September 2013 - Family Services of Western Pennsylvania

Family Affairs
September 2013
Family Affairs is a newsletter of
Family Services of Western Pennsylvania
Lost in Space: A Twenty-seven Year Odyssey
Inside this issue
Take Me Out to the Zoo...P.2
Spotlight...P.2
Save this Date!...P.3
Meet Grant Korgan...P.3
Did You Know...P.3
Scenes from the Ice Cream Blast...P.4
By Timothy Robinson, Supportive Living Specialist and
Cindy Egnatz, MH Service Coordinator Mentor
For twenty-seven years, Paul disappeared
from the world, living his life in isolation.
No, not because he was in jail, but because
he was kept by his parents inside the family
home. Think about it. Take your age and
subtract twenty-seven years. What would
you have missed in that time frame? Over
the last half century, the answer would
probably astound you as it did Paul!
On December 12, 1966, Paul enjoyed his
last outing in the community until a
community intervention on February 1,
1993 that would change his life and that of
his family. His family had experienced a
traumatic event which set in motion an
extensive period of overprotecting, lack of
trust in others, and the belief that if Paul
never left the house, he would be safe.
When he was discovered, he was quite
“frightened, really scared and didn’t trust
anybody.”
In March of 1993, after a month of
psychiatric hospitalization and a diagnosis
of paranoid schizophrenia, Paul began
receiving services from Family Services of
Western Pennsylvania’s Service
Coordination (case management) and
Supportive Living programs. These
programs assist individuals in linking to
available community resources and helps
them in developing skills and supports
needed to reach particular life goals such as
living independently. In Paul’s case it was
coping with symptoms, taking a walk in the
park, riding a bus, eating healthily,
budgeting money properly and more.
Despite Paul’s years of absence from
society, it didn’t take long for staff to gain
his trust. Paul adapted well to treatment
and made baby steps back into the outside
world. “Being outside my home felt
caused him to be so untrusting, or if it was
the many years of isolation and listening to
the fears of his family. In either case, he
isn’t dwelling on it.
Paul (right) with one of his friends at Pirates game.
wonderful. I enjoyed any place and every
place. I often dreamed of going shopping in
a real department store or taking a long ride
in a car and now I was doing it.” He believed
that he could do "lots of stuff" with no bad
consequences as long as staff was with him
for reassurance. As he said, “I just needed
someone to be there is all."
Paul still speaks of those days when he was
confined to his home, passing time with his
radio, his books and his imagination. Back
then, he kept busy listening to sports on the
radio and reading through his set of
encyclopedias, his Bible and other books. In
his house there was no phone, but he did
have a battery-operated television set the
family acquired in 1980. On that he watched
his favorite television show, Lost in Space.
And from time to time he would peel back
the curtains to catch a glimpse of what was
happening beyond his walls, but remained
fearful of the unknown. Paul now wonders if
it was his then undiagnosed condition that
On May 8, 2013, at the age of 64, Paul did
something he had long dreamed of doing.
He attended a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball
game. His main goal for the day was to get
team yearbooks, but he also found other
activities enjoyable like watching the
Pierogie Race. He felt comfortable enough
and enjoyed this outing so much that he
plans on attending a game next year. Even
though this was just a Pirates game to
everyone else, it was a major
accomplishment for Paul■
Paul’s Top Three
Discoveries...So Far
1.
Traveling "anywhere and everywhere."
Although Paul is very fearful that if he
is alone on the bus he won't ever find
his way back home, he is more than
ready to accompany a friend or a staff
member for a ride.
2.
Shopping...shopping...shopping.
"Malls are so amazing!"
3.
“Going to my first Pirate game was the
best yet." With a big smile he added
"TV just doesn't give you the true
feeling of the game. I will never forget
that day, never." ■
Spotlight on:
Dr. Robert Davis
Occupation:
Medical Director, Family
Services of Western
Pennsylvania
Medical School:
Penn State University, College
of Medicine
Residency:
Thomas Jefferson University
Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
In his own words:
I was born and raised in
Philadelphia and moved from
there to Pittsburgh with my
family in 2012 to be the Medical
Director of Family Services of
Western Pennsylvania.
I strongly believe in patient
centered care, and I have a
clinical interest in mood
disorders, women's mental
health, and chronic and
persistent mental illness■
Sixty-Six
Sixty-six holds a special place
in the hearts of Pittsburgh
hockey fans. It holds a special
place in our hearts, too. Sixtysix is our United Way donor
designation number.
The annual United Way
fundraising drive is underway.
When you make your
donation, please keep us in
mind as we work to empower
people to reach their full
potential■
Take Me Out to
the Zoo
(Or Anywhere
Great Memories
are Made)
Transition-age youth from our Community Outreach through Resources
and Education program at the Pittsburgh Zoo.
How about a trip to the aviary? Or to the Science
Center? Or to the Benedum for a concert? A
ballgame at PNC Park. For many of us, such events
are kind of rites of passage, something we
remember doing with our family or friends long
after the event we attended has passed. For
others, the memories of attending a Pirates game
at PNC Park, watching a laser show at the Carnegie
Science Center, or visiting with the penguins at the
National Aviary are non-existent because, well,
they never happened. These families didn’t have
the financial wherewithal to do so.
In the early to mid 1990’s, some astute people
were looking at the attendance counts at events in
Pittsburgh and noticed the size of the crowds and
the capacities of venues where those events were
held. And then they thought, “Hey, that event
wasn’t a sellout. What do they do with those extra
tickets?”
In 1994, Tickets for Kids® Charities (TFK), was
established after noticing the number of empty
seats at some of the city’s shows, games and
events. A coincidence? Nope. Remember the
astute people we told you about? Yep. Tickets for
Kids.
The goal of TFK is to fill seats at local events with
children and families from the area, preferably
from a more diverse demographic, for whom cost
of admission is prohibitive. TFK is the only regional
organization devoted exclusively to this mission —
and one of a few in the country. Since their
inception they have reached more than 1.4 million
local residents through their efforts. Those are a
lot of new memories!
How They Do It
TFK obtains tickets to arts, cultural, educational,
family entertainment and sporting events through
a network of providing partners that includes
individuals, sports teams, theaters, museums,
zoos, aquariums, amusement parks, colleges,
universities, local and national producing agencies
and others. TFK then distributes those tickets
through social-service agency partners like Family
Services of Western Pennsylvania to thousands of
children and their families throughout the year.
Mindy Townsend, Unit Teacher with our
Adolescent Diversion and Stabilization program, is
a big fan of and grateful for the support from
Tickets for Kids. “During the summer our students
look forward to the fieldtrips provided by TFK. We
develop a learning activity or lesson built around
the event we are attending in order to enrich the
student’s experience. Some of our clients do not
have the opportunity to take trips in the
community. It is pleasing to see their enthusiasm
when they have a new opportunity to learn and
enjoy during the outings provided by TFK.”
Through the years individuals and families we
serve have been to baseball games, the Carnegie
Museum, Science Center, Laurel Caverns,
Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, The Warhol and
more because of the work that TFK has done in
establishing connections with other organizations
in our region. Since we believe strongly in the
capacity of every individual to grow despite the
challenges that he/she might face, we agree with
the mission of TFK, that by granting people we
serve the opportunity to experience something
that they might not otherwise have the
opportunity to experience, we are playing our part
in filling seats with unlimited potential.
Thank you, Tickets for Kids, for the experiences
you’ve provided, for inspiring the next great artist
or geologist, zoologist or saxophonist, pitcher or
scientist...for the memories you’ve helped create■
Page 2
Save This Date!
December 13, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Family Services of Western Pennsylvania
Act 2: A Celebration of Second Chances
Featuring the inspiring and motivational story of
Grant Korgan
Extreme adventurer and spinal cord injury survivor
The evening includes:
* An artfully remarkable performance by the August Wilson Dance Ensemble
* The danceable groove of the Terrance Vaughn Band
* Silent Auction and Raffle
Tickets: $100 per person advance sale
Jay Verno Studios, 3030 Jane Street, Pittsburgh (Southside) 15203
For more information contact: Laura Latini at 412-820-2050 ext. 412
or via email at latinil@fswp.org.
Meet Grant Korgan
Did You Know…
...that an estimated 26.2 million
Americans ages 18 and older—
about 1 in 4 Americans—suffer
from a diagnosable mental
disorder in a given year, yet
millions of people living with
these disorders do not receive
the care they require.
...that mental illness strikes
without regard for economic
class, but the strain is acute for
people with low incomes. That
without access to affordable
treatment, many have a hard
time holding down a job yet do
not qualify as formally disabled,
thus leaving them locked out
from insurance coverage.
...that according to the National
Alliance on Mental Illness,
untreated mental illness costs
the US more than $100 billion
each year in lost productivity.
Grant Korgan is an avid snowmobiler, skier,
world-class kayaker, adventurer, nano-mechanics
professional and husband. On March 5, 2010,
while snowmobiling in the Sierra backcountry,
the Lake Tahoe native fractured his L1 vertebrae,
and suddenly added the world of spinal cord
injury recovery to his list of activities.
You can play a part in assisting
people from our local
communities in getting the help
they need by contributing to
Family Services. Here are two
ways you can help us carry out
our mission:
Without a complex plan of recovery, Grant knew
he needed only one thing – positive energy. His
path of recovery began with complete loss of
feeling and zero movement below his belly
button. Refusing to take “no” for an answer, and
through the help of the High Fives Foundation,
Grant and his wife began a non-stop lifestyle of
exercise brimming with love and support. In one
short year, Grant graduated from wheelchair to
walking with the help of two arm crutches.
1.
Include Family Services in
your will. For more
information about our
planned giving options
contact Alyssa Cholodofsky,
Director of Development &
Communications, via email
at cholodofskya@fswp.org
or by phone at 412-8202050 ext 428.
2.
Contribute to our Helping
Hand Fund which helps
consumers whose needs
might otherwise fall through
the cracks. Contact Laura
Latini at latinil@fswp.org.
Two winters after being paralyzed from the waist
down, Grant found his redemption on a minus45-degree day at the South Pole. In January,
2012, with a few final thrusts of his ski poles,
Grant pushed his body the last 10 yards of a 75mile, 12-day trek across the 9,000-foot
Polar Plateau.
Ultimately, in his words, he plans to “show the
world that everyone should remember to live the
highest version of themselves, and that humanity
Page 3
can choose every day to live their limitless
potential.”
Korgan chronicles his injury and road to recovery
in Two Feet Back, the first in a series of three
autobiographies. His South Pole expedition was
filmed as part of noted director Steven Ziig's
documentary The Push: A South Pole Adventure.
Korgan's challenge was intended to help raise
money for the California-based nonprofit High
Fives Foundation, which helps injured winter
athletes recover and get back to their sport. It
also supports the Reeve Irvine Research Center, a
science research facility at the University of
California-Irvine devoted to the study of the
repair, regeneration, and recovery of function
after spinal cord injury■
Thank you for your support!■
Scenes from the 18th Annual ParentWISE Ice Cream Blast
July 20, 2013, Nevin Arena/Lynch Field in Greensburg
Family Services of Western
Pennsylvania is accredited by the
Council on Accreditation of
Services for Families and
Children, Inc.
Family Services of Western
Pennsylvania is a non-profit
organization declared tax-exempt
by the federal government (under
section 501 C 3 of the IRS code)
and the Commonwealth of Pa.
A copy of our official registration
may be obtained from the
Pennsylvania Department of
State by calling toll free from
within Pennsylvania 800-7320999. Registration does not imply
endorsement All donations to
Family Services of Western
Pennsylvania are tax deductible
to the full extent of the law.
Family Services of Western
Pennsylvania receives funding
from the United Way’s of
Allegheny, Washington and
Westmoreland Counties.
Julie Cawoski, ParentWISE Manager, presenting
award to ice cream flavor winner from Seton Hill
U’s Physician’s Assistant Program
I love my big brother! Or the St. Louis Cardinals...
Spin the wheel, think, win a prize...
Mom and daughter sharing an afternoon together
Looks like Doc Strawberry Cheesecake Bearry
and his assistant from CoventryCares.
It’s the volunteers that make a Blast!
More photos are on the ParentWISE Facebook page. Thanks to all of the organizations that helped us make the 18th
Annual Ice Cream Blast the best yet. And thanks to all of you who joined us for a day of ice cream and fun.
Make your annual contribution to Family Services at fswp.org
Family Affairs
Administrative Office
3230 William Pitt Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
412.820.2050 ph
412.820.2060 fax
fswp@fswp.org email
www.fswp.org website
Bulk Mailing Center
104 Beta Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
Our United Way
donor designation
number is
66
Empower people to reach their full potential...
September 2013
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
PERMIT NO. 29
NEW KENSINGTON,
PA 15068