At Ease USA Celebrates Successes, Looks Toward Future

At Ease USA, a program created in partnership with Lutheran Family Services to assist active military, veterans, and their loved ones in receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and related disorders, has a lot to be proud of. Since 2009, the program, which offers counseling services, group support programs, and community support, has helped more than 200 clients across the state with amazing results. According to program evaluation results, 100 percent of clients have reported a reduction in risk behaviors.

Catholic Charities Celebrates 85 Years of Service

Since 1926, Catholic Charities has worked endlessly to serve and advocate for more than 75,000 voiceless, hungry, addicted, abused, and forgotten individuals annually throughout the Omaha area. Through its 11 main programs, and the efforts of nearly 400 amazing volunteers, staff, and board members, Catholic Charities works to feed the hungry, give shelter and safety to battered women and children, support individuals with mental illness, offer recovery and hope to those suffering from addiction, teach new skills to young and old, unite adoptive families, and so much more. In September, Catholic Charities celebrated 85 years of service to Omaha.

Kim Foundation’s Not Alone Radio Program Kicks Off Fifth Year

The Kim Foundation and station KCRO, channel 660 AM based out of Omaha, Neb., partnered to produce a live, talk radio program focused on behavioral health and recovery in late 2007. Titled Not Alone, the broadcast was developed by The Kim Foundation through the support of C&A Industries, Inc. in an effort to reduce the stigma often associated with mental illness. Proudly, the show, which seeks to assure individuals, families, and communities that they are not alone, mental illness affects us all, will celebrate the start of its fifth year on the air in December.

Trauma Informed Care Programs

When a person is involved in a traumatic event, like a car crash, a team of surgeons work to fix the physical damage that may have been caused. But how is the emotional and mental damage caused by the event resolved? Scott Carlson, a mental health professional and Director of Heartland School says that like any other wound left untreated, trauma will continue to fester in a person and can show up in acting out behaviors like ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder, or depression.

Ted E. Bear Hollow Adds New Youth Program

Since 2001, Ted E. Bear Hollow has provided a safe place to express emotions, to remember loved ones openly, and to learn ways to care for themselves in the sad times. Through support groups, day camps, retreats and a variety of programs, Ted E. Bear Holllow has helped thousands of children and their loved ones move beyond their grief of the loss of a loved one to death toward healing. Today, Ted E. Bear Hollow is the premier resource for grieving children, teens, and their families in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area.

Heartland Family Service Assessment, Support and Prevention Program

Law enforcement officers and medical personnel are called into situations every day where they are asked to make decisions regarding the needs of individuals experiencing crisis – some of these crisis involve individuals suffering from mental illness. The Assessment, Support and Prevent Program (ASAP) offered through Heartland Family Service is a team of volunteer, on-call licensed therapists trained in crisis intervention and communication who respond to Sarpy County Law Enforcement Officials in crisis situations.

Veteran Affairs Expands Services for Women

In 2009 and 2010 post traumatic stress disorder, hypertension, and depression were the top three diagnoses for women Veterans treated by the VA. Cindy Niemack-Brown, Women Veteran Program Manager feels these issues are high in women because females versus males have a tendency to delay their health care over others, often complicating the underlying health care issue.

“As a licensed mental health practitioner and a woman myself, I know that women pride themselves on taking care of others rather than themselves. Often, women who have been deployed have higher readjustment issues and cases of depression because it can be challenging adjusting and integrating back into the role of mother, care giver, or wife,” Niemack-Brown said. “We hear women say that when they come back after being deployed they don’t get the same kind of support or acknowledgement that men receive and they feel isolated.”

OneWorld Community Health Center Starts Youth Navigator Program to Reach Foster Care Youth in Transition

A new program offered at OneWorld Community Health Center, The Youth Navigator Program, is now available to assist youth making the transition out of the foster care system to living independently within the community. The program, funded with a two-year grant, helps to develop a plan for participants to create and/or maintain a healthy lifestyle as well as guide them in attaining their personal goals for the future.

Real Talk Program Cultivates Emotional Intelligence in Youth

Built on a philosophy that embraces the spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual, and cultural love for self and others, the Center for Holistic Development (CHD) in northeast Omaha uses its extensive range of community events, youth programs, and outreach services to help individuals develop balance and well being.

Online Screening Tools at BryanLGH Hospital

Recognizing that depression is one of the most common mental health illnesses, but also the most treatable, BryanLGH Hospital in Lincoln, Neb. offers a variety of online screening tools focused on mental health to assist people in finding help and take the necessary steps toward recovery.