Welcome
- James Pogue, Comprehensive Life Resources
Presentation
Prosperity Wellness Center - https://www.prosperitywellnesscenter.com (OK, this was a lot of unfamiliar information coming pretty fast, so my apologies for the mistakes in here)
- Hae Man Song, Asian Counseling and Treatment Services (formerly of Prosperity Wellness Center), s@iacts03.org
- What do you know about Prosperity?
- Inpatient treatment – yes
- Female only? - no, currently co-ed - has been since November 2017
- Has been around for a long time, added outpatient about 5 years ago.
- Inpatient with medication, do outpatient only for 90 days after exit
- Residential Location – 5001 112th street E, Tacoma, WA 98446. Outpatient are by PLU at 12201 Pacific Avenue South Tacoma, WA 98446. Just opened up a location in Graham at 22007 Meridian Ave E, Suite A, Graham, WA 98338
- In addition to psychiatric meds and inpatient treatment, offer Vivitrol® - for alcohol and opioid dependence (possible side effects include blurred vision, fast heartbeat, difficulty breathing, anxiety, nervousness, nausea, tiredness, sleep problems and more – so it is like your first kiss, I guess… -ed). Suboxone (side effects include “painful tongue”, which I didn’t know was even a thing –ed.) is also available (and maybe more – I missed a couple things here –ed.).
- 30 some employees total with agency.
- How do we make referrals? Hae – all calls are routed through the Parkland center – can make referrals by phone at 253-536-6425
- Evaluations – if you do have an assessment need and a referral , such as for a DUI, then bring in the police report. Self-referral is also possible, then all you need is an ID.
- Only do Medicaid funding right now.
- Managed Care Organizations are coming our way – 4 successful bidders for Medicaid funding.
- Accountable Communities of Health has a great setup with their staff, and they have $9 million to $12 million available.
- Also do gambling problem– is in a state contract
- Al – any connection between the gambling program and the casinos? Do casinos know that treatment for addiction exits? Hae – the connection isn’t made well enough – we don’t see many folks getting referrals that way – maybe just 1 person every 2 months. We can’t seem to keep more than 1 or 2 clients on the case load (I guess gamblers just don’t want to ante up…-ed.)
- Question – is there a new detox center in Pierce county – other than the center at Metropolitan Development Council? Hae – there may be one, but I’m not sure. Designated Mental Health Professionals (DMHP) – now Designated Crisis Responders (DCR) – are sending folks to detox for both mental health and substance use. You send someone to secure detox – one is Chehalis and one in Spokane – you can detain them for 5 days. They can leave anytime, and no residential follow up. Pioneer Center North would not do detention. I’m not aware of any new detox center. I thought a Kitsap facility may have opened.
- Question – had a gentlemen who couldn’t be taken in to treatment - was homeless – had to take him to the hospital under suicide watch. Hae - only a capacity of 16 for a county of 830k residents in Pierce County, 230k people have Medicaid funding. Not sure what percent are seeking mental health or substance use. Access is easier if you get a Substance Use Disorder assessment – and can move up the waitlist if you have a bed date for treatment. 160 bed Fransicscan and Multicare facility is for mental health, but hope they handle withdrawal management. Usually get folks in detox in 2 weeks with Multicare. If they need services immediately, take them to ER. The Jail does more detox than anyone else in the County. Northwest Integrated health is now doing treatment in the jails. The Court Resource Center is a great hub for a veteran or homeless, but it is a helpful resources for everyone too.
- Inpatient must be Pierce County Medicaid clients, outpatient can be anyone with Medicaid
- Want to do more funding sources so resources aren’t limited to Medicaid recipients
- Gone through a dual diagnosis treatment – have psychiatric mental health services and also treat trauma really well.
- As a community system , we are mess. Have bottlenecks in the system – too few detox resource, too few inpatient treatment.
Presentation
Asian Counseling and Treatment Services (ACTS) - http://actsrehab.org/
- Publicly funded, provide domestic violence perpetrator treatment, gambling treatment, anger management (“I don’t have an anger management problem, you’re just pissing me off…” -ed.)
- Do assessments (the first step in court mandated treatment as well as for walk-ins who want substance use disorder or mental health treatment. –ed).
- Licensed and have a DVHR certification (I’m pretty sure that is the wrong acronym – darn you acronyms.-ed), and have certified staff, but don’t have contract
- Working toward the social determinates of health – we need to stay connected with the important work that happens at this meeting.
- We are missing something like Oxford House (if you are like me, and have no idea what Oxford House is, you can do a little reading: http://www.oxfordhouse.org/userfiles/file/purpose_and_structure.php -ed.)– need options for folks who are exiting detox and residential treatment.
- Comment – a compelling presentation – thank you
Reports
Committee Work Introduction
- James Pogue
- We want to address all the needs our clients present.
- Keep in mind the four Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) dimensions (will I forever spell dimension with a “tion” – sadly, evidence is indicating yes. –ed).
- Health and wellness of person (Health)
- Housing (Home)
- Social environment (Community)
- Gainful employment (Purpose)
- (like 4H, without as many H’s or cattle, I guess. –ed)
- Lots of changes coming that may help. We can’t wait on changes, need to make good use of the time we have here to build a better system.
- We need to come away with action steps for the last half of the year – need a plan, and to focus on solutions
Committees: (I rolled the pre-committee charge with the post-committee report out –ed.)
- Eviction – looking at the preventative model – how to stop the trickle in of evictions. Group has recently focused on the Tiki Apartment Tenants. Game plan built for all the residents at this point. Audrey and Greta are heading up the subcommittee meeting. Hoping for advocacy and program development
- First work is preventative
- Workforce Development will be skipped this week – but if you are passionate about this work there is always a chance to get involved.
- Creative Solutions around Housing (apparently we’ll be changing the name of this committee every week.-ed)
- Tent City Tacoma
- Tiny Home plan with a private landowner
- Working on a budget and understanding needs.
- How can we as a group support the faith-based housing initiatives
- Gainful Activity – we push folks to get clean and sober, but they end up isolated geographically and socially. Coming up ways for folks to get connected socially that aren’t solely based on the relationship with social workers. Pamm is going to lead this effort
- Moving ahead – rebuilding the foundation of this group
- Looking at specifics on the work.
- Advocacy Committee – folks who want to advocate with others
- Target 3 seats up for election and invite candidates to provider meetings.
- City zoning
- General Elections
- Look at writing and pushing some bills
- James – let’s make sure other committees bring work that needs legislative action to the advocacy committee
Good of the Order
- Al – encourage our customer to register to vote and then vote. Don’t overlook this as part of our general mission. Dru - remind felons that they can vote now. James – should get Dom back to talk about how the Court Resource Center support this
- Theresa – We should have the voter forums.
- Associated Ministries – Quarterly Community Meeting - Shiloh Baptist Church, 1211 South I Street, Tacoma, June 21st 5pm-7pm - https://associatedministries.org/event/community-quarterly-meeting/
- Homeless Connect – next week from 10am-2pm – People’s Park, 900 MLK Way, Tacoma, WA - http://www.soundoutreach.org/project-homeless-connect/
- Al – It has been announced that Optum that has been managing Behavioral Health, was not selected to play a role in the future system. Their role would have been to manage the state money for involuntary commitment and crisis work. Optum will go out of business as a Behavioral Health Organization in December. We should thank them at some point along the way. A new agency is doing that work.
- Maureen – as the Committee action plans are developed, is there a web place to keep up with them. Need a better infrastructure.
- Associated Ministries – 2018 Resource Guide is available (through their annoying form – would a simple link be so terrible. A super useful guide, though. –ed.) at https://associatedministries.org/am-resource-guide/
- Pierce County Human Services Committee Meeting
- In the future, we’ll Have weekly rotations with a different committee group presenting action steps they are working on.
Coming Attractions
- June 21st – Associated Ministries Community Quarterly Meeting
- June 22nd – Hire253 report out, Voter Registration, and Ricky’s law (I’m guessing this isn’t about preventing Lucy from being in show biz –ed.)
- June 22nd – Project Homeless Connect
- June 29th – Tacoma Rescue Mission Programs and committee meetings
- July 13th, 20th and 27th – Candidate forums
- August 3rd – Coordinated Care
- August 10th – Concerto Health
Restaurant Review
Tacoma has no lack of restaurants on the waterfront. I do think it is a bit of a universal truth that when you have a great location, you can overcharge for mediocre food. But being on the shore for a meal is one of life’s little pleasures. And you can’t go wrong with Boathouse 19 - http://boathouse19restaurant.com/ at the Narrows Marina – 9001 S 19th st., Tacoma, WA. I took my Grandma here nearly weekly till she kicked the bucket at age 99 (she made it to 100 if you count gestation, which she did). Anyway, I’ve meandered through the menu a good bit. My go-to choice is the southwestern prawn salad. They used to have this amazing bean salad with all kinds of great stuff in it, but they discontinued that. I still think of that salad. I’m also a fan of their prawn po’boy – it will be the death of me, but some foods are worth slicing a few days off the old lifespan to enjoy. My grandmother was a soup fan (Grandma: “do you think they have clam chowder?” Me: “Yes.” Grandma: “I think I’ll have that”. Me: “Great.” 2 minute pause. Grandma: “do you think that comes with oyster crackers?” Me: “I do believe it does.” Grandma: (with widening smile) “mmm”. Same conversation – nearly every visit… I used to order an Irish Death Porter-ish beer with lunch – she thought it was root beer, and I thought it was a pretty effective coping strategy). There is a view of the water and the Narrows Bridges from the restaurant, but a good chunk of the windows face the marina as well. If you’re lucky, there will be some boats coming in and out of the marina. I like boats. Otherwise, it has pretty standard fare – usual seafood-restaurant-on-the-water-priced-to-make-you-nearly-bankrupt menu – alder planked salmon, burgers, trendy weird stuff (octopus tacos…) and well above average fish and chips (not as good as mine, especially since I switched from beer batter to flour-egg-bread-crumb coating). Most entrees are between $10 and $20. They have a gluten free menu, even. It can get a tiny bit busy on a sunny day, but there is plenty of parking for everyone (and it is free – just saying). The large bar has plenty of room, but the restaurant side has the better view. The restaurant was quite noisy when if first opened, but they put some hanging acoustic panels in and it is better. The same people own the Lobster Shop on Ruston Way. Boathouse 19 feels very Tacoma to me, and is worth the trip.
Attendees
- James Pogue, Comprehensive Life Resources, - excited to go to Vegas
- Calvin Kennon Sr., Comprehensive Life Resources - Excited about where this coalition is heading – going to Houston
- Cynthia Stewart, League of Women Voters - excited about the work here
- Larry Seaquist, League of Women Voters - excited that everyone is involved in homelessness
- Emerald Gipson, Catholic Community Services
- Pamm Silver, Molina Health Care
- Barbara Kaelberer (that is my best guess from the sign-in sheet – a pretty signature, but a bit elusive – ed.)
- Al Ratcliffe, not sure
- Audrey Oliver, Comprehensive Life Resources
- Nathan Blackmer, Comprehensive Resources – love this group
- Felicia Dennis, Clover Park Technical College, Excited about upcoming graduation
- Valentinya Germer, Community Youth Services - excited to camp on Sunday
- LaVida Kent-Napier, Zydeco Queen – upcoming food trailer Dealing with business ownership and housing. Excited folks are all in this room and don’t have to drive across the city to find folks.
- Hae Man Song, Asian Counseling Treatment Services (ACTS) and Community Health and Recovery, excited about the food truck (we are all with you on this one – why does food truck food taste so much better? –ed.)
- Jane Kim, Asian Counseling Treatment Services, excited to learn more about everyone here
- Lynn Jones, Catholic Community Services – excited about the weekend and a friend coming in 3 weeks
- Maureen Howard, Housing advocate – excited that the pace of ending homelessness is moving in the City of Tacoma in a way that she hasn’t seen it moving before.
- Victoria Vuss, Tacoma Pierce County Habitat for Humanity
- Carolyn Weisz, University of Puget Sound – excited for the Race and Pedagogy conference coming on September 27th-29th (https://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/race-pedagogy-institute/2018-race-pedagogy-national-conference/ )
- Keith Galbraith, Family Renewal Shelter
- Dug, dog
- Sidewalk rescue – excited to touch so many lives in the community
- Byron Corzo, Tacoma Rescue mission, excited there is 6 days till summer
- Brian Wilson, Catholic Community Services - excited to be a dad
- Michael Mitchell, Permission to Start Dreaming – work with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan (and elsewhere) with PTSD
- Sarah Appling, Pierce County Human Services - excited it is Friday
- Bobby Ocasio, City of Tacoma
- Matthew Jorgensen, City of Tacoma
- Zachary Kinneman, What’s Next Washington
- Alice Sofias Diakonos, Treasure of Tacoma Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) - excited about Tacoma Branch of IWW was re-chartered. Excited about a new job – last week will be my last week here
- Coley Wiley, Community Youth Services -excited to be here
- Joseph Denton, Sound Outreach - excited to be here
- Richard Berghammer, Fellowship Bible Church - excited about Father’s Day with kids and grandkids
- Kenneth Moultry, Recovery Foundation – excited for weekend
- Faatima Lawrence, Catholic Community Services - excited for new staff at the Stability Site
- Bonny Rico, Comprehensive Life Resources - excited to be learning so many new things –happy to be a Grandma again
- Sherri Jensen, Valeo Vocations - excited that July 13th is my last day at Sound Outreach and 1st day full-time at Valeo – at 18 weeks with the baby – it’s a boy
- Daryl Jones, Recovery Foundation – excited for the BBQ tomorrow
- Shelbie Drey – Comprehensive Life Resources
- Dru Gonia, Salvation Army - excited it is Friday
- Francis Watanuki, Catholic Community Services - excited to visit family in Hawaii this week
- David Venes, Point Defiance AIDS projects – sad and excited to be empty nesters
- Daisy Reyes, Catholic Community Services - glad to be back here
- Patricia Menzies, Tent City Tacoma - excited to get a tour at the Stability Site – have a better idea of what is there.
- Wes Bailey, Metropolitan Development Council - Excited it is Friday
- Theresa Power-Drutis, New Connections - excited to get up
- Brenda O’Brien Department of Social and health Services - excited to make it to another week of introductions, and really excited about the emails
- Clarissa Escalante, Community Youth Services – excited to be debt free
- Evangeline