Below is a message I sent out to Mental Health Association staff, board members, and friends about the passing of Mr. Jack Zarrow. I hope you take time to read it and reflect on a life that touched so very many people in a very special way. The likes of him won't pass this way again soon.

Dear staff, board members, advisory council, and other friends,

I think most of you know by now we lost a special friend in Jack Zarrow early this morning. Most of you know what great friends the Zarrow family has been to us over these many years, helping us help so many others. While some of you, like me, had the wonderful pleasure of getting to Mr. Zarrow, some of you did not get that opportunity as he has been in failing health over the past several years. I can honestly say one of the great pleasures of my position with the Mental Health Association has been having the opportunity to meet and get to know Mr. and Mrs. Zarrow. They have been so kind toward me personally and to our organization, and its mission. Their commitment to helping people affected by mental illness, and so many other causes in our community has been truly inspiring to me and to my family. I am not the same person for having known Mr. Zarrow and his incredible family.

As many of you, I have such incredible memories of talking with he and Mrs. Zarrow, getting to hear of their concern for people affected by mental illness who they understood didn't have the resources they had available to them. This awareness drove both of the them to help others to have the same opportunities through their generosity and kindness. Mr. Zarrow had a kindness and sweetness that was disarming and made you feel welcome and accepted in every sense of the word. His sweet smile could melt the toughest of hearts. Yet, when in contact with injustice he could become riled and determined to turn wrongs into right.

His passing reminds all of us it is our responsibility to carry on his legacy of giving, carrying for others less fortunate, and making our Tulsa community and state a better, more inclusive place for everyone, regardless of status or place in life. He will be missed by all.

Respectfully,

Mike Brose

The Immigration Debate - 2012

With the start of the Oklahoma legislative session about to begin, we can expect, once again, to hear debate around immigration issues. As always, the debate tends to organize itself around passionate extremes that don't always cut down party lines. Sadly, the debate continues to have ethnic/racial overtones, bridging over to economic (jobs) issues, and even reaching into states rights versus federal level only responsibility. Coming out of Utah, as far as I can determine, and modified to Oklahoma, and now called the Oklahoma Compact, is a declaration of five principles to guide our statewide debate around immigration. The following are components to the compact:

Federal Solutions

Immigration is a federal policy issue. We urge Oklahoma's congressional delegation, and others, to lead efforts to strengthen and reform federal laws. We recognize that border security is a critical element of national security, and further urge our congressional representatives to work to protect the borders as a part of a federal comprehensive immigration policy.

Economy

Oklahoma is best served by an economic philosophy that maximizes individual freedom and opportunity and does not place undue burdens on employers and employees. We acknowledge the economic role immigrants play as entrepreneurs, workers, taxpayers. From settlers to immigrants, newcomers have historically provided the much needed labor and ingenuity that fuels economic growth. Oklahoma's policies must advance our global reputation as a welcoming and business friendly state.

Law Enforcement

We respect the Constitution and the rule of law. We support law enforcement's professional judgment and discretion. Local law enforcement resources should focus on criminal activities, not civil violations of federal code.

Families

Strong families are the foundation of successful communities. We oppose policies that unnecessarily separate families. We champion policies that support families and improve the health, education, and well-being of all Oklahoma children, including the continuation of access to post-secondary education for all academically qualified high school students.

Free Society

Immigrants are integrated into communities across Oklahoma. We must adopt a humane approach to this reality, reflecting our unique culture, history and spirit of inclusion. The way we treat immigrants should demonstrate our commitment to a free society. Immigrants have been an important part of our strength and prosperity throughout history. Oklahoma should always be a place that welcomes people of goodwill.

What does everyone think? Is the Compact a good place to frame the debate, and can it form a common ground for people to come together for civil discourse on this hot button issue?

Bringing in the students and their experience

I've now introduced the idea of using the blog with our students and their supervisors at the Mental Health Association. The purpose is allowing an open social media setting where students, their supervisors, and others can discuss their learning experiences, thoughts, ideas, positive and otherwise, with each other, and others who might like to participate, also. While no topic is off limits, appropriate confidentiality, taste, decorum, and length of entry, must be maintained at all times. I look forward to this process and hope it can be of benefit to not only our students, but others who might like to participate.

I'm Back!

Either I've been lost in the mountains, on the high seas, or just lazy in use of my blog, but ultimately, it does not matter. Why? Because I'm back! Watch for new entries on a variety of topics and watch for interaction between me, my social work students, and others who may join in the discussions. Let's grow the blog and hopefully allow it to become what I have longed hoped, a place to carry on important discussions regarding the world of social work and our shared desire to provide people affective, cost efficient services that meet their needs. Also, let's have the blog be a place to address the need to create systemic change in many of the areas of service delivery we take for granted and don't question like we should.

If you get a chance, come to the Systems of Care Community Team Bridge Building Workgroup, tomorrow, January 24, at noon, at the Community Service Council where the topic will be the use of medications with children and teens in the custody of the State of Oklahoma DHS system (child welfare). We know this is a nationwide problem and we are trying to address it on a community state level. We need others to participate in the discussion. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Tucson, AZ Part I

The debate continues about what happened in Tucson, and how it should be handled to prevent such tragedies in the future. For me personally, as a licensed mental health professional, as a mental health advocate, as the director of the Mental Health Association in Tulsa, the discussion is a painful one for many reasons. I, like all of us, am profoundly saddened by the loss of life and serious injuries that have changed lives forever. I am deeply saddened this poor, tortured soul wasn't able to cry out and receive effective treatment that might have avoided this whole ordeal. Like the proverbial train wreck, I have wanted to look away and at the same time couldn't take my eyes and ears away from the aftermath.

Going forward, trying to cope with the tragedy in my own private way, I have listened to the national debate like the rest of you. To me, it divides into three primary areas of questioning. First, was the tragedy in Tucson caused, or at least encouraged, by the strident, and at times, hate filled political fighting that rages day and night through the media? Second, was it caused by the access to guns, particularly those with automatic settings and over-sized clips obtained by a person with a history of perceived mental illness? Or thirdly, was it caused by a untreated mentally ill individual whose mental health needs were ignored or dismissed as beyond the scope of providing help whether the person wanted the help or not?

While some of the debate delves into similar, or even completely different aspects, I believe these are the three central themes making up the primary arguments. And they are all highly complex. Tomorrow, we begin to take them up, one at a time. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Day #3 The Great Blizzard of 2011 or What To Do?

Well, as most of you know, this has been the proverbial "week that was." Like me, many of you have been trapped by the most dramatic, most paralyzing snow storm I've seen since moving to Reservoir Hill in 1981. Never, have we been so unable to move as noted by the condition of the Saab pictured above. My latest Saab story, as I like to refer to them. This one doesn't involve my mechanic, but low wheel clearance matched against 14.5 inches of snow and three to four foot drifts. So, what to do? Check out my second picture and add in spending time with my most wonderful, lovely wife, walking the dogs, cooking elk chili, baking bread, eating ice cream and chocolate, working via Google Apps, and anything else that comes to mind, and generally, making the best out of helpless situation. I only hope your time has been as wonderful as mine in the Great Blizzard of 2011.

Now to more serious matters. Well, actually, not so much. Being my blog, I have to poke fun a bit at the media. As most of you know, the Mental Health Association gets calls from the media to comment on mental health or substance abuse related events. First, leading up to the big storm, one of the local TV stations asked for an interview on how to prepare oneself for the Big Storm. Wow! Six years of university and 30 years of practice experience. Get ready for this! See who can top these suggestions from my years of wisdom... cooking, board games, cleaning out closets (I haven't done mine yet, but I will tomorrow), walking to the movie theater, reading a good book, etc. The ideas just keep coming.

Then, a local radio station calls today regarding this thing called "cabin fever." It is something all people trapped by weather or possibly...prison, come to understand very well. While not a real diagnosis, we all recognize the common symptoms of feeling restless, trapped, a bit anxious, bored, and maybe a bit angry and frustrated by the helplessness of the situation. While not serious, it can have a much more serious side over time. Especially when people start running low on their needed medications, or start to run low on food, or oxygen supplies, or other necessary needs that are directly connected to quality of life or even safety, and well-being. For many of us our work disruption can lead to loss of income, potentially threatening our housing or ability to pay bills. More serious yet, people often turn to alcohol or substances (or be unable to re-supply their addictive substance) during this long period of being cooped up, which may lead to the threat of domestic violence or other serious conflict between family members or friends.

In closing out Day #3, stay warm, and stay safe. Try to manage the dreaded"cabin fever" and avoid getting on the roads unless you have a four wheel drive, or until some warming begins to break this mess up.

Tomorrow: Tucson

I'm Back!

Well, I am a bit embarrassed to admit my "blog disappearance." But...the fact is, I haven't written in my blog since last August, and I am sure my "many" loyal followers have long since found better things to do with their time. Of late, I have been thinking much about the blog and how I want to get it going once again, and giving consideration to the question of "do I really have something worthwhile to say?" I have come to the conclusion I do have things to say, and some of those things might be considered important to others, and not just to me alone. If I am to resurrect my blog, however, I have to write something of substance at least five times per week. After much thought, and with ongoing prayer, and I am making a commitment to do so. But...as they say, words are cheap. So let's see what happens. Stay tuned, and I think you will find my edge can be sharp, and at times provocative. I will step on toes, and you may want to step on mine back. Often, I hope to allow you to see into the deep areas of my mind regarding a host of mental health related topics, and hopefully, you will feel compelled to weigh in to agree, disagree, and to offer your own thoughts on timely, relevant, mental health topics. So...let's begin.

Not surprisingly, I am returning to the topic of Transitional Age Youth, ages 16 to 25. As noted in blogs last summer, our city, state, and country are failing miserably to come to terms with these growing numbers of older teens and young adults who are not being supported and prepared to transition into healthy, emancipated, taxpaying, law abiding, effective child rearing, adults. The above statement is shockingly true for those teens living in foster care, housed in juvenile justice, or getting away from severely dysfunctional families. Teens in foster care and juvenile justice are NOT being prepared for adulthood and adult responsibility by those in charge of their care prior to age 18. Officials with Oklahoma Juvenile Authority (OJA) and Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of coming to grips with the reality these young adults will face upon turning age 18 and "aging out of the system." To even consider for a moment that the so called Yes I Can program is adequate to meet the needs of these kids represents the height of denial. Elected officials who claim they are for effective use of taxpayer funds should rise up and declare a statewide crisis as these young adults are getting pregnant, becoming homeless, and becoming incarcerated at alarming rates, creating a next generation of dysfunctional, state draining, non-taxpaying adults who cannot contribute to the community and state in a positive fashion.

Do you think I am making this up? Then try out this idea. Imagine anyone reading this has a dependent child turning 18 tomorrow. When your child walks out of their bedroom on their 18th birthday tomorrow, hand them a card with a 1 800 number linked to a stranger who will tell them, if they call, what benefits will be available to them after age 18, along with all of the "ifs, ands, buts" related to their ability to access these benefits. Also, tell them they have to move out of your home on the same day. Hopefully, you have prepared them adequately for all of this. No need to take a car because they not only will not have a car, they are very unlikely to have a driver's license. Go ahead, do it! Tell them "good luck and hit the road." Maybe you can drive them down to the Day Center for the Homeless so they will at least be out of the elements. That, and much more, is what is happening to these kids. It is not only immoral, it is the worst of possible public policy strategies coupled worst of "return on investment" economic outcomes.

Stay tuned Oklahoma. The Mental Health Association in Tulsa is coming and we are going to rub our (yes, OUR, as I am a part of it, also) collective Oklahoma noses in our own crap concerning these poor kids. We can not only do better, if we give these kids half of what most of us give to our transitioning "kids," we might even be able to sleep better at night knowing we have not thrown these young adults to the wolves and without the skills and resources to make it in this increasingly tough economic world. Not only should we be ashamed of ourselves, we are also stupid, because it MAKES NO SENSE! Wake up Oklahoma! Our kids need us!

Name That Blog!

Happy Friday Everyone!

I have a fun Friday challenge for you all. As you see, Mike has a great new blog, but he needs your help. His blog needs a name. We need your fun and creative names for his blog. Check out his video plea below!

The creator of the best name will win a $25 QT gift card.
Check out his blog, and submit your names by posting them to our Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube accounts by September 20th.

You can get more details on the contest at mhat.org/namethatblog

Check out our Facebook account at mhat.org/facebook
Check out our YouTube account at mhat.org/youtube
Check out our Twitter account at mhat.org/twitter

We can't wait to hear your great ideas! May the best name win!

Life Transitions

Our son is fortunate enouph to have parents who are taking him off to college.  Despite two years of community college, and 21 years of preparation,  our son, like most, need financial and emotional support as they transition from the world of family dependency to fully emancipated adult.   In our culture,  this emancipation occurs at about age 27 or 28.

But for thousands of kids being dropped out of cold welfare custody, or juvenile justice, or simply without stable families, the magic date of 18 is the date of full emancipation.  This policy and practice often leads to teen pregnancy,  homelessness, and incarnation.  This is the first a blog series on this Oklahoma and national tragedy.  Stay tuned in coming days to this blog site.

Oklahoma Recovery Alliance

What is the Oklahoma Recovery Alliance? Maybe not much. But let's hope this incredible group of mental health, substance abuse recovery advocates from across the state can make this alliance into something which involves working together, getting to know and trust each other, and to collaborate on common goals of helping people continue in their recovery from mental illness and substance abuse. The day of this meeting was exciting and optimism filled the air. There was sharing, debating, give and take, and a spirit of joy throughout the day. You could feel it and there was an initial commitment toward continuing work together while we invite others into the effort.

In the past, recovery advocates have allowed work together to be blunted by pettiness and jealousies. Will this effort be different? I think it has a chance, and the Mental Health Association in Tulsa stands ready to participate and to do our part. The people pictured above are one group of very incredible people. It was an honor to be with them on this day. Let's hope and pray for many more like this one.

Bullying leads to suicide of Oklahoma youth

When will we learn? Who is responsible? We all are because we tolerate bullying. Schools say they don't allow bullying and tout their anti-bullying curriculum. Parents insist their own kids are not bullys. Some teachers look the other way. Students look the other way. It goes on every day in schools and no one says anything. The only thing we know for sure about bullying is no parent wants their child to be bullied. It involves verbal, physical, and electronic forms of bullying. If you are different, you are a target. If you speak up, you may become a target so it is just easier to be glad it isn't you.

In Sunday's Tulsa World, page A16, was a story about a 11 year old Perkins, OK, boy named Ty Fields, who died by suicide, reportedly after being bullied. His story has apparently spurred others to action, forming a local chapter of "Stand for the Silent." Apparently, Stand for the Silent has supporters and advocates against bullying around the world. Their website has 2,700 members. Check it out and do anything and everything you can to eradicate the tolerance and evil of bullying.

Housing First...Job Second

The Mental Health Association in Tulsa is totally sold out to the concept of "housing first." First coined by Sam Tsemberis in New York, the strategy of ending homeless in America through the adoption of "housing first" approaches is now accepted as THE best practice in moving people from homelessness into stable living. But what are the factors that keep them housed and stable? What are the factors that help them become interwoven into the fabric of the community? Mental and physical health care? Sobriety? Good nutrition and good dental care? Integrated case management services and support? Spiritual care? Yes, yes, yes...to all of the above. Without housing, none of those things will work and money is wasted. We have learned from experience all of the listed items are critical factors in a transition to housing stability. Still, it is remains my contention that the second critical factor after housing first, is job second.

We are made by God to feel and be productive. We need to work and we need to be compensated. We need to be able to go home tired. We need to believe employment opportunities provide hope for the future, for personal sustainability, and a place to belong and to be appreciated. Employment feeds growth in self-esteem. It enhances dignity. Work IS therapy! Our friends at Crossroads and Goodwill clearly have understood this for many years. Above is pictured members of our property maintenance work crews that go out to mow, trim, and care for the appearance of our properties and for the properties of others. Take a close look at their faces. See if you can see satisfaction, sweat, diversity, esprit de corps, and friendship. Believe me, its there and more. Housing first, job second.

Fabulous Graduate Students Complete Internships

Pictured above is Esther Bold, Master's Degree candidate from Southern Nazarene University, and Jeremy Nikel, Master's in Social Work candidate, at the beginning of their last week of their internships. These two have grown so much and all of us at the Mental Health Association in Tulsa are so very proud of them. They have done fabulous work and both will be great additions to the profession. While we have had a significant impact on their development toward becoming helping professionals, they have in turn profoundly impacted us with their enthusiasm to learn and their willingness to wade into the deep waters of difficult situations. Esther and Jeremy have displayed their grit and determination to struggle with distresses and difficulties, and both have strived to grow internally to improve their practice skills. They will be missed, but something tells me they won't be far away. Anyone looking for two great young professionals with great personal/professional qualities and character should take a hard look at these two. It is only a matter of time and they will both be in significant demand for their talent and services. Esther and Jeremy...We will miss you two. God's speed.

Part of the Housing Development Task Force Brain Trust

Pictured is Judy Alexander, chair of the Association's Housing Development Task Force, along with key staff member Greg Shinn, and housing specialist Bill Packard. These three make up a good portion of the brain trust which reviews potential properties for possible purchase. The HDTF is made of up of board members, past and present, community volunteers, our crack attorney Mac Rosser, and other staff who all work together to evaluate all aspects of the possible purchase of a property. This is one tough crowd, but absolutely fun to be around. To set in one of their meetings is like going to real estate school.

A Way Home For Tulsa (AWFT); The Myth, The Mountain, and the Potential Magic

So much has been said about A Way For Tulsa (AWFT), and not all of it has been good. Most, comments, have been related to the confusion about what it is, and what it is supposed to do or accomplish. Sometimes really smart people can take simple ideas and complicate them where others cannot understand them or appreciate them. Well, let's break down the complex and make it where it is can hopefully be better understood.

How did A Way Home for Tulsa originate?

When Gail Richards and Judy Kishner decided to raise $30 million dollars in the Building Tulsa Building Lives campaign to create enough housing to end chronic homelessness in Tulsa, it seemed to us at the Mental Health Association in Tulsa, (and others agreed with us), that it made a lot of sense to also examine the services necessary to be utilized and "wrapped around" the chronic homeless (also referred to as the "hardest to house") to not only get them into housing, but to help keep them there until they stabilize in their new homes with all of the services they need in place.

A poorly kept secret is that while Tulsa has many, many wonderful non-profits with incredible boards and fabulous staffs, the level of cooperation and coordination among these service providers appears confusing and fragmented, and often ineffective in the eyes of the user of the services. "Go here for this, go there for that, and ride the bus across town to address those problems." Even if we have enough housing, these people will never make it without a highly coordinated and integrated service system that can adapt and integrate to their very complicated needs.

The homeless individual lives with a myriad of problems, including hygiene issues, mental and physical health problems, substance abuse addictions, homeless lifestyle patterns and friends, teeth problems, financial distress, spiritual depletion, legal entanglements, and on and on. The fact is no single agency, organization, or faith community, can go it alone to provide for all of the needs a person living homeless has developed over a long period of time. The alternative is these individuals need what all of our organizations have to offer, presented in an easily accessible, friendly, coherent, and effective manner that meets the specific needs of each of these special people. When you think that 80% of all homeless funds go to serve these 206 hardest to house individuals, the accomplishments of the goals of A Way Home For Tulsa becomes paramount if we are to agree chronic homelessness is unacceptable.

So go on...where did A Way Home For Tulsa originate?

It came from an agreement, led by Karen Davis and John Wolfkill, to chair a series of meetings and conversations that at one point involved 70 different individuals, agencies and organizations. Out of these discussions, meetings, all of them intense, and some a bit heated, came a consensus decision the first step to end chronic homelessness in Tulsa was to create a "centralized case management system" where all key "primary contact" organizations would participate. This participation would be conducted in a consistent, systematic,and organized manner, with commitments to participate over the long haul. The centralized case management system, now named Fresh Start, with commitments from 13 different primary contact organizations, will eventually be designed and "built to last." What cannot happen is that we get all fired up to do this, and gradually piece by piece get pulled away by other distractions or problems without the constant, steady commitment by all of us to work together to end chronic homeless in Tulsa. This commitment includes working together to end the horror for 206 Tulsans who have lived on our streets for years.

What is the current status of A Way Home For Tulsa?

Under Sandra Lewis's leadership, the first phase of development involving the case management system called Fresh Start is meeting and beginning to function on a consistent basis. While not yet operating at a level that will eventually develop, the experience and practice of different representatives from different organizations with different ways of doing things working closer together, has begun. The governance for the 13 separate entities that will manage and oversee the operations of Fresh Start is being finalized under the leadership of the Long Term Care Authority. This is not easy, as there are many competing interest needing to be worked out, and strong egos have strong opinions. I am confident we will get there. Fundraising has begun with a wonderful gift from the Hardesty Foundation, and other fundraising efforts are underway. The funds will go to provide grants to the participating organizations to help them maintain and pay for their time at the Fresh Start meetings and the extra time that is required to outreach to these hardest to house individuals. The funding will pay the organizations time to help these individuals move from homelessness, to housing, to engagement with the services they need, and ultimately, to stability.

What is the role of the Long Term Care Authority?

No other component of A Way Home For Tulsa has created more buzz and confusion than the role, and the funding needed in the first year for the services provided by the Long Term Care Authority. First, many local funders have never heard of LTCA. The fact is they have been around for at least 20 years in Tulsa and across the state. For years, they have been intimately involved in their work with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services in the design of better systems to serve Oklahomans with long-term care needs through the Advantage Program. Since that time, they have returned to their origninal function of working closer with local non-profits and health care systems like OU School of Community Medicine and OSU Medical Center to develop a community access network. They specialize in the development of systems change initiatives, strategic planning, infrastructure design, training, and consulting. Their long experience with the development of integrated case management will be critical to the success of achieving the goals of A Way Home For Tulsa. The Hardesty foundation gift was targeted to help pay for the one year funding for the expertise of the Long Term Care Authority. Their work to help the 13 organizations build our integrated network of service delivery to Tulsa's hardest to house individuals has already begun.

Educating the funders has also begun.

Karen Davis is helping to set up separate meeting with funders to better explain the goals and objectives of A Way Home For Tulsa. As mentioned, we have already met with the Hardesty Foundation and the United Way. Another meeting is scheduled with the United Way executive staff and we are scheduled with the Funder's Roundtable. Meetings with other funders are being developed.

The beauty of the plan from a funder's standpoint.

Accountability is a primary concern of every funder. Also, every funder talks about outcomes. A Way Home For Tulsa has the easiest to measure outcomes of any effort I can imagine. It is simple. There are 206 documented chronically homeless individuals in Tulsa, and we know their names. There initials go up on a board, and those names have to start coming down as people move into permanent housing with the needed services wrapped around them to help ensure housing stability. The organizations involved in AWFT are, as they should be, on the hook to bring these numbers down. If we cannot bring the numbers down, we have failed, and that cannot be an option.

Comparing Tulsa's effort to others around the country.

From the very beginning, I have said to anyone who would listen that our goal should be the first city in the United States to end chronic homelessness. I have been laughed at, eyes have rolled, and at times I have felt like I was being patted on the head. I remain undeterred. I know if we will set our "stuff" aside and really concentrate on these people and their special needs we can do this. We have a chance to do so something so special that people all over the country will be talking about it. What we are doing in Tulsa is already being noticed. I know that because I just represented us at the White House several weeks ago for the roll out of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness's strategic planning report. Go to the USICH website and find the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Chronic Homelessness. What we are doing in Tulsa compares to what anyone in the country is doing to end homelessness in their own respective communities.

Let's get busy. It is a challenge of a lifetime.

Yale Residents Helping Trim Trees at Area Church

Here is a picture of residents from the Yale Avenue Apartments helping to trim the bushes at a local church in the area. This is all a part of the Housing Faith Alliance, and its effort to build "bridges of connectivity" in areas where our housing is located. It is both beneficial to the residents who reside in our housing sites, but it is mutually beneficial to the churches. May God continue to bless the work of the Housing Faith Alliance.

One of My Heroes

Kimberly Cummings,  my executive assistant,  and friend,  graduated yesterday from the Women In Recovery program.  I am so lucky to know this remarkable woman,  and our organization is so fortunate to have as one of our employees.

Kimberly represents what can be accomplished when this State rejects locking non-violent, disease addicted women AND men and turns to treatment alternatives. When will political leaders demonstrate leadership and stand up for jail diversion approaches for non-violent offenders that are more effective AND more cost-effective? Congratulations,  Kimberly.  Your mission is only beginning.

Today's thoughts...Mike Dowd, Lisa, and Sundry Items

We received word early this week that one of our beloved, almost invisible to most, volunteers, Mike Dowd, past away after a long battle with cancer. Mike was a friend and neighbor to our family for 30 years. Late last year Mike contacted me about wanting to learn more about the Mental Health Association in Tulsa's work with housing, people who are homeless and mentally ill, and how he might be able to contribute. Mike went on a long tour of our housing followed by a offer to work on needed repairs in our apartments as a volunteer utilizing a lifetime of developed carpentry skills. At the Ritz Apartments, a recent acquisition needing a great deal of work, Mike completed work on a burned out room that was converted to a bedroom increasing the size of the apartment, as well as other significant improvements to the property. I am told that Mike was there working, often 7 days a week, getting to know many of the residents, offering them rides and assisting them in a variety of ways. When asked about news from doctor visits, Mike would avoid discussing what he had been told, pushing off the inquiries with a comment like, "let's not talk or think about that. That is why I am doing this so I don't have to think about what the doctor is telling me." Mike will be missed, and his wife, Pam, and boys Dustin and Brandon, should be very proud. We have decided that Mike should be this year's Bill Packard Housing Award winner for volunteer contributions to housing to be presented at this year's Annual Meeting and Award Celebration.

Lisa, a local transitional age youth, who has grown up in the state child welfare system, is taxing all of the various agencies, organizations, and people involved trying to help her. But if not us, then who? Where would this girl be? Sure it isn't easy, but it is worth it. I am so proud of all of our staff, the staff from Youth Services of Tulsa, and others who have pitched in to help. While difficult, trying, and definitely frustrating, let me remind all of us, that is why we exist and why we chose this line of work. As I like to say..."if it was easy, everyone would be doing it." Go Lisa, go staff!

I don't think we realize what an incredible city...no community, we live in where we live close together and we all know each other. As I like to say..."if you don't know them, you know someone who knows them." I was reminded how special our town is when I see volunteers who have been blessed with the gift of wealth and resources, who pitch in to raise money to help local non-profits be able to perform our work. Sometimes I hate it, but it takes money, and Tulsa is blessed with a special relationship between some of its most well-to-do citizens and its non-profit community. They care, they raise money, they give time, and they serve. We are blessed.

Connally Perry, one of our incredible employeeswho, posted an email showing communication from a church in town located near the Yale Ave. Apartments who was visited by a group of residents from the apartments who are helping trim their bushes at the church. He referred to the residents who performed the work as his heroes. Connally...you are one of my heroes. That is how we roll...

Last week I lost my cool and went off on one of our residents. I have tried to reach Greg to apologize, but have so far been unable to to reach him. I can't tell you how bad I feel about my behavior toward Greg, and pray some day we can be reconciled to each other. Greg, if you are reading this...I am so sorry. There was no excuse for my behavior. I want to also apologize to anyone associated with our organization in any way, and pledge to all of you that I will, by God's grace, never do anything like that again.

The "New" Scarlet Letters

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel, a woman accused of adultery was forced to wear the letter "A," a symbol representing the accusation. While we have moved passed forcing public shame on a women for committing adultery, history demonstrates society merely moves onto a new "letter" representing the thing to fear. Today, being gay, Muslim, having AIDS, being "illegal," have become the new labels driving fear and hate. Another, apparently, is the label "homeless." Listen to ourselves as we talk and you hear the language of fear and loathing applied to anyone homeless. We don't want a person is homeless anywhere near us, and particularly, we don't want them to move out of homelessness and into housing near us. God forbid they have become homeless and additionally live with mental illness.

No matter over 4,000 different Tulsans in any given year lose their housing for all sorts of reasons and become "homeless," having to turn to our shelter system in order to avoid having to sleep on the streets. No matter 70% of these individuals never return to homelessness during their lives once they are able to stabilize, secure income, and locate affordable housing. To think about it, "apartments," affordable housing, and heaven forbid, mental illness are labels we put on people we want to avoid and have living somewhere else.

The sad irony of this, of course, every family in America, either has, or will have, someone who has experienced homelessness, lives with a mental illness or a alcohol or substance abuse issue, lives in a low cost apartment, may have been convicted of a felony, or may at one time or another have more than one of these labels that apply to them. But in our most shameless form of hypocrisy, somehow, the fear that is attached to people carrying these labels applies to someone else, and not to my Uncle Joe, my cousin Vinny, my brother, Aunt Mary, or my nephew. Shame on us!

The New Scarlett Letter