EAST TN

KnoxvilleSpecial Needs Parents

“Support, Ideas & Solutions”West Park Baptist Church

Parents of children ages 2 to 218833 Middlebrook Pike

4th Tues. of every month 7-8:30 pmJim Griffin 865/609-2490

Jgriffin@tnvoices.org

Morristown City“Hand in Hand Family

Support Group”Morristown-Hamblem Library

417 West Main Street 3rd Thurs. of every month 6:30-8 pm

Parents of children ages 2 to 21Call in advance if childcare is needed

Contact: 423/289-4217

Blount CountyMAC Meeting

(Maryville Autism Coalition)Fairview United Methodist Church

2508 Old Niles Ferry Road, Maryville 3rd Thurs. of every month 6:30-8 pm

Erin Thompson 865/776-6442Plaid2000@aol.com

ChattanoogaAwesome Autism

Ronald McDonald 200 Central Ave. Last Monday of every month

Jackie Benkert 423/886-5430awesome_autism@yahoogroups.com

Loudon CountySpecial Needs Support Group

First Baptist Church in Lenoir CityParents of children ages 2 to 21

2085 Simpson Road3rd Thurs. of every month 6:00-8 pm

Barbara Early 865/621-3661early111@bellsouth.net

MIDDLE TN

ClarksvilleEmmanuel Life Center

First Missionary Baptist Church301 Fairview Lane

3rd Thurs. of every month 6:30-8 pmChildcare Available

Monica Causey 800/670-9882or 615/269-7751

LewisburgFirst Assembly of God

1191 West Ellington Pkwy3rd Thurs. of every month 6:30-8 pm

Kim Young 931/560-3088

Columbia/Maury CountyThe Family Center

1st Thurs. of every month 6:00-7:30 pm921 Beckett Street, Columbia

Call in advance if childcare is neededKathy Rogers 931/560-3085Kelly Turco 931/490-0463

Humphreys CountyM.A.S.K.

(Mothers and Fathers of AutismSpectrum Kids)

Last Saturday of every month at 2 pmTanya Salley 931/582-6147

Barbara Steuer 615/740-8019

WEST TN

Madison CountyTVC Jackson Office

239 North Parkway, Suite C, Jackson4th Sat. of every month at 1 pm

Childcare AvailableRhonda Ewing 731/984-8599

rewing@tnvoices.org

Shelby County / MemphisLucy Baptist Church

4005 Lucy Road , Millington2nd Sat. of every month at 10 amRhonda Ewing 731/984-8599

rewing@tnvoices.org

S U P P O R T G R O U P S

Charlotte Bryson Executive DirectorMillie Sweeney Asst. Director for Programs

Brian Taylor Asst. Director for Operations2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Executive CommitteeJack McKenzie President

Michele Johnson President ElectHeather Dziewulski Immediate Past President

Jeune Wood SecretaryRon Lee Treasurer

Executive CommitteeJack McKenzie President

Michele Johnson President ElectHeather Dziewulski Immediate Past President

Jeune Wood SecretaryRon Lee Treasurer

Board of DirectorsBarbara EarlyKaren EasterWanda EvansRobin GreenMerril Harris

Craig Anne Heflinger, Ph.D.Linda O’NealDebbie Webb

Steve Wonsiewicz

Advisory CouncilDick Blackburn

Ken DukeRichard Edgar

Jessica Doyle HooperDawne Kimbrell, Ph.D.

Randal M. LeaGunnar Nelson

Derek PellSheila Peters, Ph.D.

Scott RidgwayPaula Sandidge, M.D.

Jim ShulmanWilliam SpencerShelby Tabeling

Patti Van Eys, Ph.D.Lorraine Williams Greene, Ph.D.

Lygia WilliamsBE IN THE KNOW! Join or start a

TVC Support Group. Call 1-800-670-9882

The Networker Team: LAUREN ARIEUX Writer/Designer/Editor • MILLIE SWEENEY Editor • LAURA FAIR Editor This newsletter is partially funded through an agreement with the State of Tennessee via the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Tennessee Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health

T H E N E T W O R K E R

2nd Quarter 2010 Edition

K-Town Youth Empowerment Network hosted a daylong “Plan-ning Advance” for 35 community stakeholders, family members and youth, staff, and grants manage-ment team members at Children Defense Fund’s Haley Farm, a lovely 157-acre rural retreat that once be-longed to the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Roots, Alex Haley. The Farm, owned by K-Town communi-ty partner Children’s Defense Fund, is a year-round retreat center where young leaders, social activists and policymakers can brainstorm strat-egies that benefit children and youth. In many ways the event was a homecoming, because CDF Haley Farm was the site of a 2002 retreat held by the Knoxville Youth Transi-tion Council, an ongoing community co-alition that led to the creation of K-Town. Apple orchards in bloom, Southern home cooking, rocking chairs on the porch overlooking the magnificent ar-chitecture of May Lin, and a tree-lined pond with nesting geese--all this formed a soothing, inspiring backdrop for serious

talk about the needs of youth and families. Moderator and long-time Systems of Care advocate Christina Coker Young led the group in a discussion of how to build a seamless web of services and supports for Knox County youth ages 14-21 with men-tal illness, as well as their families. With words and hand-drawn pictures, commu-nity leaders created their”2020” vision of a

comprehensive Knox County Sys-tem of Care as it should look ten years from now. One young adult present at the event called it “A great big circle of Awesome!” The outcome of that event was the formation of a 40-mem-ber Advance Team that will meet bimonthly over the com-ing year to build the K-Town Youth Empowerment Network. Created in 2009, the K-Town Youth Empowerment Network (K-Town) serves tran-sitional youth, ages 14-21, and their families, who are affected with serious emotional distur-bance and mental illness in Knox County. The K-Town SAMHSA-funded System of Care grant

is administered through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and De-velopmental Disabilities (TDMHDD) and operated locally in Knoxville by Tennes-see Voices for Children in partnership with Helen Ross McNabb Mental Health Cen-ter and Centerstone Research Institute.

~Contributed by Wendy Besmann

K-Town Hosts Knoxville Community Leaders

Pictured above, TVC staff and K-Town partners at Haley Farm. From left to right: K-Town Program Director Mark Wolf, Freida Out-law with TDMHDD, TVC Executive Director Charlotte Bryson, Susan Steckel with TDMHDD, K-Town Social Marketing and Technical Assistance Coordinator Wendy Bessman, TVC Youth Engagement Specialist James Martin, TVC Family Outreach Specialist Jim Griffin, TVC Assistant Director for Programs Millie Sweeney, and Carol Dunaway with Helen Ross McNabb.

K-TOWN HITS THE GROUND RUNNING

ALSO INSIDE: CMHW RECAP, YOUTH IN ACTION, STAFF NEWS, AND MUCH MORE.

PAGE 2

Youth Retreat 2010I SAID A BOOM CHICKA BOOM On March 20 at the Mount Pleasant Recreation Cen-ter, more than 70 youth from the Memphis, Columbia, Mount Pleasant, Jackson, and Nashville Youth In Action councils joined together with 20 adult TVC staff and volunteers to share their stories, learn from each others’ experiences, put their heads together, and HAVE FUN! Colum-bia/Mt. Pleasant YIA Coordinator James Martin moderated the programs, which were primariliy run by the youth. The youth participated in an open forum, art therapy, using creativity to build a political campaign, a yoga/pilates session, and many more activities. A majority of the youth met for the first time this day, but all were fast friends in no time.

Y O U T H I N A C T I O N“ We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

L-R: Columbia youth leading open forum, Martin addressing the group, yoga/pilates session, Jackson youth opens with ice-breaker activities, and two youth display their art creations.

TEN YOUTH from Columbia and Mount Pleasant were select-ed to participate in a research camp, which took place June 7-11, ending with a youth performance on Sat-urday, June 12. Co-ordinated by James Martin and Cheri Hoffman of CRI, the camp brought Sergio Cuellar, a consultant

from California-based Youth In Focus, to work with the kids in creating a sketch and develop-ing leadership abilities. Stellasue Lee, published local artist/poet , aided in the sharing process by showing the youth how to express their feel-ings through writing, having them read aloud poetry they had written and pick their favorites to read from provided books.

R e s e a R c h camp

S C R A P B O O K

Staff Retreat

All of TVC’s staff gathered together at the Dyer Observatory in Brentwood for a biannual meeting/re-treat on May 21. These meetings give staff members a chance to catch up and for each project director to share news and updates about their programs, as well as bounce ideas off of each other. And as we’re adding to our staff all the time, it serves as a meet and greet as well!

A Letter From the E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

The Council on Children’s Mental Health meeting on June 24th included a Youth Transition Panel. The participants were youth from across the state who had experienced one or more serious challenges such as struggling with mental health problems, abusive and/or neglectful environments, addictions, homelessness, state custody and numerous out of home placements. These youth still exhibited tremendous strengths, courage, hope, and most of all -- despite their many challenges -- grace. They all recognized that education was an important answer for each of them.

When asked what we could do better as individuals, agencies, and family-driven, youth-focused systems, they gave us great advice.

The Youth Spoke: A Summary

• Really care about the youth and families (we know if you don’t)

• Treat us as individuals not as a file or case• Get to know us and our goals• Listen to us (more to the point, “Shut up and

Listen”)• Be genuine• Give us accurate and correct information

(so we can make good decisions)• Know your job• Like your job• Do your job—Do what it takes—Be creative to

help us• Connect us with caring, stable adults who will

stay involved• Care, Care, Care

Good advice from strong, caring young people. We should listen up.

Listening to the Youth

PAGE 6

E M P L O Y E E N E W SWe’re Growing!

TVC WelcomesNASHVILLE:Kim Sterling - Human reSourceS and training SpecialiSt

Kim joins TVC with three years of HR/Training experience. Long-time photographer for pleasure and for 10 years professionally, Kim has her bachelor’s degree in Photography with a minor in psy-chology from MTSU. She enjoys kayaking, camping, traveling, and hiking along with her husband and their two dogs.

KNOXVILLEmarK Wolf – project director, K-toWn YoutH empoWerment netWorK A veteran in the field, Mark joins TVC after 33 years working with children and youth, with the past 25 spent with Child and Family Tennessee. He has his bachelor’s in Social Work from Utah State University and Masters in Social Work from West Virigina Univer-sity. Mark enjoys movies, garage sale shopping, and going out to eat with his wife, Diane, as well as walking his dog, Henry. He and Diane have a son and daughter-in-law Zac and Leah, and two grandchildren, Gabe and Izzy, who are the “joys of their lives.”

WendY loWe BeSmann – Social marKeting and tecHnical aSSiS-tance coordinator, K-toWn YoutH empoWerment netWorK

Longtime freelance writer and mother of a 19-year-old son with autism, Wendy had been presi-dent of NAMI Knoxville before joining TVC and currently chairs the Region II Planning Council for TDMHDD. Her articles on travel, parenting, finance, and other lifestyle topics have appeared in several national publications, and she has authored two books. Wendy lives on a lake in Knoxville with husband Ted, son David, daughter Anna, and a very old but reliable ski boat.

SHani cutler – familY Support provider - K-toWn YoutH empoW-erment netWorK

Shani was yanked away from TVC’s Advisory Council to join our staff after several years working in advocacy for families. She is currently pursuing her degree in Social Work and says that though she doesn’t have much time for personal hobbies, she enjoys reading, “doing crafty things,” working on her house, and spending time with her children and their activities. She and husband Bryan have a 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, and 10-year-old son, Brant Fox.

Congrats!TVC Assistant Director for Op-erations Brian Taylor and wife Sa-mantha are new parents to twins Sloane Dani and Wesley Larson, born June 18th in Nashville.

Alicia Kamar, FSP with MuleTown Family Network, graduated Cum Laude from Middle Tennessee State University in May. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies with a double minor is Psychology/Sociology. She will return to MTSU for her Master of Social Work in August. Congrats, Alicia!

Alicia

Nashville floods aNd TvC YouTh ReaCh ouTTennessee experienced record rainfall during the first weekend of May, causing flooding to much of Nashville and the surrounding area. We are pleased to report that aside from a few plumbing issues, all TVC facilities were free of damage. Pictured below is a view from the street of a fallen tree just barely missing the lawn of our headquarters in Nashville (our building is on the right). Many

TVC staffers’ homes were badly damaged, however, and the Nashville office closed for several days.

Youth from TVC’s Mid-TN Youth In Action Council volunteered their time to hand out water to victims during the week following the flood.

K I

M

MA R K

WE N D Y

S H A N I

C H I L D R E N ’ S M E N T A L H E A LT H W E E K A C T I V I T I E S

May 2-8, 2010

K-Town Youth Empowerment Network hosted a joyous Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day 2010 in down-town Knoxville’s Krutch Park on Saturday, May 8. Sunny, breezy weather brought out an estimated 300 visitors to the event, which was held in conjunction with the popular Market Square Farmer’s Market. K-Town spouses and chil-dren pitched in with great energy and enthusiasm, serving free cotton candy and popcorn, setting up equipment, tak-ing photos, and reading aloud in the Story Tent. K-Town Project Director Mark Wolf stayed busy mak-ing balloon animals (swords and hats were his specialty) but took time off to tape an interview with local station WBIR-TV. His Golden Retriever Henry was also big hit with small children! A dozen volunteers from K-Town partner

Helen Ross McNabb Center staffed the Bounce House, painted little faces, and gave out sparkly crowns along with “princess manicures.” TVC volunteer Doug McCaughan juggled bowling pins and rubber chickens for an appre-ciative crowd, while the Knoxville Fire Department parked one of its ladder trucks nearby for children to climb and explore. Twenty exhibitors—ranging from NAMI and Am-eriChoice to Department of Children’s Services and the “Art for Aspergers” program—offered family friendly infor-mation about local services and supports. Special thanks to CMHW Event Planner Shani Cutler of K-Town and TVC volunteer Erin Thompson for their leadership in planning and staging this fun-filled event!

~Contributed by Wendy Besmann

FIRST K-TOWN EVENT HUGE SUCCESS!

C H I L D R E N ’ S M E N T A L H E A LT H W E E K A C T I V I T I E SMay 2-8, 2010

The Muletown Family Network (MTFN) reached out to local health care provid-ers, law enforcement and safety organi-zations for Awareness Day to promote the message that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy develop-ment from birth. MTFN staff spread this message in two highly visual ways: (1) by handing out nearly 4,000 “I Choose to Care” stickers throughout the state and across many professions to those who continue to support the needs of children and (2) by asking local school system, fire department and numerous businesses to post the message “Children’s Mental Health Matters” on their outdoor signs. Staff also coordinated with commu-nity health care providers to offer a free screening to parents and caregivers to identify problems that may require fur-

ther evaluations. For those that took part in the screening, which took place at the Columbia Mall on May 8th, a resource list was provided to assist them if needed. There were fun activities for children and youth, including an outdoor “Chalk Zone” hula hoop contest and an indoor “Coloring Center.” They received free art supplies and had their artwork posted inside the mall during the event. By the end of the event, several screen-ings were copmleted, and staff had pro-vided information to those in need and spoken to dozens of people about the importance of having appropriate re-sources and providers for the families of our community. ~Contributed by Sonya Beasley, MTFN

REACHING OUT IN COLUMBIA

Tiffani Waire with the Maury County Health Department passes out “I Choose To Care stickers.

Tennessee Voices for Children, the East Tennessee Council on Children and Youth, and East Tennessee Suicide Preven-tion Network hosted a “Focus on Suicide Prevention” conference at

the Boys & Girls Club Auditorium in Knoxville, attended by more than 170 people. With key-note speaker Dr. Connie Brisco of the Universi-ty of Tennessee focusing on learning the signs of suicidal conference and intervention tac-tics, other speakers included TVC’s Mark Wolf, Project Director of the K-Town Youth Empow-erment Network, Anne Young with the CAS- ETSPN & Cornerstone of Recovery, and TSPN Executive Director Scott Ridgeway.

SUICIDE PREVENTION CONFERENCE IN KNOXVILLE

Above: Mark Wolf addresses the

audience. At right, L-R: Scott Ridge-way, Anne Young,

Jim Griffin, and Dr. Connie Brisco.

T R A I N I N G I N C H A T T A N O O G A

The Southeast Tennessee Council on Children and Youth hosted a day of training and celebration for children’s healthcare professionals on Friday, May 7th, in Chattanooga. Keynote speaker Vicky Pitner, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, ad-dressed the audience of nearly 100 on the topic of “Handling Aggressive Children in the Classroom – Birth Through Age Six.” Other speakers includ-ed Jim Griffin from TVC and Dr. Susan McGuire of Parkridge Medical Center. “We had fun! This was a great opportunity for education and awareness,” says Griffin.

Vicky Pitner

The region’s biggest free event drew a crowd of 5,500 to the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Gray. The 7th Annual Kid Power: Empowering Kids for Success featured Family Skate Cen-ter’s Roller Derby Jam and safety demonstration, a landing by Wings helicopter, Kid Power Idol, and the Chuckey Doak High School soccer clinic. TVC’s Jim Griffin helped organize the event along with representatives from Frontier Health, Project BASIC, Holston C&Y, RIP, HOPE for Tennessee pro-grams, Niswonger Children’s Hospital, the Arc of Washing-ton County, and Youth Villages. Families came from throughout Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia and spent the day racing around the field, batting with the Johnson City Cardinals, visiting Daisy the Opossum and the Hands On! Gecko and tested their skills at dozens of games and competitions.

“Kid Power is the largest event for most local organiza-tions and service providers and allows them to reach thou-sands of children and families at a single location creating a significant impact,” said Anne Newton, Frontier Health Me-dia Coordinator. “We provide the fun so families can learn about programs and services in our region. It’s all about giv-ing people the tools they need to grow and succeed.” Kids enjoyed face painting, fishing, flower planting and molded clay making, and contests from milk mustache, lim-bo, golf, hula hoop, power blowing contests. There were more than 70 exhibitors and activities at the event in May. Food vendors were Hot Dog Corner, Sno Biz, and Discovery Life. ~Contributed by Anne Newton, Frontier Health

KID POWER! Record Attendance in Gray

Looming bad weather fortunately did not derail plans for Loudon County, as Tennes-see Voices for Children, Open Doors Loud-on, and the Loudon County Schools Special Education Department welcomed a Com-munity Health Fair indoors at the Loudon County Technology/ Professional Depart-ment Center in Lenoir City on May 1st. More than 300 people in attendance took part in activities such as free health screen-ings, games, crafts, face painting, balloons, clowns and puppets, a silent auction, and much more. “We had a great turnout,” said Jim Griffin. “The kids had a blast and many parents were there for us to reach out to and provide with education and resources.”

LOUDON COUNTY HEALTH FAIR

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAYNASHVILLETVC was proud to be part of the 2010 Children’s Mental Health Week Coalition in Nashville. Zoo Day, which brought in 6,000 people last year, was scheduled for Saturday, April 24th, a day which unfortunately was slated for severe thunderstorms, including hail and tornadoes. Activities were moved to a covered area in

the zoo, and fortunately more than 250 people showed up before the rain fell and sky rumbled, causing the zoo to close and cease CMHW activities as well. Fortunately, the zoo is honoring tickets purchased to give away by the Coalition, and each agency will be handing out free tickets to families, good for one year. Despite the rain on its parade, Coalition members were heartened by the number of people who showed up, and is already preparing for next year’s event. Many thanks to our sponsors and fellow coalition members!

JACKSONJackson’s Children’s Mental Health Day, planned to take place on May 1st at Tigrett Middle School, unfortunately was canceled due to torrential rainfall (which caused an immense sinkhole in the street less than a mile away from the school). The day was to include carnival games, a Mental Health Walk, an art contest, and lots more. Many thanks to our sponsors and fellow member organizations!

PAGE 4