A Publication by PA Treatment & Healing

www.pathtochange.org

July 2009, Volume 2, Issue 1

From the President’s Desk..

                                                        Forgetting What Is Behind and Straining Toward What Is Ahead

 Imagine driving on the busiest highway you’ve ever been on. Imagine traffic coming at you from every direction, cars to your left and right, people weaving in and out all around you.  Unless you are a professional driver, it would probably be difficult to maneuver safely in these conditions. Now imagine being on that same busy highway but instead of looking ahead through the windshield, you try to drive looking backward only through the rear view mirror.

It would be nearly impossible to get where you wanted to go safely, looking back through your rear view mirror instead of ahead through your windshield. You are probably thinking, who would be so foolish to do this? This word picture is actually similar to what many people do when they go through life always looking back at their past instead of focusing on what is ahead! Obviously, there is a reason why automobile manufacturers make cars with wide, clear windshields that provide maximum visibility and much smaller rearview mirrors. Reverse things and imagine driving with a windshield the size of a small rear view mirror. You would have very little visibility for what’s ahead.     

Moving forward positively and confidently is extremely difficult if we are always longing to be where we once were or wishing we were back there in order to change things! To get where we want to go and accomplish our goals, we need to stay focused on what’s ahead, looking back long enough to see where we have been and what is behind us but never trying to move forward this way. We need to get a clear vision of where we want to go and what path we need to take in order to get to our desired destination. In Jeremiah we are told that “Without a Vision the People Perished”. 

Let us also remember Philippians 3:13-14, “But one thing I do, Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us to.”  

All my best,

Jerilyn

Jerilyn A. Keen

President

Board of Directors

Timothy Gage

Chairman  

Jerilyn Keen

President  

Joseph Pugliese

Director

Fred Martin

Director

Mary Tiffin-McGarrity

Director  

Chris Bingaman

Director

Dr. Chris Boyatzis

Director  

Gene McCarty

Treasurer

Erica Frey

Secretary

Advisory Committee

Jerilyn Keen

Scott Constantini

Stephen Gaito

Robert Vanderwall

William Rossnock

Joseph Talarico

Dr. Liz Ciaravino

Thomas Bell

William Weber

Larry Weidman

John Gigunto

Matthew Yonkin

Mental Health Director- Dr. Frederick Maue

Medical Director- 

Dr. Vikas Passi

Psychological Consultants

Dr. Matthew Emery & Associates

Dr. Antoinette Hamidian

Roger Smothers & Twin Tier Psych Services

Dr. Sara Camaerei

Lycoming Therapuetic Wrap Around Services, Inc.

Pamela McCloskey

Dr. Hugh Smith & Associates

Karen Livingood

Dr. Elizabeth Ciaravino

Dr. Jennifer Hartey

Dr. Kenneth Kindya

News from our Corporate Office…

On July 8^th, the Clinical Supervisors came together for a day of sharing group therapy and curriculum ideas! Tony Pastore, Clinical Supervisor and Program Manager of the Scranton Center, opened the meeting with several “ice-breaking” activities that he utilizes in his groups. He demonstrated how to make a food coloring ink blot and had everyone in the meeting then make their own. (See pictures.) Tony then explained how he uses that activity to get conversations started with clients who may be resistant to group therapy. He also had everyone participate in an activity he uses in order to get his client to share things about themselves without much effort at all.  All you need is a little toilet paper! Everyone enjoyed this time of sharing group themes and activities and left with some great ideas!  A decision was also made to add to our current curriculums and the clinical supervisors are looking forward to being a part of the development process. We are very excited about having new PATH curriculum to share in the future!

We would like to express our appreciation to Susquehanna Bank in Milton for their generous cash donation to our agency! Because of the dedication of organizations like them, we are able to continue effectively leading the troubled youth referred to our programs on a positive path to change! Thank you!

A big thanks to Karen Poust & the Community Service Work Crew from Williamsport for all of the hard work they did around the Corporate Center! Everything looks fantastic and we really appreciate your efforts!

We would also like to thank Leroy and Janet Gotshall for their years of service as part of our team of loving foster parents! We greatly appreciate their willingness to show troubled youth that they care by opening up their home to them! They have played a vital role in getting our clients back on the right path!

Thank you to Office Assitant, Bonnie Stoltz, who has been going above and beyond to save our agency a ton of money! So far this year, she has saved $3,987.33!  Bonnie has managed to do this by making PATH a preferred customer with Quill, which gains us an automatic 10% discount on all of our orders and also entitles us to private sales and additional special prices on certain items! Bonnie makes sure to use the coupons she receives through e-mails and catalogs to our advantage and also calls our account representative to find out if she can offer us any other discounts each time she has a large order.  Bonnie is a smart shopper who keeps a look out for deals and specials and does price comparisons to find items at the best rate. We are lucky to have someone who pays such close attention to these opportunities to save and are very excited about how much money has been saved so far! Keep up the good work Bonnie!

With summer in full swing, the Safety Committee would like to remind everyone to please enjoy the summer safely. Please be aware while driving of the increase in children at play and the amount of road construction being performed.  Also, please keep advised of the weather by checking the news or internet before you head out and plan accordingly.  To all the campers, please take the time to acquaint yourself with the wildlife at your camp site and always check the safety levels of the grounds before making a fire. If you are heading to the beach, remember to pack the sunscreen and eye protection.  Always stay hydrated and as cool as possible throughout the summer! 

Also, South Montrose Program Manager, Walt Gieksi, was recently recertified in SCM training in State College. Walt has been an SCM instructor for 11 years!

This is “What’s Happening” at our Centers…

PATH - East Stroudsburg: Our clients have been busy participating in our summer programming schedule! Along with our usual schedule, the clients have been enjoying weekly outings to the Labor of Love facility where they are able to participate in socializing and worship through song and dance.  The group has also been providing weekly group activities and discussions on topics related to our Path of Life model; i.e. forgiving and moving ahead.  They also own over 100 acres of property which they have been sharing with the clients for therapeutic recreation which focuses on team building skills and achieving group goals. We are thankful that the group has been gracious enough to share their facility and musical ability with our clients! The clients also enjoyed a fun day of cooking-out and competition to celebrate the 4^th of July! The clients had a great time challenging each other at water balloon tosses, basketball tournaments, and double-dutch jump rope competitions! Congratulations to Gina B., the winner of our very first poetry contest! Gina received a gift certificate to Dunkin Donuts as a reward. Great job to all of our clients who participated!  We were also happy to recently have several administrators from the Pocono Mountain school district visit our center to learn more about the Alternative Education program, as well as other programs that we offer!

PATH - Honesdale: The clients at the Honesdale Center have been focusing on team building skills as part of a community service project in groups.  Our positives were recently rewarded for their exceptional behavior with subs from Subway! Yum!  Linda O’Hagen has been busy working with the clients on money management with hands on and visual aides to help them better understand budgeting. Way to go!  Regional Director, Scott Constantini, recently made contact with the new Director of Pike County Children & Youth Services, Tammy McCullough, and scheduled a meeting with her for the upcoming month.  On June 25^th -27^th, our clients participated in a community service project with the local Habitat for Humanity in setting up and assisting in their annual yard sale. One of our clients, who has since been discharged, also constructed a doll house that was completed by our active clients and sold at the yard sale in efforts to make additional money for the organization. (see picture) Great job!

PATH - Milton: The Day Treatment programs have been working hard to provide informative and interactive groups to our clients!  The result has been an atmosphere that has allowed clients to be much more open about discussing their core issues.  Community Monitor, Jim Strahan, has been working with clients to grow a garden in the back yard!  Jim had clients cultivate the ground and prepare it for seeds.  The clients then planted many different vegetables including zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and carrots!  The garden is already producing veggies that are being served for client meals!  The Milton center would like to thank Lycoming College for the donation off sixty school desks!  These desks will be greatly utilized when the school year begins. The Milton center would also like to thank Bucknell University for the donation of several office chairs!  The staff are very appreciative and were very excited for the new ones.  Staff and clients participated in the annual Lycoming Clean-Up that is facilitated by Stacey Losell of Lycoming County Juvenile Probation.  Staff and clients worked together picking up trash at several parks and then were treated to a great picnic when they were done!  Our clients have also been continuing to help set up for a weekly comm unity dinner that is held for all in the area who would like to attend.  They are responsible for setting up all of the resources for the meal and have also helped to breakdown the events afterwards.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

PATH - Scranton: Our center was happy to graduate 4 seniors this year and we wish them well in their future endeavors! We also recently received word that 8 of our students will be returning to their home school districts in the fall due to the fact that they stayed positive and motivated throughout the past school year! We applaud them for this much deserved reward! Both the Scranton Center clients and staff have been enjoying the nice weather that is finally starting to peak out over summer break! Clients have been involved in many various groups over the past month with topics including team-building, self esteem, goal setting, expressing feelings through art projects, and interactive groups to promote unity! The clients have established mutual respect for each other’s struggles in life and have invested in working together to overcome the hard times they have endured. Our clients have been making great progress lately as one of our IA clients was successfully released from probation and another is actively seeking reunification with her mother! Our clients also recently took part in an all day picnic at a local park with clients from the South Montrose Center and everyone had a great time! While at the park, the clients were involved in structured interactive team building exercises.  All clients from both centers responded positively to the activities. We have also been continuing to work with the clients on the Relationship Based CBT model in an effort to restore past and current family relationships.  Over the next two months, the clients will become actively involved in community service projects, including an Adopt-a-Highway project.  This will allow clients to gain a sense of community awareness in a positive manner, while also giving back to the community.  Clients are also going to be creating “Positive Posters” to promote the positives in life.  The posters will then be displayed at the center for the upcoming school year.

PATH - South Montrose: We are currently working on some exciting renovations at the South Montrose Center, including a new look for the kitchen with some fresh paint! Recently, our clients enjoyed a great day at McDade Park with clients from the Scranton Center! Thank you to Scranton for the invite! We are also currently looking into some possible community service activities for the clients to participate in during the upcoming months!

PATH - State College: The State College staff have been busy trying to provide unique experiences for the clients outside of the center during the summer months!  The clients recently visited the local fire station and emergency medical services, took a tour of Beaver Stadium, met baseball players from the State College Spikes, hiked the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, and completed over 20 hours of community service! The clients have been cleaning up at Bald Eagle State Park, Black Mashannon State Park, and local hiking trails, as well as working at their adopted park in Oakwood! Overall, spirits are high, clients are succeeding, families are working hard, and life is good at State College!

PATH - Williamsport: June has been a very busy month for the Williamsport PATH!  We are happy to see clients rolling in for the Intensive Adolescent Program, as well as new probation referrals! We want to thank the case workers for all of their hard work and dedication to their caseloads!  Also, a big thanks to the community monitors for going above and beyond lately! We recently had a very interesting guest speakers come in from the department of health, as well as another guest speaker, Mr. Ron, from the victim awareness curriculum who shared with the clients about his son who was a victim of crime. The clients asked good questions and expressed that the speaker really put things in perspective for them. The Day Treatment program participated in the county wide clean up project through juvenile probation. They are also planning on participating in the Provider Fair through CBHNP, where we will be developing public relations to all area referral sources! Our community service program has also been continuing to help out with numerous community clean up projects! Our Be Challenged program is also continuing to grow and excel with clients and was recently happy to gain Columbia county as a new referral source!

OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Each month we feature a member of our Management Team as a way to honor their dedication and commitment to making our Agency the very best it can be!  This month we highlight

Cleveland Way, Clinical Supervisor

Cleveland is married to Joyce Way and has three children, Isaac, Katie, and Christopher, who is soon to be adopted! Cleveland graduated from the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science with a Bachelor’s degree in Textile Technology and a minor in Textile Engineering.  He then worked as a textile engineer in Ohio for five years until the industry went over seas.  Cleveland then began working in restaurant management and did so for 6 years until he became a Residential Program Supervisor for a Community Service Group in Williamsport.  He then began working on his Master’s degree in Religion, which he completed through Liberty University in 2003.  Cleveland then started working as a substitute teacher and teacher’s aide for the Williamsport Area school district and also began pursuing his Master’s degree in Divinity, which he has since then completed.  In 2004, Cleveland heard the call to ministry and began working for PA Treatment & Healing as a teacher’s aide.  Since then, Cleveland has worked for PATH as a community monitor, teacher, caseworker, and, in April of 2007, began working in his current position of Clinical Supervisor for the Williamsport Center.

 On July 12, 2009, Cleveland was ordained as the Pastor of Greater Life Bible Church.  The church was actually started by Cleveland, his wife Joyce, and 20 others who wanted to get back to Christian basics by removing the barriers of tradition from the relationship a person needs to have with Jesus Christ.  The church has only grown since then and now is made up of 55 members! On June 30^th, the church was able to baptize 13 individuals who made the decision to turn their lives over to Christ! Cleveland spends most of his time studying the word of God and spending time with his wife and children.

Cleveland’s thoughts on PATH’s mission and purpose: “The concept that PATH brings to the table of mental health services is an amazing tool.  When the program is utilized by individuals who believe in the concept and have lived through the Path of Life diagram, our clients make major strides and become amazing children.  Most importantly, PATH gives these clients the chance to find themselves and discover for themselves who they are.”

In the month of July, we saw the arms and hearts open up of organizations and individuals that believe in the PA Treatment & Healing mission!  These organizations and individuals donated items that help keep our programs ru nning strong.  In tough economic times, we see the true colors of organizations, companies, and individuals. These entities that share and give their abundances with organizations like ours are true blessings and inspirations to many lives within our organizational family.  

We would like to recognize these companies and individuals and thank them for their contributions to the PA Treatment & Healing program. 

 ·         Ms. Amy Sullum of Honesdale donated an E-Machine computer to our Honesdale site.

·         Honesdale High School (Mr. Frigoletto) for their donation of 79 textbooks to our Honesdale site to be used for their Alternative Education Program.

·         Western Wayne Middle School (Ms. Acevedo) for their donation of 113 textbooks to be used at our Honesdale and Scranton sites for their Alternative Education Program.

·         Frito Lay (District Manager-Tom Weisen) for their donation of a E-Machine Computer and $75 Wal-Mart gift card. 

·         Susquehanna Bank-Milton Branch (Branch manager-Kathleen Daye and Dennis Martz) for their cash donation of $250.00.

We were truly blessed by the amount of giving in July. PATH applauds these individuals and companies that  give and support the PA Treatment and Healing organization and help better the lives of the clients that we serve on a daily basis!

President Keen recently presented Kevin Loch, Program Manager at the Lehighton Center, with the Manager of the Quarterly Award!  Kevin does a lot of direct service, marketing, and relationship building and still manages to meet all of his deadlines! Great job Kevin!

Program Compliance Manager, Erica Frey, was presented with the Leadership Team Member for the Quarterly Award!  President Keen shared that Erica goes above and beyond by making sure she schedules her time off around billing deadlines and staying late many nights.  When Erica is off, she is never really off; she still comes in and files HCSIS and fields questions as they arise.  Erica clearly has the best interest of the agency and the clients in mind, never says no when you ask her for help, always comes through, and is among the first to take accountability when a mistake is made!  Erica’s constant positive disposition is greatly appreciated and brings energy to those around her.  Thank you Erica!

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH….

 The following staff were also nominated for Employee of the Month for July:

Ø  Jack Wohlford, Community Monitor, Bloomsburg

Ø  Livio Viola, Community Monitor, Honesdale

We thank these staff for their dedication to our Agency!

Welcome to our family...

Tara Watkins, Clinical Supervisor, Honesdale

Mark Bonfiglio, Program Manager, Honesdale

“A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.”

-Francis Bacon

August 5, 2009 - Trauma and Loss - D. Scott  PCB

August 6, 2009 - Clinical Supervisors & Case Workers - Robin Nichols, CCBH

August 12, 2009 - Normative Systems - S. Constantini & S. Gaito

August 19, 2009 - All AEP Staff Training (Central Region) - P. Charney & D. Dimoff (Corporate)

August 20, 2009 - All AEP Staff Training (Western Region) - P. Charney & D. Dimoff (Scranton)

August 26, 2009 - Art Therapy - D. Kann Nelson  PCB

Interested in receiving daily reminders, sports scores, weather forecasts, or even daily jokes on your cell phone?  Check out this awesome service by going to the PATH website at www.pathtochange.org and clicking on the post it mobile logo under the news section!