Rotary Log for February 1, 2017
President Ben opened the meeting precisely at 12:15. Al Lantinen led us in America the Beautiful. John St. Pierre guided the multitude in the Four Way test. John Rice, the only Eagles fan in the house, proclaimed the Invocation. John assured us beforehand that he would be holding a “Bipartisan” Super Bowl Party. (And he did!)
Guests and visiting Rotarians
Sara Treacy introduced Scott Garnett, Kate Catalano and her husband, Joe Hill.
Dave Underhill’s guest was Rotarian Midge Nelson, formerly of this club.
Ann Carter and John Pratt also introduced guests.
John Pratt provided the intro for new member, Angela Ferris, who is a commercial lender at Granite Bank. He then proceeded to slam President Ben as a former employee of said bank.
Susan Gold presented new member Ann Arnold. Ann is a self- employed writer/journalist/media liaison and animal lover. She is the principal of her own company, Beacon Media. Ann has already agreed to become a Log writer. Yay!
Announcements
Ben read an old letter of reference for Father Allen written by his commanding officer. It reflected on many of the wonderful personal traits we saw in action years later.
Joanie Dickinson reminded everyone of the can top drive. She adds that the Interact Committee is looking to recruit two new members.
Ramona Dow announced that the Basic Needs Committee is in their final week of its Peanut Butter Drive.
Everett Eaton, Susan Gold, Walter Liff and Dan Hoefle all donated Happy Bucks.
Stella Scamman won the 50/50 raffle but there was no match.
The Speaker
Sara Treacy introduced the program which was about Seacoast Pathways. It’s a non- profit, non- clinical employment entity for young adults with mental illness. It also provides a “club house” where those in need can get out of their own home and socialize. Sara’s son was diagnosed with mental illness while at Bates College. That experience prompted her to help create Seacoast Pathways.
Joe Hill, Sara’s husband, is a coordinator of club house activities. He told us that Seacoast Pathways is based on an NYC model known as Fountain House. Their philosophy is that employment is an important part of mental illness recovery.
Back in the 1950’s and before, Joe explained, adults with mental illness were shunned by their families and deemed unemployable. In 1955, according to Joe, the founder of Fountain House started to include patients in work details.
“They handed them a mop and changed their lives forever," Joe said. Fountain House then partnered with city businesses, creating transitional employment.
Executive Director, Ann Strachan followed Joe, thanking the William Cash and Basic Needs Committees for their support. Currently, the Dover-Seacoast Pathways clubhouse that she leads has 97 members, mostly from Portsmouth.
Ann explained that there are 370 clubhouses worldwide in 34 countries. They are cost effective and produce strong results. Each utilizes a non-judgmental philosophy, providing skills to help clients return to work.
The program includes opportunities for pre and transitional employment as well as supported and independent jobs. Most of these jobs are entry level, clerical or custodial and they run about six to nine months. The clubhouse also provides further training and back-up workers for each job. Through all these initiatives, patients gain work experience, build confidence and gain references.
It’s a win-win situation for all parties. Patients gain confidence and skills, while employers get dependable, trained, short-term employees and 100% coverage. They also earn positive public recognition by the clubhouse.
Submitted by dutiful Scribe du Jour, Everett Eaton
Photos by Jim Rini
