1

Visionary Journal

Vail Place | Minneapolis MN | US

December 2016 Volume 1 Issue 9

Clubhouse Guarantees

A guaranteed right to

a place to come.

A guaranteed right to

meaningful work.

A guaranteed right to

meaningful relation-

ships.

A guaranteed right to

a place to return.

Let Us Give You A

SHOUT OUT

In This Issue:

Shout Outs 1

Holiday Party 1

History Theater 1

Employment News 2

What’s an

Ambassador 3

December Birthdays 3

Oct/Nov Decisions

Made 3

Christmas Time 4

Peace Bridge 4

Meet the New

Vail Staff 4

Managing Conflict 5

New Career 5

B Complex Vitamins 6

Did you know that we have 11 members who volunteer in the community? They have found a special place where they make a difference each week. As a group their time ranges between 1 to 20 hours of ser-vice and they work at hospi-tals, churches, Catholic Chari-ties and the VA. David B., one of our volunteers, has been volun-teering at the Basilica for three years. His job is to “buzz in “ visitors and pass out sandwich’s. David finds that volunteering “makes people happy and he likes it.” Many members come into the clubhouse each day and volunteer in the depart-ments and contribute to our successful community. We thank you as well. We would be glad to help anyone who is interested in finding a place to volunteer If you do not see your name below please contact the Employment or Business Department teams so we can update our records. Thank you: Jack H., David B., Michele L., Lamonte M., Breanne M., James R., Keith W., Phillip C., Michele M., and Randall T.

Invitation to All

Please join everyone at Vail

Place for our fun and festive

Annual Holiday Party

Thursday, December 8

3:00 until 6:30

Music, dancing, appetizers, ca-

tered supper, and seeing old

friends and acquaintances.

At St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox

Church, 3450 Irving Avenue

South

Please note: The Clubhouse will

close at 3:00 and will not reopen

until Friday.

Vail Place and the Minnesota

History Theatre are present-

ing a performance created by

Vail Place members during

our latest round of

collaborations.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14

7:00 PM

MINNESOTA HISTORY

THEATRE,

30 10th Street East, St. Paul

Transportation will be provid-

ed from the Clubhouse and

back again for members wish-

ing to attend. The Green Line

also stops across the street

from the Theater.

If you would like to see this

latest performance, please

sign up at the front desk.

2

E M P L O Y M E N T N E W S

Job Club

Job Club is now held on Thurs-

days at 11:00 and our focus will be

introducing members to tasks with-

in the Community Hospitality and

Business Center Departments.

Currently we have been meeting in

the Hospitality Department and en-

tering food service data on the big

screen and writing articles for the

newsletter. The Work-Ordered Day

provides a great opportunity to

work on skills that can prepare a

person for a job in the community.

For instance if you are interested

in office work we have the front

desk with greeting and answering

phones or data entry in the Busi-

ness Department. Coming into the

clubhouse 1, 2 or 3 days a week

and working in a department,

learning tasks that can enhance

your skills or develop brand new

ones, will go a long way in prepar-

ing for employment.

In December we will continue to

meet in the Hospitality Department

and in January we will move to the

Business Department to explore

the difference tasks for you to

learn. See you at the club.

Carrie F

Transitional Employment:

Hana L. - Kowalski’s

Richie S. - Coastal Seafood

Mike J. – Coastal Seafood

Bill D. – Coastal Seafood

Mitch S. – Coastal Seafood

Supported Employment:

Kowalski’s – Burton C.

Crosstown Covenant Church – Randall T.

In the month of December we will not have an Employment

Dinner as this tends to be a very busy month of meals and cel-

ebration. In 2017 our Employment Dinners will be less often

with a “seasonal” occurrence instead of monthly. We will in-

vite our community for dinner, celebration and discussion. We

can have guest speakers as well as members to speak on the

many topics surrounding “employment.”

Employment Assistance hours allow members to sign up for

1:1 time to work on tasks such as: employment searches, ap-

plying on line for jobs, creating a resume and or cover letter or

to discuss employment topics or concerns. You can sign up for

assistance in the “green sign-up” binder located in the Employ-

ment Department. If Thursday afternoons do not work for you

please contact me Carrie Framsted at 952-945-4269 to sched-

ule your appointment.

At left: Coastal Seafoods has four positions in our

transitional employment program. Bill D is pictured

with his first paycheck; Mitch S is performing one of

the main duties at the job, washing and sanitizing

the cooler floor. (Photos: Carrie F)

3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

What is an Ambassador?

When I think of what an Ambassador means to me, I think of

a representative who promotes goodwill in foreign countries

for the United States.

All of us were new to Vail Place at some point in time. If you

can remember, how did you feel on your first day? If you

were like me, I was a little scared. I was in a place where I

didn’t know anyone, then a few people started to say hi and

after a while I felt like I belonged.

We all can play a role in being an Ambassador representing

Vail Place. Members play a huge roll in welcoming new peo-

ple. Just say hi, my name is…….. You don’t have to have an

in-depth conversation to be friendly. I’ve found one of the

best ways to start a conversation is tell them what you like

about Vail Place and ask them what they are interested in do-

ing at Vail. One topic might be our social rec. program. You

can also sit with a new person at lunch and introduce them to

the others sitting at your table or after lunch, introduce them

to people in the community room

There are other ways to be an Ambassador outside of Vail. If

you enjoy meeting new people and talking about what

brought you to Vail, there are the day in the life tours and the

speakers bureau.

I feel that all of us can be Ambassadors in our own way. Mish M

Damein A 12/1 Jose R 12/5 Jane G 12/6 Cynthia M 12/14 William K 12/16 Pauline O 12/17 Traci Q 12/17 Martha B 12/18 Mark J 12/18 Nancy M 12/18 Jude M 12/19 Sue G 12/22 Natercia P 12/23 Steve H 12/24 Wolfgang S 12/24 Seshmin T 12/26 Fiona K 12/28 Bart B 12/29 Tom T 12/30 Lindsey K 12/31 Mish M 12/31 Tim S 12/31

Decisions made in October and November

Each Wednesday the clubhouse meets to review topics and

make decisions for the community. Below are the decisions we

have made in the past two months. Please attend our meetings

at 1:00 and take part.

A Visitor sign in log book will now be at the front desk. All visi-

tors who are not members or staff at the clubhouse need

to sign in and they will receive a name tag to wear while

they are in the clubhouse.

Job Club is now being held at 11:00 on Thursday. The focus

will be introducing members to various work tasks in the

departments.

Our kitchen is now using washable Napkins for all meals.

Throw away napkins will still be available for use.

Member Advocate lists will be posted on the task boards in

each department.

A thought for December 31:

Maybe this year, we ought to walk

through the rooms of our lives

not looking for flaws,

but looking for potential.

Ellen Goodman

4

Christmas Time

By Richard S.

Christmas is not about going

to the store, and buying pre-

sents galore in shiny paper

wrapping flowing from under

the Christmas tree.

Yes, gifts are fine to give and

received, to show love and

care feels good to get new t-

shirts and new under wear.

In the end Christmas for me

means togetherness among

friends, and family, celebrat-

ing Jesus Christ birth this

Holy night, under stars shin-

ing so bright.

Samantha Sorvaag is the new Housing General-ist. Previously, Sam worked overseas in a mis-sion to help displaced persons, as well as in group homes. Some of Sam’s hobbies are singing and playing the guitar Sam is from Owatonna MN, and has two older brothers.. She likes Vail Place’s philosophy, working together for a better community. Jane D

Eric Lowe is the new Food Service

Generalist at Vail Place.

Eric graduated from the Univer-sity of Minnesota with a Masters in So-

cial Work. Eric has worked in mental health. Eric also has been in the Ser-vice.

What Eric likes about Vail Place is the Community aspect of it and the working together.

Eric is originally from Colorado but moved here from Florida. His hobbies are camping and hiking.

The Peace Bridge

I am Patrick a member of Vail. I would like to take this

time to spread the word about a vigil that has been in

existence for 17 years. It is primarily sponsored by

WAMM (Women against Military Madness), other

groups are involved as well. Every Wednesday from

4:30 – 5:30 we walk the bridge carrying signs and

waving to rush hour traffic to support this cause and

effort. You can bring your own sign or use one that is

provided.

This is the East. Lake Street/Marshall Bridge that

crosses the Mississippi River. We share what is going

on with kindred spirits in a circle group afterwards. All

are welcome. I have been attending on and off for

around 15 years.

Patrick K

Meet Our New Staff Members!

WELCOME!

5

On the Path to a New Career I began fall semester 2016 at Minneapolis Community Tech-nical College (MCTC) and am pursuing an Associates of Visual Arts degree. My career goal is to become a Studio Artist. A Studio Artist is someone who teaches people in their personal studio. I am currently taking a basic level photography class. We are halfway through the semester. So far I’ve learned how to manually use a film camera in different lighted set-tings using black and white film. Our class has worked on developing film from start to finish consisting of putting the exposed film strip onto a reel and following steps to develop the film into a photograph. Our class is just beginning to manually use a digital camera, and we are learning to use Photoshop to enhance the photo and print it into photo-graphs. I chose MCTC because I enjoy the smaller campus size, it is close in proximity to my home, and the lower tui-tion compared to major colleges and universities. I began working with Vocational Rehabilitation of Hennepin County because of having difficulty maintaining a job. I had attempted working in the capacity of a substitute teacher and as a cook for a home of 20 adult women who struggle with mental illness. I was not able to work in either job long-term due to mental and physical health. After going through an assessment process for Voca-tional Rehabilitation to assess my job skills, I first attempted to take online classes to maintain a teaching license. I struggled between knowing if teaching or art was right for me. The struggle in large part was because of how others did not perceive art as a career and whether Vocational Re-habilitation would cover the expense of college level art. Things began to fall into place once I had decided in my mind that pursuing an art education was right for me. I am currently in my first semester and am taking a photog-raphy class which is a required class for an associates de-gree in visual arts. Next semester I will be taking Figure Drawing. One of the first things I did as part of the enrollment process was meet with an advisor and establish what cours-es I would need to achieve an arts degree. After signing up for classes I met with MCTC’s Disability Services to set up accommodations that were needed to optimize success in the classroom. Fall 2016 was my first semester and I have opted to take one course to “test the waters.” Recently I’ve made the decision to continue taking one class per semes-ter, rather than take on too much. Overall, I am having a dif-ficult time bunkering down and studying and have found it helpful to meet bimonthly with Carrie Framsted at Vail Place to write an action plan geared at meeting my everyday rou-tine and studying needs. Although I’ve enjoyed teaching in a school setting, I feel for the first time I am on a path that I truly enjoy. Kandace K

Managing Conflict

If you work, volunteer or have a

family you have experienced some

conflict. How we decide to resolve

or manage the conflict varies de-

pending on the situation and indi-

viduals. I was reading some mate-

rial regarding this issue. These

were the highlights:

Understand what your filters are.

Everyone has biases. If you

don’t know, ask someone you

trust to help you answer the

question.

Identify what your desired out-

come is.

Assert your needs clearly and

specifically. Build from what you

have heard. Use the “ I messag-

es” for clarification.

Approach Problem Solving with

Flexibility

Identify the issues concisely and

clearly, if you can.

Identify a place for negotiating.

Advocate or mediator present

along with mutually agreed on

time and consent to negotiate.

Use listening skills. Approach

with the intent to understand and

seek understanding.

You may also want to have some

questions written out before hand

such as “ I want to understand…

what you need or are hoping for”.

If it seems too much, identify one

or two specific steps and practice.

It doesn’t matter what the success

ratio. Kate J.

6

The B-Complex Vitamins

and Mental Health The B-complex vitamins are es-sential to mental and emotional well-being. They cannot be stored in our bodies, so we de-pend entirely on our daily diet to supply them. B vitamins are de-stroyed by alcohol, refined sug-ars, nicotine, and caffeine, so it is no surprise that many people may be deficient in these. Here's a rundown of recent find-ing about the relationship of B-complex vitamins to depression: Vitamin B1 (thiamine): The brain uses this vitamin to help convert glucose, or blood sugar, into fuel, and without it the brain rapidly runs out of energy. This can lead to fatigue, depression, irritability, anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. Deficiencies can also cause memory prob-lems, loss of appetite, insomnia, and gastrointestinal disorders. The consumption of refined car-bohydrates, such as simple sug-ars, drains the body's B1 supply. Vitamin B3 (niacin): Pellagra-which produces psychosis and dementia, among other symp-toms-was eventually found to be caused by niacin deficiency. Many commercial food products now contain niacin, and pellagra has virtually disappeared. How-ever, subclinical deficiencies of vitamin B3 can produce agitation and anxiety, as well as mental and physical slowness. Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): Symptoms of deficiency are fa-tigue, chronic stress, and de-pression. Vitamin B5 is needed for hormone formation and the uptake of amino acids and the brain chemical acetylcholine, which combine to prevent cer-tain types of depression. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine): This vitamin aids in the processing of amino acids, which are the building blocks of all proteins and some hormones. It is need-ed in the manufacture of seroto-nin, melatonin and dopamine.

TIPS FOR COPING WITH THE HOLIDAYS

The following tips were collected by NAMI Connection facilitators from all over the U.S.

Stay close to family and friends who understand your illness

Take your medications as prescribed.

Be sure to get the sleep you need.

Celebrate the holidays in ways that are comfortable for you.

The holiday season does not stop feel-ings of sadness and loneliness. Give yourself permission to work through these feelings.

Don’t compare this season with previous ones. Enjoy all the little things you have now.

Talk about the stress you feel with family and friends.

Keep expectations manageable. Plan your work and work your plan.

Set a budget and stick with it.. Many items that you can give do not cost money—a phone call to a friend may mean more.

Do something nice for someone else. Do something nice for yourself.

Play your favorite non-holiday music.

Celebrate the New Year in a way that is comfortable for you. Reflect on positive memories from the past year and try to build on them.

Don’t allow yourself to dwell on the nega-tive. If the negative thoughts come, acknowledge them and let them go. Return to a positive thought or memory.

Do remember that there’s a difference between the ideal holiday image and the reality of one’s life. Try not to dwell on any disappointment you may experience.

Get out of the house if you can and enjoy the sunshine (when you have it) and fresh air.

Remember, celebrations are what you make them—and make them comfortable for you. Create new (comfortable) memories.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

Vitamin B6 deficiencies, alt-hough very rare, cause im-paired immunity, skin lesions, and mental confusion. A mar-ginal deficiency sometimes oc-curs in alcoholics, patients with kidney failure, and women us-ing oral contraceptives. MAOIs, ironically, may also lead to a shortage of this vitamin. Many nutritionally oriented doctors believe that most diets do not provide optimal amounts of this vitamin. Vitamin B12: Because vitamin B12 is important to red blood cell formation, deficiency leads to an oxygen-transport problem known as pernicious anemia. This disorder can cause mood swings, paranoia, irritability, confusion, dementia, hallucina-tions, or mania, eventually fol-lowed by appetite loss, dizzi-ness, weakness, shortage of breath, heart palpitations, diar-rhea, and tingling sensations in the extremities. Deficiencies take a long time to develop, since the body stores a three- to five-year supply in the liver. When shortages do occur, they are often due to a lack of intrin-sic factor, an enzyme that al-lows vitamin B12 to be ab-sorbed in the intestinal tract. Since intrinsic factor diminishes with age, older people are more prone to B12 deficiencies. Folic acid: This B vitamin is needed for DNA synthesis. It is also necessary for the produc-tion of SAM (S-adenosyl methi-onine). Poor dietary habits con-tribute to folic acid deficiencies, as do illness, alcoholism, and various drugs, including aspirin, birth control pills, barbiturates, and anticonvulsants. It is usual-ly administered along with vita-min B12, since a B12 deficien-cy can mask a folic acid defi-ciency. Pregnant women are often advised to take this vita-min to prevent neural tube de-fects in the developing fetus. Mish M