Samaritan's SJCCF is thrilled to join other successful programs in the community as a funded agency. Pathways is designed to reduce unmet needs, address health inequities, and improve the overall health of the residents of Bernalillo County. It focuses on positive health outcomes by utilizing community health navigators as care coordinators who connect at-risk residents to resources and follow their progress toward improved health outcomes. Meaningful outcomes for the clients are reached by following a step-by-step approach (pathways). While individual clients attain improved health, common systems issues are also brought to light and result in stronger service coordination.

 

Bank of the West has funded a grant to further the work of Samaritan's Center for Changing Families. Thank you to Bank of the West for their generous support for this program which was created to serve the unique needs of adults and children experiencing the pain and distress of divorce, major family transitions or post-divorce conflict. The Center offers the following educational services to help parents put their children's needs first: 

• Wise Parent counseling is akin to facilitated mediation with an educational component, and it helps divorcing parents develop parenting plans and time-sharing agreements or resolve issues when they arise.
• Cooperative Parenting Classes are eight-week classes for divorced or separated parents to provide education about the impact of conflict on children, post-separation parental communication and cooperative parenting skills.   

 

PNM Resources recently granted Samaritan Counseling Center funding for upgrading energy-efficieny at our Medical Arts office by replacing doors, repairing windows, and purchasing CFL light bulbs.

Reduce Your Use Grants help nonprofit organizations put their energy-saving ideas into action with grants up to $5,000. Reducing energy use helps nonprofits decrease energy bills and put more money into mission-based programs.

 

Positive Effects - Samaritan Counseling Center's St. Joseph Center for Children & Families recently completed a seven-week psycho-educational group on stress and depression for parents at La Mesa Elementary School. At the final session, 100% of attendees reported knowing how to manage their stress and being able to identify the symptoms of depression. All attendees reported daily use of stress management techniques learned during the group.  

 

Healthy Relationships - Couples who attended at least 8 hours of training by Samaritan's Healthy Marriages staff show marked improvement in each of the following categories: Communication, Conflict Resolution, Financial Management and Overall Couple Satisfaction. The data was gathered from pre and post-test evaluations completed by both married and unmarried couples in the classes.  

 

Dear Samaritan Friends-

We're glad you take the time to keep up with our work at Samaritan Counseling Center by reading our e-Newsletter.  We'll continue to send communications monthly to keep you informed of the Center's impactful work.  It's our hope you enjoy receiving our e-Newsletter and will encourage your friends and network to sign up at www.samaritannm.org.  

 

My first four months at Samaritan have been inspiring. The Center's staff has been extremely welcoming and helpful with the transition, the board members have extended their personal knowledge of the organization's history and community outreach, and the army of volunteers go beyond what is asked of them and approach their actions with amazing diligence.  I've met some wonderful people in this short amount of time, and I'm looking forward to continuing to get to know the community. I'm grateful to be representing such a wonderful organization that approaches our work with collaborative efforts.  

 

Our May 5th New Mexico Ethics in Business event was successful. Thank you to all who supported and participated in this effort. This event signifies New Mexicans value individuals, non-profits and business that apply ethical practices in their daily lives.  We extend another congratulations to the 2011 award recipients. Please continue to 'breath' ethics as you do and teach the future generations. The 2012 nomination process is open and I encourage you to consider lifting up an individual, non-profit or business by making a nomination at www.ethicsinbusinessnm.com.  

 

Samaritan is grateful for the supportive relationships that continue our growth.  It's remarkable that a mental health non-profit organization doesn't have to rely on government funds in these difficult financial times.  The need to help people find wholeness and healing in their lives continues to grow, and Samaritan is here for them.  In June, we will conduct our Annual Appeal to friends and the community to further support the mission of the Center.  

 

Through the combined financial support from the community, Samaritan Counseling Center has been able to provide more than $6.5 million dollars in charitable services since 1987 for those searching for a place to find wholeness and healing, regardless of their financial situation or whether or not they have health insurance. A gift of $100 to Samaritan Counseling Center impacts people's lives by providing 1.5 hours of therapeutic coordinated care between Samaritan clinicians and a client's school, doctor, or social service providers.

 

We rely on dedicated friends to help us help others by supporting the place in our community where people come to find deep and enduring change everyday.

 

I invite you to become a part of the place where people turn to find wholeness and healing in New Mexico.

 

Kind regards,

 

Laurie Roche

Director, Resource Development

 

Samaritan's Workplace Services program works with employers to offer short-term counseling, assessment and referral services to meet the employee wellness needs of contracted Employee Assistance Program (EAP) clients. If you know of a New Mexico business seeking EAP services that include therapy for staff and their families or other  resources for creating and maintaining healthy and productive workplaces, please contact Program Director Sarah Lee at 505-765-1100 x 314 or slee@samaritancc.com.

 

Healthy Marriages is honored to partner with Better Marriages to co-sponsor an international Marriage Conference - Marriage Fiesta! The Fiesta is a high impact event for couples to grow and enhance their relationship and leave feeling closer than ever before. The Fiesta is also a training ground where nationally-known experts in the field of marriage enrichment and marriage education provide tools for lay persons, therapists, clergy, and other professionals. CEU's are through Baylor University School of Social Work and National Council on Family Relations. As a  special bonus for couples who can't attend the whole conference, we are inviting couples to attend Friday night July 8^th for an exciting evening entitled "Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti". The Friday night event (7-9pm July 8^th)  is only $10 per couple and will be a great way to reconnect with your partner.  

 

The Samaritan Center for Changing Families offers eight-week classes for divorced or separated parents to prepare them to work together in the Wise Parent program, joint therapy, or on their own. These classes provide parent education about the impact of conflict on children, post-separation parental communication and cooperative parenting skills. The sessions run concurrently, and parents of the same child/children must attend a different class.  The next session will be offered beginning on Wednesday, July 6, from 5:30 to 7:30pm and another on Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00 am. Click here for more information or to register.  

 

 Session Highlights:

 

Communication Skills - Conflict Resolution - Cooperative Parenting - Skills Development with Small/Large Group Discussions - A Curriculum of Structured Homework & In-Session Tasks - Video Presentations for Training

 

Healthy Marriages Program Director Hillary Bravo and Healthy Marriages Associate Mary Pepper presented at a poster session hosted by the Administration for Children and Families annual meeting on May 3, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Healthy Marriages program is finding positive outcomes in four major areas among couples that complete at least eight hours of relationship education. Those areas include: communication, conflict resolution, financial management, and overall relationship satisfaction. The data shows improvement in each category  and is taken from pre-tests and post-test completed by participants. In a sense, relationship education serves as insurance for maintaining a healthy relationship. When communication and conflict resolution skills are strong, couples are better equipped to handle other problems that may arise. The poster was well received among other Healthy Marriage programs throughout the country and leaders of the Administration for Children and Families.