Denver’s 150; Denver is 150!

 Having felt the tread of hundreds of pairs of feet, most of them traveling from a state of pain into relief on the other side, the carpet which lies on the floor of the lobby of CHARG Resource Center had—prior to remedial treatment by COIT Cleaners—seen infinitely better days.

 From having witnessed emergencies of every kind on up to dances of celebration, the old rug was dying a bitter death, and short of replacing it (at a cost no one was prepared to pay), it looked doomed. What was there to be done but apologize to everyone who entered the room for the first time. “We’re going to replace this soon,” was the rationalization.

The entire staff of CHARG—which is a small private clinic devoted to helping those with problems of various kinds—had gotten to a place of denial and disgust at the condition of the old carpet. Many a cup of coffee had dribbled its way onto the floor, just as had many muddy feet been scraped there.

 What was to be done? Funny enough, but after years of hearing their ads on the radio, I decided to  see what might be the chance that COIT would donate a cleaning to CHARG. I called COIT (which can be reached locally at 303-922-9212 or nationally at 1-800-For-COIT).A fellow there named Ron referred me to a woman on the staff named Derrie who made an appointment and showed up at CHARG a few days later.

 Derrie tried to conceal her horror at the condition of the carpet, but, ever the professional, took measurements and notes. She got back to us and we were delighted to find that COIT, which is a national company in business since 1950 agreed to donate a cleaning.

 COIT began in San Francisco (home to the famous COIT Tower), and has been in business here for 39 years. They clean upholstery, draperies, tile and air ducts and do restoration. For all of these services, they employ 60 shiny black vans in town.

 Two stalwart men—Bill and Paul-- showed up on a Saturday morning to do the job. They introduced themselves and asked to be shown to the nearest outdoor water outlet to hook up their equipment. Another CHARG representative and I made ourselves available to move furniture and help in any way necessary. The COIT men knew their job, however,  and required little assistance.

 While admitting that our carpet looked horrendous, they said they had seen worse. Bill and Paul went to work applying a patented “spotter” which activates the dirt to bring it up to the surface.

Then, they use “a freeze spray” which sucks the dirt out. I asked them what chemicals they used, but they declined to elaborate.

 An hour later, as Paul pulled the freeze sprayer out the front door, the lobby of CHARG looked like a brand-new facility, all ready for the arrival of clients and professionals, drug reps and visitors, none of whom would remember what condition the carpet had been in before.

 The appreciation of those who spend their working hours in that room, however, is inestimable, and owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to COIT for its professionalism and generosity. For a number of years to come, CHARG can show a bright face to the world now with a carpet that has come back to life. Astonishing what one hour of know-how can accomplish.

March 19, 2008 - Dr. Alan Fine talks 1 and a half hours on Nutrition at CHARG Resource Center Clinic.

 Dr. Fine has given talks in the past and they are always well received by Consumers and Staff alike. The room was full each time.

CHARG & Crisis Intervention Team Training

Over the past two years, CHARG Resource Center has participated in seven Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trainings, with several more scheduled in the upcoming months.  The purpose of CIT, as reported on the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice website (http://dcj.state.co.us/crcpi/CIT.html), gives police officers new strategies and tools for identifying, preventing, and   de-escalating mental health crisis calls. CIT decreases arrest and injury rates for people with mental illness, increases officer and citizen safety, and enhances public involvement in law enforcement efforts.

Police officers from many Front Range sheriffs departments as well as the Denver Police Department have visited with consumers and staff at the CHARG Drop in Center as part of their crisis intervention training.  Everyone is invited to share their own experiences with regards to law enforcement and mental illness, and to discuss ways in which we can all make future encounters better for the parties involved. CHARG is very proud to be involved in the program and helping facilitate successful interactions between the mentally ill and law enforcement in our community.

Two New Easy Ways to Support CHARG Resource Center

#1) GoodSearch.com – use it as your search engine and each time you search, GoodSearch makes a donation to CHARG!  The money comes from the GoodSearch advertisers; an easy and free way to support CHARG Resource Center.  It’s powered by Yahoo!, so you get great search results. 

How it works:

            - Go to www.goodsearch.com

- Enter CHARG Resource Center as the charity you are goodsearching for and click on the “verify” button.

- Start your search!

(All of your searches will count toward donations except for the following: 1) image searches; 2) video searches; 3) “search this site” searches; 4) searches for URL’s (i.e., search terms ending in .com, .org, .net, .edu); 5) searches to sites for which the URL is well known such as HotMail, ESPN, MySpace, Facebook, GMail, AOL, etc.; 6) searches for stock quotes; 7) searches for word definitions

*You can download the GoodSearch toolbar for easier future internet searches. 

#2 GoodShop.com - The new online marketplace that will donate a percentage of your purchase to CHARG. You can choose from hundreds of popular merchants and the experience of shopping through GoodShop is exactly the same as going to the retailer’s websites directly. Some of the retailers you will find at GoodShop.com are Amazon, Barnes & Noble, eBay, 1-800-Flowers, and Expedia. 

How it works:

            - Go to www.goodshop.com

- Enter CHARG Resource Center as the charity you are shopping for and click on the “verify” button.

- Start shopping!