ABOUT
THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY COUNSELING
The
Center
is a non-profit
mental health organization that for more than three decades has been a
resource for low-income and uninsured adults in Lane County who are in
need of mental health services but have no other means of receiving
assistance.
Services
are offered on a
sliding scale based on income. Some 100 professional
volunteers donate nearly 4,000 hours of counseling to clients during an
average year.
Among
offerings of the CCC
are anger management classes, workshops and training on parenting
skills, group sessions and classes on managing emotions, short- and
long-term counseling for individual adults, and information on and
referral to additional mental health and parenting resources.
The
typical person receiving
services at the Center is a single parent supporting two children who
is unemployed or underemployed, has an average income of less than $600
per month, and reports having themselves been abused as a child (97
percent of clients).
- I am so
appreciative for the support I received to get through a very dark and
difficult period in my life. When I had few useful places to
turn, the Center for Community Counseling was there for me.
-- CCC Client
- I made a lot of big
changes for the better; moving, a new job,
and building more supportive communities.
-- CCC Client
- Today, I smile
more. I hold my tongue. I
listen more. I have confidence in myself again.
Today I am a better man.
-- CCC Client
- I had a counselor who
understood what I was going through. I
owe her my life.
-- CCC Client
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Newsletter - Annual Report
Transforming
lives and healing
relationships
MAY
IS NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH MONTH
The
Register-Guard - May 1,
2012
By Steve Guerber and
Melissa
Thomas
The month of May was
first declared National Mental Health Month in 1949. Yet more than six
decades later, behavioral health concerns carry a widespread stigma
despite being an illness suffered at one time or another by one out of
four people.
It’s hard to fight negative
impressions of such problems when misconceptions and misperceptions
persist about people with acute sadness, depression, anxiety, bipolar
disorder, schizophrenia or some other mental disorder.
In a community that has
experienced more than its share of suicides, accidental deaths,
economic hardship and cases of abusive behavior lately, there have been
plenty of opportunities for people to experience mental health
challenges. And it’s important to understand that mental health
conditions can be as distressing and debilitating as any major physical
health disorder.
Instead of receiving
compassion and acceptance, however, those with mental health issues may
experience discrimination and a fear of being singled out. This sense
of isolation is often a barrier to action for people who are thinking
about seeking help when they need it.
But that’s just one reason
why people living with a mental health condition never seek or receive
help. Others may include lack of information, lack of health care
insurance coverage, and lack of income.
Fortunately, Lane County has
an extensive system of assistance available to those in need of mental
health counseling, no matter what their circumstances. Professionals
with expertise in all areas of need are readily available to provide
mental health counseling.
As a nonprofit safety net
agency that has existed for more than 33 years, the Center for
Community Counseling offers such services to low-income adult clients
with no insurance and nowhere else to go for help. If the CCC isn’t the
appropriate provider of counseling, it can refer those in need of
assistance to other organizations such as White Bird Clinic, Direction
Services, the Center for Family Development, Sexual Assault Support
Service, Center for Family Therapy, Options Counseling, Looking Glass,
Volunteers in Medicine, Northwest Christian University, the University
of Oregon Health Center and Lane County Mental Health.
If you are reading this guest
viewpoint and suspect you or someone you know has a mental health
issue, don’t be reluctant to tell someone about it. Have the courage to
confide in a spouse, family members, friends, clergy or other members
of the community. Reach out to people for needed compassion, support
and understanding.
Don’t avoid seeking help
because of a reluctance to admit having a condition that needs
treatment, or because of the fear of being “labeled.” Get treatment. It
can provide relief by identifying what is wrong in concrete terms and
by reducing symptoms that interfere with work and personal life.
Many have the mistaken belief
that their condition is a sign of personal weakness, or that they
should be able to control it without help. Seeking professional
counseling, getting educated about a condition, and connecting with
others with mental health issues can help those in need gain
self-esteem and overcome destructive behavior.
Above all, being able to live
in a community that is open to increased awareness of the importance of
dealing with mental health needs by acknowledging their existence is an
important step in breaking down stereotypes that prevent accessibility
to services for all with such conditions.
Since May is National Mental
Health Month, it’s a good time to begin.
Steve Guerber is
executive director and Melissa Thomas is clinical director at the
Center for Community Counseling in Eugene, a nonprofit organization
providing mental health services to uninsured low-income adults in Lane
County.
Copyright ©
2012 — The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA
"LEGALLY
BLONDE" - SATURDAY, MAY 19
Flyer To Print
CENTER OFFERS
ANGER AND PARENTING WORKSHOPS
The Center is continually compiling lists of individuals and couples
interested in attending workshops on stress and anger management and/or
improving parenting skills. If a workshop is not immediately available,
potential participants who pre-register will be contacted as dates are
identified for future sessions.
Facilitated by licensed
counselor Cori Taggart, sessions help participants recognize “early
warning signs” of anger and to learn skills for making the right
choices when upset with children.
The classes are for clients
who are not court mandated.
Workshops are held on
Wednesdays for five weeks from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Center’s office at
1465 Coburg Road in Eugene. Free on-site childcare is provided. Sliding
scale fees for attending workshops are based on income. Couples are
encouraged to attend.
“I would recommend this class
to anyone who has problems dealing with their feelings,” one parent
said at the conclusion of a five-week workshop. “I can now recognize
when I am being angered, why I am becoming angry, and what I can do to
calm myself.”
To inquire about upcoming
workshops or to be added to a list for a contact in the future, call
the Center for Community Counseling at 541-344-0620.
CCC SEEKING
GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN
The growing number of grandparents who are more often responsible for
overseeing homework and dishing out discipline instead of warm cookies
and hugs to their grandchildren is an issue of growing interest to the
Center for Community Counseling.
A series of workshops sponsored by the Center with a grant from the
2010 Great Rotary Duck Race, have helped substantiate the need for
assistance in dealing with such matters as stress management, conflict
resolution, parenting issues and resources, and relationships with
adult children.
“They’re really a silent and growing population,” says workshop
facilitator Mary Schrey of grandparents who are raising their
grandchildren.
A therapist and educator and volunteer at the Center with more than two
decades of experience working with children and families, Schrey says
interest in this issue has increased since the Pew Research Center
released a national report in 2010 showing that one child in 10 lives
with a grandparent. While increasing slowly and steadily over the past
decade, that figure has risen sharply since the beginning of the
current recession.
“Having to deal with the responsibility of grandchildren living with
you when you also have to deal with the failings of your own adult
children just contributes to the conflict and the changes in the
relationships this situation brings about,” Schrey says. “Just who do
you watch out for?”
A pair of two hour workshops
sponsored by the CCC in January and March
resulted in the creation of a six-week support group for grandparents
that began meeting on Tuesday mornings. When the number of
requests
to participate in that workshop created an overflow situation, a second
session was created that meets in the afternoon.
KEZI-TV ran a feature
story on grandparents raising grandchildren that
concluded by mentioning the CCC support group. The
story featured a couple that had participated in the program, along
with an interview with coordinator Mary Schrey. It is in
the “Baby On Board” series on the KEZI
Features page.
The Group for Grandparents
Raising Their Grandchildren meets on Tuesday mornings.
It
is listed in the Lane Community College Community Education Class
Schedule as a Successful Aging Institute course.
If you are interested in
registering for the support group, or know a grandparent raising
grandchildren who
might be interested, please call the Center for Community Counseling at
541-344-0620.
BRIGHTER HORIZONS ALLIANCE IS NEW
MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM FOR BUSINESSES
The Center for Community
Counseling has
created a new program as an opportunity for businesses to express
ongoing funding support for the CCC and the clients that it serves.
Called the “Brighter Horizons
Alliance,”
membership in the group provides visibility for companies responding to
what is an increasing need to deal with the important matter of mental
health and parental services for low income and uninsured residents in
Lane County. Alliance members will be listed on the CCC website,
recognized in publications of the Center, and identified in
program-related publicity.
Information on joining the Alliance is available by contacting Steve
Guerber at the Center office at 541-344-0620. Membership is for a
one-year period. Those who join will be contacted on an annual basis
and encouraged to continue their support of the Center with a renewed
membership.
Please
call our offices at
541-344-0620 for more
information.
Mon.
- Thur., 9am - 3pm
The
CCC
supports its programs through the generosity of volunteers, fees for
service, business and foundation grants, and individual donations.
CENTER
FOR
COMMUNITY COUNSELING
Staff
Members
Steve Guerber
Executive Director
Melissa Thomas
Clinical Director
Lesley Sabini
Office Manager
Board
of
Directors
Sadie Dressekie
President
Jennifer Wagner
Vice President
Laurel Anderson
Secretary
Andrea Smith, CPA
Treasurer
MB Barlow
Member
Rick Friedrich, M.D.
Member
Betsy Hoell
Member
Karen McCowan
Member
Helen Reed
Member
Beth Walsh
Member
Len Calvert
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Liaison
Sally O’Donnell
Volunteers Representative
Roger
Johnson
Episcopal Diocesan
Representative