AUDIO CD
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