Happy Wednesday!

This is the Community Caring Collaborative Weekly Communiqué where we share announcements about trainings, meetings and other events, including announcements from our collaborative partners. Look for links to meeting minutes and agendas in the Meetings section, training registration forms and flyers in the Events section, and job postings and other items of interest in the Announcements section. Subscribe here to get the Communiqué. Make sure to add Community Caring Collaborative to your contacts at claurel@cccmaine.org. Gmail users, check for the Communiqué under the Promotions tab. This mailing goes out every Wednesday, so if you have announcements, please send them to Christine by 5 pm Monday to be included. Thanks!

Photo above: The National Alliance for Caregiving, a non-profit organization dedicated to research and advocacy on behalf of family caregivers, has released an advocacy report, From Insight to Advocacy: Addressing Family Caregiving as a National Public Health Issue. The report identifies actions that can be taken to understand and address the impact of family caregiving on the public’s health. The report, available at caregiving.org/publichealth, comes in advance of the upcoming 12th Annual National Conference of Caregiver Advocates in March 2018, which will focus on engaging family caregivers across the lifespan

Announcements

WIC Clinic in Eastport: Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) will be holding a one day walk in clinic at Eastport Health Care February 8th from 10am – 2pm. See flyer for details.

3 new ACEs workshops: the Maine Resilience Building Network is bringing international author and teacher Sarah Peyton to Maine in March for:

March 7-9: Transforming Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): What Neuroscience & NVC Have to Offer
March 10: Sexuality in the Brain: Healthy Development & Trauma Recovery – may be taken as a stand-alone IF you have completed a 3-day workshop with Sarah Peyton at an earlier time.
March 11: Family Constellations in Action – may be taken as a stand-alone by anyone

Online Registration & Payment here. / Mail-in registration here.
Online payment if you are already registered! The deadline for registration AND PAYMENT is FEBRUARY 23, 2018.

Open Space Community Planning Webinar: this free webinar is appropriate for Code Enforcement Officers, Planning Boards, Public Works and Road Commissioners: Getting Credit for Open Space: Community Rating System (CRS) Open Space Preservation (Activity 420) Tools, Guidance and Success Stories with speakers: Melissa Rosa, John Rozum, Laura Flessner, Robyn Wiseman, Friday January 26, 2018 from 1:00 to 2:00 PM EST. This is your opportunity to learn more about nature-based solutions for community resilience, hear success stories from around the country, ask questions, and share input.

Families & Youth in Transitions Conference Update: Mike Veny, one of America’s leading mental health speakers and a high-energy drum circle facilitator, will give the keynote address. More information here.

Thriving in Place Surveys: The Washington County Thriving in Place team invites all TiP partner agencies to take 2 surveys for the Washington County Thriving in Place Program (WC TiP). One survey is administered by the funder of this program (MEHAF – Maine Health Access Foundation) and is designed to assess the TIP network. The other survey is from the Center of Aging at the University of Maine in Orono which is working with the MEHAF to learn how WC TiP has impacted participating people and organizations. Feedback will inform our program about what is working well or not so well with the TiP network, and what people value about the program. Your answers to both surveys will be confidential and the results will only be compiled in aggregate. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact our independent evaluator Carry Buterbaugh at cbuterbaugh@q2evaluation.com or 207 899 5413. Deadline to to submit your response is this Friday, January 26th.

Parent Enrichment Classes: the CAN (Child Abuse and Neglect) Council is offering 2 free parent enrichment classes in Machias starting in January – free dinner & childcare provided:

Active Parenting Now – for parents of children ages birth – 12, Wednesdays from Jan 17th to Feb 28th, 5:30-7:30 pm at the Kay Parker Conference room. Read this flyer for details and registration information
Nurturing Father’s Program – for fathers of children prenatal – 12, Thursdays from Jan 11th to April 15th, 5:30-7:30 pm at the Kay Parker Conference room. Read this flyer for details and registration information.

Training Topics for Parents: Just a reminder that here is a form you can print to bring to home visits to find out what training topics parents might want for the family event CCC and partners are planning in April. Completed forms can be turned in at CCC meetings, dropped off at the CCC office (front desk) or scanned to Christine.

Your announcement could go here: email the details to Christine by 5 pm Monday for inclusion in Wednesday’s Weekly Communiqué.

Updates

This is where we post updates on programs, initiatives and pending legislation.

President Signs RAISE Family Caregivers Act: The President has signed the bipartisan Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act into law. The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop, maintain, and periodically update a National Family Caregiving Strategy. The bill also calls on HHS to convene a Family Caregiving Advisory Council to advise the department on ways to recognize and support family caregivers. This Council will be comprised of relevant federal agency representatives as well as family caregivers, older adults with long-term services and support needs, health care providers, and other key players in the caregiving community.

Events (Chronologically Listed)

WIC Clinic in Eastport: Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) will be holding a one day walk in clinic at Eastport Health Care February 8th from 10am – 2pm. See flyer for details.

3 ACEs workshops: the Maine Resilience Building Network is bringing international author and teacher Sarah Peyton to Maine in March for:

March 7-9: Transforming Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): What Neuroscience & NVC Have to Offer
March 10: Sexuality in the Brain: Healthy Development & Trauma Recovery – may be taken as a stand-alone IF you have completed a 3-day workshop with Sarah Peyton at an earlier time.
March 11: Family Constellations in Action – may be taken as a stand-alone by anyone

Online Registration & Payment here. / Mail-in registration here.
Online payment if you are already registered! The deadline for registration AND PAYMENT is FEBRUARY 23, 2018.

Families & Youth in Transitions Conference: Save the date of March 10, 2018 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at Maine General Hospital in Augusta for Families & Youth in Transitions – a conference for families and youth with emotional and behavioral needs, special needs, and special health care needs transitioning through high school to adult life. Youth and parent workshops will be offered. dynamic mental health speaker and circle drummer Mike Veny will be the keynote. More information here. Sponsored by the Maine Parent Federation and G.E.A.R. Parent Network.

Youth Mental Health First Aid Training: Save the date of April 12, 2018 for NAMI Maine’s Youth Mental Health First Aid Training at the Cherryfield Academy Community Center. Details about this event are here. You can also Download general informationabout Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainings.

Elder Abuse Summit: Save the date of May 10th for the 5th annual conference on Elder Abuse, hosted by the Maine Council for Elder Abuse Prevention at the Augusta Civic Center. See flyer for details or visit MCEAP’s website.

Needs & Offers

PTAC Advisor: The Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) is seeking qualified applicants for the position of PTAC Advisor. This Machias based professional position works with Washington County businesses to help them sell goods and services to the local, state, and federal government. For a full job description and application requirements, please visit http://sunrisecounty.org/ or contact Jen Peters at scec@sunrisecounty.org or 207.255.0983. The deadline for applications is Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 5pm.

Training Assistance: Have you or a family member worked on a farm (blueberries, livestock, vegetables, aquaculture, etc.) within the last 2 years? If so, you may be eligible for training assistance for various career paths in areas such as healthcare, commercial driving, and more. Contact Chris Huh (951-0840; chuh@emdc.org) to find out if you qualify for the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP).

We Care Baby Center is now providing delivery service for the Machias area on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month for families that cannot get to the center due to lack of transportation, illness, or other issues. Call 255-8903 or send a message to We Care’s Facebook page to get on the delivery list.

Downeast Feast 2018: The next community meal (Black Bean Chili and Curried Winter Squash Soup) will take place at the Center Street Congregational Church, hosted by Healthy Acadia, on January 25th at 5 pm. A flyer with the schedule for the next few months is coming soon.

Storm Window Kits for Seniors: Maine Seacoast Mission has reusable, plastic, interior storm windows that are easy to install and help block drafts to lower heating costs. They will measure and install the windows for seniors by appointment – see flyer for more information.

Send us your agency/community needs or offers, such as job recruiting or housing needs.

Favorite Resources

Send us your favorite links to share with other Communique readers.

G.E.A.R. Parent Network: parent peer staff provides restorative approach to family healing and wellness, parenting education, meaningful connection to natural supports/resources and integration into their communities. Parents or caregivers whose child/youth are enrolled with case management through Behavioral Health Homes (BHH) may also receive parent peer support – ask your care coordinator how you can access this service. Please feel free to contact us with questions or to make a referral for 1:1 in home parent peer support services (parents – self referrals are welcomed!). Connect with Misty Day, Regional Parent Support Coordinator for Waldo, Hancock, Washington, Penobscot, Piscataquis & So Aroostook Counties at 1.800.264.9224 or 207.485.4253.

Meetings

Work Group & Poverty Busters: Read minutes from the January 3rd meeting. The next meeting of this combined group is on February 7th from 1 to 3:30 in the large conference room at SCEC. It’s not too early to RSVP. Don’t forget to bring your completed forms with training topics requested by parents (see more about this in the announcement section).

Photo courtesy of Susan Bennett

CCC Wednesday Communique — January 24, 2018