CHARG Resource Center

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.

June 5, 2007 -Jeannie Ritter attended the CHARG Consumer Board of Directors meeting and listened as we conducted a near normal meeting.  She seemed to be happy to listen to us all talk about our business and concerns. We were of course delighted to have her here!

James Dean, Attorney   from Colorado Legal Services visits...

April 24, 2007 -  James Dean, Attorney from Colorado Legal Services came to talk to the CHARG Board of Directors. Many of us have known or heard of James Dean for years. The talk and following discussion lasted over two hours. A broad range of topics were covered:  Medicaid, Social Security Disability, SSI, and other benefits. And also how to deal with their bureaucracies when benefits are terminated for some reason. James Dean suggested similar future talks would be a good idea, at the end of the meeting.

Top of page

Joanne Greenberg , Author of "I never Promised you a Rose Garden" visits CHARG consumer Board of Director meeting

April 17, 2007 - Joanne Greenberg brought a group of Honor students from the Colorado School of Mines to listen to and then ask questions of the CHARG Board of Directors. The questions and answers went on for almost an hour, where Joanne mentioned she did not care for the term "Consumers" very much.  The purpose of the meeting, according to Joanne, was to give the Honor Students, most of them in the Sciences and Engineering,   maybe their last chance to experience a non Scientific or non Engineering process.

Top of page

2006 Innovations in Mental Health conference: "Systems Transformation - Beyond the Rhetoric"
  & the Heroes in the Fight awards 

November 10, 2006

Dave Babak at the CHARG booth and Rebecca Swindell behind the table:	Our Dr. David Iverson receives the "Heroes in the Fight" award from NAMI.
Networking in the Hotel Lobby	The audience at a Conference presentation: The "New Asylum" Mental Health Consumers in the Criminal Justice System.
Susan Manning and Mary Van Pelt in "Consumer Growth Challenges Traditional Boundaries in Mental Health."	Presentation by the Vetran's Administration
Julie Reiskin, Paula Kuchta and Victor Smith present: " What can an advocate do for you and How do you prevent retaliation?"	Freddy Bosco and Jennifer Parrett chatting in front of the "We Can" Booth
Police Detective is MC of the "Heroes in the Fight" award presentations by NAMI	"Leadership Academy booth"

Top of page

Copy of email from US Senator Ken Salazar....
Concerning a recent meeting CHARG consumers had  with 32 Metro Denver Police at the CHARG Drop in Center.

From: Senator_Salazar@salazar.senate.gov  Subject: A message from Senator Ken Salazar To:  zim.olson@yahoo.com Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 Dear Zim: Thank you for your letter. I appreciate hearing of the good work being done to partner our law enforcement community and mental health providers and clients to create an understanding of the needs and solutions to crime and the mentally ill. I will keep this story in mind as I work on these issues. Again, thank you for sharing your story with me. Sincerely, Ken Salazar United States Senator

Top of page

Building Updates!

CHARG would like to extend a heartfelt "Thank you" to Mike Quadhamer and his team at Krohn's Coverings, Inc. (www.krohnscoverings.com) for the very generous donation of seven custom-made fabric shades for our clinic. The shades look wonderful, and help to create a nice welcoming atmosphere for everyone that comes to CHARG. Thanks also to David Parrett for coordinating the donation and installing the window coverings!

Also, Louis Vecchiarelli of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) - District Council 1 has again generously volunteered to install carpet in the main room of our clinic building. We are currently trying to locate some lower cost carpet or carpet squares. If any of you have a contact in the carpet industry that would be willing to help us out, please contact Jennifer Parrett at 303-830-8805 or jennifer@charg.org.

Thanks to a grant from the Johnson Foundation, the exterior of CHARGýs clinic building is having work done too. During our warmer early winter months, we began repair to some of the masonry. The cold weather has put this work on hold until later this spring. The front door, molding and windowsills on the front of the building were also repainted this past autumn.

Top of page

CHARG's "Smart" Mouths" Program .......

CHARG's "Smart Mouths" Program moves into it's second year.

Thanks to a second grant from the Caring for Colorado Foundation, CHARG's "Smart Program"  program continues into its second year. This project grew from our recognition that our overall goal of promoting optimum oral health among mental health consumers requires more than simply facilitating and financing visits to the dentist. The project entails classes in oral hygiene in addition to regular preventative check-ups and care. On the first and third Monday of the month, dental hygienist Cherry Jelm teaches an oral hygiene group. After completing two classes, participants receive a battery-operated toothbrush and become eligible to receive services through our Dental and Eye care program. For our first year, we had over 50 mental health consumers participate in our new "Smart Mouths" program. For more information, contact Margie Carlin or Peggy Daniel at #303-830-8805.
 

Top of page

The Starfish on Broadway CD.....

The Starfish on Broadway CD, music written and performed by homeless and/or mentally ill individuals living in Denver, is now available. This is the second compilation to be released. Royalties will be paid to the composers and performers, so if you are interested they can be purchased at the Twist & Shout at 300 E Alameda Avenue. If you are interested in donating to the project, please call Jennifer Parrett at 303-830-8805 or jennifer@charg.org. CDýs are also available at CHARG Resource Center for a suggested donation of $12.50. Net proceeds from the sale of this CD will benefit CHARG Resource Center.

Top of page

NEW WEB ADMINISTRATOR

Zim Olson is CHARG's new Web Administrator. He will be regularly updating our website, and is looking forward to talking with people to get more ideas. Thanks Zim for your hard work!

Top of page

Check it out!

Our very own Barbara Quarton is one of the artists featured on the Artists with Disabilities in Colorado page of the University of Colorado at Boulder website. You can read Barbara�s biography, personal statement and view some of her wonderful artwork at

http://www.colorado.edu/finearts/rivera/disability/artists/Quarton_BarbaraPigford/Index.html

Top of page

Research Study

On December 20, 2001, the Rose Community Foundation awarded CHARG Resource Center $30,123.00 to help fund a research study that was begun by previous staff member, Jonathan Phillips. The study is looking at the differences between our model of legal partnership and a comparison group from another local mental health center. Individual subjects were compared in terms of scores on a nationally-recognized empowerment instrument, data on level of functioning and rates of job placement, and qualitative information gleaned from a series of focus groups. While our data are still being analyzed, preliminary findings show some significant positive differences associated with our model. We believe this will assist in our efforts to assert the value of consumer-driven models such as ours, and to promote our model to other mental health agencies. For more information, please contact David Burgess at 303.830.8805.

Rose Community Foundation was established in 1995 with proceeds from the sale of Rose Medical Center. In addition to providing financial support to community groups, the Foundation also provides a vehicle for donors to contribute to charitable causes. More information about Rose Community Foundation may be obtained by visiting the foundation's Web site, www.rcfdenver.org.

Top of page

Treatment Issues Group

The goal of this group is to increase consumers' involvement in clinical issues and policies, including CHARG's relationship with impatient facilities and perhaps a liaison relationship similar to the ABC Navigators who help those hospitalized navigate the system, which hopefully leads to a more rapid recovery. The group is meeting at CHARG Resource Center once a month, and anyone interested is welcome to come be a part of it.

For more information regarding the Treatment Issues Group, and for dates and times, please contact Laura Pritchard-Haile, HEARTland Clinic Director, at 303.830.8805.

Top of page