LINC ADVOCATE Karaoke Fun at LINC By Brian Quirion “Believe in something larger than yourself. Get involved in some of the big ideas of your time” Barbra Bush. So, I sang Karaoke at the LINC Wellness Center. Yeah, okay, I admit it. And with a veritable plethora of song choices at my disposal, something strange happened. LINC Members Attend Intentional Peer Support Training provided by SAMHS Inside you will find out how two community members learned about redefining help in a supportive environment, and relationships that foster hope. Read about it and see if its what you would want in your community of hope and healing? See page 4 See page 5 LINC WELLNESS CENTER JUNE 2014 MOCO PAGE 1
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LINC ADVOCATEKaraoke Fun at LINC
By Brian Quirion
“Believe in something larger than yourself.
Get involved in some of
the big ideas of your time”
Barbra Bush.
So, I sang Karaoke at the LINC
Wellness Center. Yeah, okay, I admit it. And
with a veritable plethora of song choices at
my disposal, something strange
happened.
LINC Members Attend Intentional Peer Support Training provided by SAMHS
Inside you will find out how two community members learned about redefining help in a supportive environment, and relationships that foster hope. Read about it and see if its what you would want in your community of hope and healing?
See page 4
See page 5
LINC WELLNESS CENTER! JUNE 2014
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Table of Contents:!!Karaoke Fun at LINC - Pages 1 & 5 !Table of Contents, Hours of Operation, & Pathways For U Reminder - Page 2 !Sharing Voices and Visions: An Invitation to Change the Mental Health Conversation - Page 3 !Members Attend IPS Training - Page 4 !Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies - Page 6 !Personal Qualities That Are My Strengths Pathways to Recovery by Pricilla Ridgeway, et al Pages - 7 & 8 !Invitation to the Community Meeting - Page 9 !The Intentional Warm Line - Page 10 !Art and Ekphrastic Poetry- Page 11, 12, & 13 !Your Amazing Brain- Pages 14, 15 & 16 !Flag Day - Page 17 !Outreach Page - Page 18 !LINC Membership & Volunteer Forms - Pages 19 & 20 !Fun Page - Page 21 !June Activity Calendar - Page 22
LINC WELLNESS CENTER is located on 38 Memorial Dr. at the top of Gage St. RIGHT before Memorial Bridge.
White building with four white pillars.!!HOURS OF OPERATION!
SHARING VOICES AND VISIONS AN INVITATION TO CHANGE THE MENTAL
HEALTH CONVERSATION The Disability Rights Center, the Consumer Council System of Maine, the Advocacy Initiative Network, the Wrendy Hayne Foundation, the Maine Association of Peer Support and Recovery Centers, and Amistad’s Peer Specialist Support Network warmly invite you to beautiful Maple Hill Farm in Hallowell, Maine on Friday, June 27th, 2014, FROM 12-4 p.m. for lunch and shared conversation. Have you ever felt as if yours is the missing voice in deciding which mental health services help support you in times of distress? Have you ever wondered what could change if people who experience mental or emotional distress got together to share common experiences and common goals for systemic change and came up with a plan, together, to create that change? For decades, “consumers,” “clients,” “survivors,” “ex-patients,” “peers,” “recovering persons,” “recipients” of mental health services have joined together in various efforts and in a variety of organizations to change and improve the “help” that is offered to or forced upon us. We know we are powerful when are voices our heard together! We’ve witnessed positive change! So let’s talk about how we can be involved and effective in the decision making that impacts our lives. How can we ensure “nothing about us without us”? Where do we want to be five years from now? What are the steps to reaching our common goals?
Come join the conversation and add your voice and your vision for the future. We are offering the space, the food and mileage reimbursement for people with lived experience receiving mental health services to talk and plan with each other. Please R.S.V.P by no later than June 20th, to Wendy at the Disability Rights Center, toll-free at 1 – 800-452-1948, and let us know if you will join the conversation. With hope and peace; Kim Moody, Helen Bailey, Cathy Bustin-Disability Rights Center Simonne Maline - Consumer Council System of Maine Lydia Richard, Linda Wakely - Advocacy Initiative Network Don Burns - The Wrendy Hayne Foundation Alan Hargreaves - Maine Association of Peer Support and Recovery Centers Ashley DeAngelo, Peter Driscoll - Amistad, Peer Specialist Support Network PAGE �3
LINC Members Attend Intentional Peer Support Training By Valerie Porter
From March 15 to May 22, 2014, Clover and I attended the Intentional Peer
Support training on Anthony Avenue in Augusta, Maine. At the completion of this training Clover and I will be able to assist peers in their journey to recovery. There were 26 people in the class.
At first, I found it difficult to connect with the group, because it was so big, but as the training went on I began to get connected and found it easier to go to the training. We learned about the four tasks of peer support which are: building connection, helping each other understand how we’ve come to know what we know, redefining help as a co-learning and growing process, and helping each other move toward what we want rather than away from what we don’t want. We
learned that these four tasks are vitally
important in becoming an effective peer support worker.
We covered the four principles of peer support which are: learning vs.
helping, relationship vs. individual, and hope vs. fear. Validation and being trauma informed also helped us be more insightful and compassionate to those peers we may be learning from.
The peer support training taught me things that I can use in all my relationships with friends, family, co-workers, etc. All-in-all the training was a positive experience and I would recommend that anyone who
wants to learn more about recovery and relationships take the training. I would also like to thank Kelly and Kathryn (the instructors) for their sense of humor, caring, and patience.
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Karaoke Fun at the LINC By Brian Quirion
So, I sang Karaoke at the LINC Wellness Center. Yeah, okay, I admit it. And
with a veritable plethora of song choices at my disposal, something strange
happened. I have an overwhelming urge to communicate through Karaoke song
titles. Can you IMAGINE? I know, it sounds bizarre, but I don’t care if EVERYBODY
KNOWS I’m a SUPERFREAK…
FROM A DISTANCE one would think I’d become A BASKET CASE, but let me
LAY IT ON THE LINE. I’d like to RUN AWAY from Karaoke, but YOU OUGHTA
KNOW, this is not just A MATTER OF TRUST because EVERYBODY KNOWS that
with Karaoke, BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO. But GUYS DO IT ALL THE TIME. So
though THE WEIGHT of this compulsion is SPOOKY, I WILL SURVIVE.
Now, DON’T BE CRUEL, you folks with SUSPICIOUS MINDS; have a little
RESPECT because THE WEIGHT of this Karaoke compulsion, EIGHT DAYS A
WEEK may leave me KNOCKIN' AT HEAVENS DOOR.
Oh well, THAT’S LIFE.
♫ Karaoke is held on the 3rd Friday of each month at the LINC Wellness Center in Augusta, ME from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Come join us and have a little fun.
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Classic Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
These golden-blonde cookies are slightly soft and mildly chewy (rather than crunchy) with satisfying peanut butter taste.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup vegetable shortening --- [or 1/2 cup butter - This will make the cookies softer.] 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup supermarket-style smooth peanut butter 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
2) Beat together the shortening, sugars, egg, vanilla, and peanut butter until smooth.
3) Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the peanut-butter mixture, beating gently until everything is well-combined. It may take a while for this rather dry dough to come together; and when it does, it'll be quite stiff. Only if necessary, drizzle in enough water to make the dough stay together.
4) Drop the cookie dough by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) leaving 2" between them.
5) Use a fork to flatten each cookie to about 1/2" thick, making a cross-hatch design.
6) Bake the cookies for 12 to 16 minutes, until they're barely beginning to brown around the edges; the tops won't have to be browned. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.
Yield: about 2 dozen cookies.
Nutrition information Serving Size: 1 cookie (28g) Servings Per Batch: about 24. Amount per Serving: Calories: 120 Calories from Fat: 60 Total Fats: 6g Saturated Fat: 1.5g Trans Fat: 0g. Cholesterol: 10mg Sodium: 140mg Total Carbohydrate: 14g Dietary Fiber: 1g Sugars: 7g Protein: 3g. Thanks Susan G
offers support during challenging times and during the times when peers are more emotionally present and able to engage in mutual conversation focused on moving towards what they want as part of a full, rich life. Getting ready for the day may mean a check-in call to talk about new areas of exploration for their lives and their recovery goals. For another it may mean facing great fear to leave their home when they have not in a long time. Being able to share mutually about how to face fear, and to figure out ways to move when paralyzed, can be a powerful way to connect and develop a mutual relationship.
For others it may be about finding a way to give back to the community, possibly volunteering, and how that may help both the Peer Support Specialist and the caller have a conversation about the power of giving back. This is really about redefining what we know as help and transform lives through co-learning and exploration. Everyone should have an opportunity to live a life of their choice! By Scott Metzger
The Intentional Warm Line
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June Bride He all but promised her the moon and all his loving, too his fine demeanor made her swoon, his love was staid and true This woman young and new to love is soon a bride to me romancing under stars above, a happiness so free Preparing for this great event is wonderful and fun; the Father of the Bride presents his girl to his new son Good luck to all the Brides of June good health and fortune too; While all will sing in perfect tune and Love will see them through
-- Josie Coogan
A place where there’s a place for the city girl.
She eats lobsters and likes cooking.
The hawks spread their wings of snow
and what a sight to see.
I love the hawk—isn’t that incredible. -- Ruth Cohen
Cooking a lobster in the pot of snow in the winter in a place where hawks fly and the city appears incredible, where we might find sex and the city girl. -- Ted Sylvia
By Josie Coogan
Maine is a wonderful magical place where the hawks are all giant bald eagles, lobsters grow as big as dining room tables, there are mountains of snow, ski resorts dreamt of, the fragrance of our cooking is exported to restaurants, and city girls think sex is incredible. But I told you it was imaginary, didn’t I?
--Bill
Can you write a poem or paragraph using all of the following words and phrases? Give it a try. We did.
(of snow, lobster, a place where, sex and the city girl, hawks, cooking, incredible)
This is one of my favorite warm up exercises that we do on Monday’s in our Creative Writing Workshop. Come join us sometime. It’s fun! -- Cindy Dow
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The Elephant --after a painting by Michael Martin While sitting in the classroom reading about American heritage, American culture, music, art… I felt the lids of my eyes gently closing, then opening and closing again. As my sight began to blur I glanced up at a Michael Martin piece hanging in the classroom—The Elephant. The dark and light watercolor purples seeped into my brain: “America, America” and “purple mountains’ majesty” hummed me along. I interrupted: “No, the sky has the majestic purples;” then the elephant’s eye took hold of mine. She held her mouth open with a playful smile. Her trunk reached deep into the shades of blue surrounding her. My fondness for her grew with each glance, I admired her perfectly shaped body and the way her small tusks seemed to hold her trunk proud and her petite ears steady. She was a proud one, that watercolor elephant
with soothing shades of brown purple, and blue and brilliant pink toenails. The classroom returned and my eyes refocused on the papers and books scattered about, classmates writing, breathing, busy. But once I settled back in I could feel her eyes looking at me, warming my hair, calming my thoughts. Her smile shone in my mind’s eye. I looked back up at her and somehow did not feel so lonely. --Cindy Dow Picture of an Elephant --after a painting by Michael Martin A massive creature, or so it would seem, A gray giant who lives in my dreams, She comes to see me then changes to pink and does it just as quick as a wink. Sometimes her ears grow bigger then move real quick To make her fly—imagination is thick. I know she is heavy but I call her Twinkle-toes And she carries her trunk wherever she goes.
--Bill
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Ever wondered what causes deja vú? Do you know if larger brain mass means higher intelligence? Test your knowledge. Take the quiz below:
Question 1 Your brain can juggle more than two conscious tasks at once.
True False
Answer: False Your brain doesn't really do several tasks at once when you multi-task. It switches very quickly from one task to another. Because switching takes time, multi-tasking isn't a very effective or efficient way to work.
Question 2 What may cause déjà vu?
Confusion between dreams and reality
Being somewhere new that resembles a place you remember
Faulty brain wiring
A concussion Answer: Being somewhere new that resembles a place you remember Scientists are still puzzled about why people have déjà vu -- the feeling that you've been somewhere or done something before even when you haven't. But new research suggests that déjà vu occurs when people are somewhere new that's similar to a place they've been or do something similar to something they did before. For a moment, they mistakenly think they were there or did it in the past. Question 3 The bigger your brain is, the smarter you are.
True
False Answer: False A bigger brain doesn't always mean bigger thoughts. In fact, human brains were larger back when we were living in caves, but our bodies were also larger then. As we evolved, more of the space in our brains became used for complex processes such as language, thinking, and memory.
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June 14 is National Flag Day. So what is Flag Day all about? Many Americans celebrate Flag Day by displaying the “Red, White and Blue” in front of homes and businesses. The day commemorates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States.
On June 14, 1777, John Adams spoke about the flag at a meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He said:
"Resolved, that the flag of the
thirteen United States shall be thirteen
stripes, alternate red and white; that the
Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue
field, representing a new constellation."
On that Saturday the “Stars and Stripes”, was authorized by Congress and became the official National symbol of the United States of America.
But Flag Day did not become a nationally
recognized day until many years later. Both President Wilson, in 1916, and President Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. But it wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law.
There have been twenty-seven official versions of the flag so far. Stars have been added to it as states have entered the Union. The current version dates to July 4, 1960, when Hawaii became the 50th state.
To learn more go to:
http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/flagday.pdf or http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_birth_1.html
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LINC is a Wellness Center that focuses on personal wholeness. It's for people with a mental health, substance use diagnosis or having emotional distress who want to be creative, make social connections, contribute, and have a willingness to learn about improving, enhancing, and directing their lives...to get from where they are, to where they want to go.
Curious about what’s currently happening at LINC Wellness Center? Our calendar is
on Facebook and in the Newsletter.
Come by and join our community of hope, growth, learning and healing. LINC is located at 38 Memorial Drive at the top of Gage Street in Augusta, Maine. It’s the white building with