Vol2 | February | View Archive

The Kim Foundation, in collaboration with individuals, organizations, and healthcare providers throughout Nebraska, is pleased to bring you a monthly e-newsletter addressing mental health care.

We will provide you with access to valuable resources, connections to individuals and agencies working toward behavioral health reform, insight into successful programs offered in Nebraska, and updates on the latest news and events.

If you have comments, questions, or information you would like to share through the electronic newsletter, please email us at info@thekimfoundation.org.

For more information on mental health issues in Nebraska please visit www.thekimfoundation.org.

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R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² Launches New Programs and Partnerships

Suicide Prevention Efforts Underway

Uta Halee-Cooper Village-Ponca Pines Academy Receive Sanctuary Certification

Not Alone Radio Program March Schedule

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² (Relationship Empowerment for Students, Parents, Educators, and Community Through Theatre) has been working to educate students, parents, and educators on issues surrounding bullying, peer pressure, and dating violence since 2001. Recognizing both the immediate as well as long-term effects surrounding these very issues, the R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² team works to improve the physical and emotional well-being of the students and adults whose lives they touch. Continuing to expand their reach, R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² is pleased to announce the premier of a new production, Puppy Pals, as well as a partnership with St. Augustine Mission School in Winnebago, Nebraska.

The recent launch of Puppy Pals is geared toward preschool students. The play focuses on teaching social skills such as learning how to make a friend as well as stopping and thinking when feeling strong emotions. Puppy Pals will join the myriad of other R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² productions that are available to grades K-12. In addition to topics addressed through Puppy Pals, other R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² plays focus on issues of bullying, impulse control, relational aggression, teen dating violence, substance abuse, body image, self-injurious behavior, and suicide/depression.

Through a partnership with the Golden K Kiwanis Club of Omaha and a grant from the NE-IA Kiwanis Foundation, R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² will be able to provide its services to the St. Augustine Indian Mission for the first time in 2010. The St. Augustine Indian Mission serves the Winnebago and Omaha Tribes and is located in the northeast corner of Nebraska. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² will be performing its plays for students in K-8th grades as well as working with them through the schools artist-in-residency program to create short play productions of their own. The focus of this new partnership will center on teaching students about the dynamics of bullying and building healthy relationships.

For additional information on R.E.S.P.E.C.T.² or to learn more about their work, please visit www.respect2all.org.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently selected Nebraska as the recipient of a federal grant focused on addressing issues surrounding suicide in youth. Through the grant $1.5 million will be allocated to the state over the next three years with the goal of bringing awareness to and decreasing suicide among young people. As part of the project the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Behavioral Health, and Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska have partnered together to carry out activities in conjunction with the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Thus far a suicide prevention training has been held for gatekeepers interested in learning QPR or Question, Persuade, Refer. QPR is similar to CPR in that it is an emergency approach that anyone can learn to help prevent suicide. Seventy-five individuals have been trained in the gatekeeper training and 12 individuals completed further training and are now trainers. It is anticipated that the 12 trainers will facilitate more than 70 additional training events for interested Nebraskans throughout the three year period. The trainers are ready and available to take requests for gatekeeper training from interested organizations and communities.

Other projects planned through this project include a clinicians training that will focus on educating clinicians with up-to-date suicide prevention skills and tools, and the development of a website geared toward Nebraska’s youth, complete with various resources and information about suicide prevention.

For additional information on the Nebraska Suicide Prevention Project please visit http://ppc.nebraska.edu/project/NebraskaSuicidePrevention, www.suicideprevention.nebraska.edu, or www.youthsuicideprevention.nebraska.edu.

Congratulations to Uta Halee Girls Village, Cooper Village for boys, and Ponca Pines Academy as they recently attained status as a Sanctuary Certified Agency. Designation of this honor recognizes that the organizations have integrated the resources and standards of the nationally recognized Sanctuary Model into their core cultures.

The Sanctuary Model was founded by Dr. Sandra Bloom and works to incorporate a comprehensive, trauma-informed model of treatment. The trauma-informed model recognizes that many of the youth served through the organization have extensive histories of traumatic experiences including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and works to reduce and eliminate additional trauma that may be unintentionally imposed through systemic processes. The Sanctuary Model is intended to create a culture of non-violence and in doing so create and maintain physical, psychological, social, and moral safety.

Congratulations on achieving this honor.

Uta Halee Girls Village and Cooper Village for boys provide gender-specific psychiatric residential treatment programs for youth ages 12-18. Ponca Pines Academy is designed for young women ages 17-19, providing academic and therapeutic interventions as they prepare for a successful transition to adulthood. For additional information on Uta Halee Girls Village, Cooper Village for boys, and Ponca Pines Academy, please visit www.utahalee-cooper.org.

Remember to join The Kim Foundation and KCRO channel 660 AM for Not Alone, a live talk radio program focused on behavioral health and recovery.

Airing every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Not Alone hosts guests from throughout Nebraska addressing a variety of topics. The schedule for March includes:

• March 2 – Help in Rural Communities
  Consumer Specialists from Region 1 in Western Nebraska address the challenges of establishing peer support and family education opportunities in rural communities.
• March 9 – Pre and Post Partum Depression
  Many new mothers will experience pre and post-partum depression. We’ll discuss the warning signs and resources available for help.
• March 16 – Depression in Infants and Toddlers
  When mothers experience depression, their unborn child, newborn child, and even toddlers can experience similar symptoms. This program will address depression in infants through 3 years of age.
• March 23 – Region 1 Behavioral Health Authority
  Representatives with Region 1 Behavioral Health Authority discuss its role in administering services, support, and programs through the behavioral health system of care for residents in western Nebraska.
• March 30 – Heartland Family Services
  Staff members from Heartland Family Services will share information about programs and services available to individuals and families through its organization.

Listeners outside of the broadcast area can access the radio program through KCRO’s website at www.kcro.com.

For more information on Not Alone or the Mental Health Minutes, please visit www.thekimfoundation.org.