Share Your Prom Pics with Us

/

Unless you’ve got kids in grades 9-12, you probably didn’t know it was prom season. Alas, the sparkly gowns and outrageous proposals are here and it makes us wonder – do you have any photos from the vault of your own end-of-high school dance?

Whether you wore a powder blue tux with ruffled shirt or a chiffon dress with big puffy sleeves—we want to see your prom style. Send your best prom pic to communications@sdcounty.ca.gov. Be sure to include your name, title and department in the body of the email.

Perk Alert: Save at the Movies

/

Summer is coming, which means action-packed blockbusters at the theaters. So stock up on discounted movie tickets now.

County employees can receive between 30 percent and 35 percent off ticket prices through PerkSpot at AMC, Cinemark and Regal theaters, which include Regal Cinemas, Edward Theaters and United Artists Theaters.

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts to County employees through hundreds of service providers and retailers from movie theaters to florists and jewelers. Using PerkSpot is both easy and free! Simply go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to complete the registration process.

Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite.  

Raise Awareness of Mental Illness

/

Whether or not you realize it, you play an important role in helping those experiencing a mental health challenge.

Mental illness affects one in five adults in any given year. It could be a loved one, a friend or a co-worker.

The County is sponsoring a Mental Health Awareness Week, May 9 through 13, 2016, as part of May is Mental Health Month. Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer kicked off this important event in her InTouch column.

The goal is to help people feel comfortable having open conversations about mental health challenges and to encourage people to seek help.

“The fear of being rejected and the stigma associated with mental health disorders keep some adults from getting the help they need for themselves or their children,” said Alfredo Aguirre, director of the County’s Behavioral Health Services for the Health and Human Services Agency. “Each of us has a role in creating an environment that supports recovery and encourages social inclusion. We all play a role in reducing the stigma and the resulting discrimination toward those living with a mental illness.”

So what can you do to get involved and show your support?

  1. Create awareness by wearing your lime green ribbon. Over 17,000 ribbons will be distributed to County staff in support of the week.

  2. Learn more about how mental health stigma affects most of us and what you can do to help change the perception of those struggling with a mental illness.

  3. Take the daily mental health challenges below starting May 9. It’s a great way to get involved every day, and you can share your support on social media for a chance to win fun prizes. (For more details, click on the link for each day.)

Monday: Wear the lime green ribbon handed out by your department to show your support. Lime green is the national color for mental health awareness.

Tuesday: Don’t miss out on your chance to add your name to the Lime Green Ribbon wall. There are many locations across the County. Snap a photo at the ribbon wall or take a selfie with your ribbon. Then share your photos with the hashtag #EachMindMattersSD on your social media outlet throughout the week to win prizes!

Wednesday: It’s Wellness Wednesday! Make time to take a deep breath, help someone out, make a healthy choice, or exercise. 

Thursday: Make a social connection, volunteer or try something new today.

Friday: Get inspired and watch at least one 60-second PSA developed for youth by youth

Saturday and Sunday: Wear your lime green ribbon all weekend and talk to your family and friends about why Each Mind Matters to you.

If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis and need immediate help, call the County’s Access and Crisis Line at (888) 724-7240. Non-crisis resources for staff are also available through the County’s Employee Assistance Program at (888) 777-6665 or www.anthemeap.com.

We Need to Talk… About Mental Health

/

When we say we’re working to help make every San Diegan healthy, safe and thriving, what comes to mind when you think about “healthy?” Things like eating right and having normal blood pressure?

Of course, those are essential parts of it. But what’s sometimes overlooked when we discuss health topics, even though it’s every bit as important, is mental health. We need to change that. May is recognized nationally as Mental Health Month, and over the next few weeks we are taking a number of steps to raise awareness among employees about mental health.

We’ve recently stepped up the resources we put into offering mental health services to the public. I want to see that of level of commitment reflected internally as well.

I’ll bring up the statistic that mental illness of some form affects one in five adults in any given year. That’s one in five people who walks into a family resource center. One in five who comes to get a building permit. One in five who pays child support or property taxes.

They are our customers. They’re customers for every department, not just Behavioral Health Services. Part of being prepared to serve them is understanding how common mental illness is and learning to address their particular needs. It’s one more way we can serve with HEART.

They are also us. That one-in-five figure extends into our workplace and includes the people we work alongside every day. We care about each other. The more aware we are of the struggles many of our colleagues are facing, the more supportive we can be. That will only make our County team stronger.

We’ve seen great interest in our Employee Wellness program, with many of you taking part in the variety of activities offered. We want to see mental wellness become just as big a part of our culture.

The first step is to do what I’m doing right here: talk about it. One of the biggest challenges for people with mental illness is overcoming the stigma that’s still often associated with it. That’s what keeps many people from getting the help they need. No one should ever feel any shame seeking help for any kind of health problem. Bringing it out into the open and talking about it helps erase that stigma.

So we have a series of activities this month meant to keep mental health in the spotlight and a topic of conversation. The most visible will be next week when you’ll see daily messages and challenges as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Watch for more details appearing soon.  

You’ll find a new module in LMS with resources and information about trainings such as QPR – Question, Persuade and Refer – a suicide prevention technique.  Also this month, over 100 employees will go through a full day of training in what’s known as Mental Health First Aid. It teaches the lay person how to recognize signs and symptoms of mental illness and how to direct people to the appropriate resources.

And it’s not a special event, but this is a good opportunity to remind you once again of our Employee Assistance Program. Among the services EAP provides is counseling for both employees and their household members. It’s free and strictly confidential. If you could use these resources, please, take advantage of them. Part of the message we’re trying to drive home right now is if you need help, ask for help.

I hope you can take a little time to join the activities we’re offering this month and focus on this critical topic. And the real goal of course is to have you take that knowledge into the future and keep building on it. We’ll be better for it, in how we work with both our customers and each other.     

Fill Your Plate with Colors

/

Make eating your fruits and veggies flavorful and fun—enroll in the Colorful Choices challenge as part of the Employee Wellness Program. This friendly online competition challenges employees to taste the rainbow—from red raspberries, oranges, yellow peppers, green grapes, blueberries and purple carrots—to improve their diet and health.

You can participate on an individual basis or as part of a team with four to eight members. Registration runs through May 7, so register now.

Participants will earn points with each and every serving of fruits and vegetables they log from May 2 through June 24. Your goal is to eat at least five servings of produce each day, with a minimum of three vegetables in red, orange, yellow/white, green, and blue/violet.

Mouthwatering ways to enjoy this challenge include planning a colorful potluck at the office, stocking up at a farmers market or trying recipes with vibrant veggies and flavorful fruits.

HHSA Employees Shine at Social Work

/
Cathi Palatella, acting director child welfare services, Toni Torres and Nick Macchione, HHSA director.

Cathi Palatella, acting director child welfare services, Toni Torres and Nick Macchione, HHSA director.

Three HHSA social workers were among the honorees at this year’s STARS Awards from the Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Council, including Toni Torres, a supervisor in the Indian Specialty Unit in North Region, who won the STARS social worker award.

Veronica Perez-Ramirez from South Region and Neda Rivera from East Region were honored as nominees for a STARS Award.

The STARS Awards are handed out annually and honor efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote the social and emotional well-being of children and families in our community.

Under Torres’ leadership, the Indian Specialty Unit had a 60 percent decrease of removals and children lingering in foster care since 2011. Torres has a reputation of being inclusive in working with all the diverse local tribal agencies and Tribes.

According to her nomination, she conducts her unit in a way that is non-threatening and works with Indian families to build trust and inclusion. Recently retired Appellate Court Judge Thorn recognized her unit for working with Tribal Star and the Public Child Welfare Training Academy (PCWTA).

Perez-Ramirez is the Incredible Families Program South Region liaison is described as friendly, kind, culturally sensitive, collaborative, trauma-informed and a problem solver. She’s often called on by other regions for advice and the schedule she developed for social workers to attend visitations for the program have been adopted by other regions as well.

Rivera specializes in working with immigrant communities and is a recognized leader on issues important to that community. She speaks both Arabic and Chaldean and is works with immigrants to educate them on United States laws and culture.

Employee Parrrties Like It's 1699

/

 

Jacqueline Vorhies, HSS, dressed as "Regina Wentworth" in front of Black Spot Pyracy.She did not want to go to the Renaissance faire, but her cousin pushed her to do it.

Her cousin even helped her to dress up in period garb.

Twenty-six years later, Jacqueline Vorhies is “Regina Wentworth.”

“I didn’t understand why [my cousin] wanted me to dress up, but I’m glad I did,” the Human Services Specialist said of her participation in the 1990 faire. “I felt like I was part of the faire just by walking around in period clothes.”

Several years after her first taste of Renaissance culture, Jacqueline became a member of a guild of period re-enactors, along with her cousin, his wife and their three sons.

“I had been friends with the group for a few years before I joined. What drew me in was all the fun they had playing their characters and entertaining the patrons.”

Four years after joining that guild, Vorhies and her extended family left the group to form their own guild, Black Spot Pyracy, where Regina Wentworth is the tavern mistress.

Members of the Black Spot Pyracy

“Many guilds, including my own, portray fictional characters of the period and do our best to represent a character that acts and speaks of the period and has knowledge of the Golden Age,” Vorhies said. “My own character, Mistress Regina Wentworth, is saucy – prone to flirtation, silliness and random pranks.  Although Regina is quite loveable, she is fierce as well. Regina will steal your heart as easily as your gold!”

The four-and-a-half year County employee said she makes some of her own garb for the Renaissance faires, but much of it has been made by other re-enactors or even purchased at the faire in Escondido.

“When it comes to props and garb, it is easy to want or buy more than you need. Our local faire is only four days, but there are different vendors to peruse and shop from there,” she said.

Vorhies encourages people to attend the local Renaissance Faire, which ran last weekend and will again April 30—May 1 at the County’s Felicita Park in Escondido.

“Attending a Renaissance faire is an opportunity to observe a demonstration of living history.  It is an inexpensive trip to the past,” she said. “In the days of old, people would gather for seasonal markets or assemble for festivals or to take issues to magistrates as they came through town. A Renaissance faire recreates these days when people would gather for business and trade while minstrels and entertainers would perform for the crowds to earn their living.”

Jacqueline Vorhies, HSS, ECFRC as “Regina Wentworth” of Black Spot Pyracy and her nephew, Joseph Kramer, as “Atticus MacIntyre.”

At the Escondido faire, you can expect to see entertainers like the Bawdy Juggler, A Fool and His Family, Parrot Tales (trained parrots), and listen to the music of Gallows Humour. And, of course, there’s the parade of guilds that march behind Queen Elizabeth. There are plenty of meat pies and turkey legs to go around and the kids can stay busy with a treasure map.

“There are free games to play as well,” she said. “If you make it out, be sure to stop by Pirate’s Cove and say hello to Regina at the Black Spot Pyracy encampment!”

The Queen's Procession at the Escondido Renaissance Faire at Felicita County Park.