Healthy Outcomes Parternship Steering Committee Meets to Plan Mental Health Week at the Somerset Hill YMCA. Seated, left to right: Ellie Rose, MD; Reverend Greg Miller, Covenant Chapel Reformed Episcopal Church; Mary Jane Postal, Somerset County Mental Health Board, Sharon Kelly, Atlantic Health System.
Standing, left to right: Connie Moore, Julie Yanenko and Jonathan Yoesting, Somerset Hills YMCA; Lauren Luik, HOP Steering Committee Chair; Bill Kimzey, BernardsVoices.org; Susan Kamins, Somerset Hills YMCA; Christine Rose, Somerset County Office of Youth Services; Audrey Taffet, Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills; and Judi Logan.
[BASKING RIDGE, NJ] -- The Somerset Hills YMCA, in alliance with the Healthy Outcomes Partnership (HOP), is currently planning a week-long education and information event for May 10-15, 2010 that will be focused exclusively on mental health. The event will include numerous talks, workshops and exhibits presented by experts and organizations on a variety of mental health issues. During that week, the Somerset Hills YMCA will welcome keynote speaker, Dr. Brad Sachs, who is a psychologist, educator, consultant and best-selling author specializing in clinical work with children, adolescents, couples, and families, in Columbia, Maryland. His most recent book, When No One Understands: Letters To a Teenager On Life, Loss, And The Hard Road To Adulthood, was published in 2007, and is based on his between-sessions correspondence with a suicidal adolescent whom he was treating. He has been interviewed on over three hundred radio and television shows, including The Today Show, and 20/20.
“HOP brings together mental and behavioral health professionals with concerned community leaders, all of whom generously volunteer their time to seek ways of providing better access to the resources people need to deal with difficult emotional issues and to have healthier relationships,” said Lauren Luik, HOP Steering Committee Chair and a member of the Board of Directors at the Somerset Hills YMCA. “Statistics show that 25% of the population -- AND our community -- are affected by a mental illness. So, even if you are not among that 25% at this point in your life, you may have been in the past, may be in the future, or may currently be concerned about the mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral problems of a loved one, friend or co-worker.”
With the support and leadership of the Somerset Hills YMCA, the Healthy Outcomes Partnership was formed in March 2009. Last year, HOP launched its educational initiative with a panel discussion and community forum, “Who Pulled the Rug Out? A Community Conversation about Economic Uncertainty and Its Affect on Us All.” The event drew an audience of more than 100 residents and incited provocative conversation. HOP members and other organizations offered resources, contact information and direct assistance during a reception after the event.
HOP is a volunteer coalition of experts that is exploring the common hurdles that prevent people from having healthy relationships. Among these issues are depression and anxiety caused by job loss, marital and family conflict or caring for an ill or disabled loved one, as well as serious mental illnesses that cause tremendous distress to the individual and his or her loved ones. A long-term goal of HOP is to create a resource and referral service that links community members to the services they need to deal with these problems. In the short-term, HOP is focused on community education and creating dialogue about mental health as an important part of overall health and well-being.
Members of the HOP Steering Committee include representatives from Bernards Township Health Department, Bernards Township Police Department, Bernards Township School District, Somerset Hills School District, Community Hope, Covenant Chapel Reformed Episcopal Church, King of Kings Ministry, Paterson Family Success Center, Somerset County Department of Human Services, Somerset County Office of Youth Services, Somerset Hills YMCA, Visiting Nurse Association of the Somerset Hills and many other health professionals, community volunteers and YMCA staff members.
For more information or to get involved in HOP, please visit http://www.somersethillsymca.org/ or call Susan Kamins at 908.766.7898 ext. 1590.
The Somerset Hills YMCA is a charitable community service organization, rooted in Christian values and dedicated to helping all people grow in spirit, mind and body. We are guided by our core principles of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
For more information, please visit www.somersethillsymca.org or call 908-766-7898.
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