REORGANIZATION IN KENT CENTER MANAGEMENT (POSTED DEC. 8, 2004)
In order to better meet its development and human resource objectives, The Kent Center has reorganized its Executive Management Team and Development Department. In July 2004, Michael Lichtenstein, Vice President of Administration at The Kent Center for 15 years, stepped into the newly created position of Vice President of Development. He will work with Arlene Stoltz, hired as Director of Development in October, and consultants Dan Barry and Michael Hlady of Daniel R. Barry & Associates, Inc. on a variety of marketing and development initiatives, including a two-year capital campaign.
Tom Powell, the Kent Center’s Director of Human Resources for five years, joined the Executive Management Team in November. His presence on the team will enable a stronger and more strategic partnership between Human Resources and the Center’s service departments.
OPEN HOUSE: November 17, 2004
COMMUNITY LEADERS JOIN THE KENT CENTER IN CEREMONIAL OPENING OF NEW SUPPORTED APARTMENTS
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On Wednesday, November 17th The Kent Center celebrated the opening of 12 newly constructed apartments in West Warwick with an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Several community leaders, including Senator Steve Alves, Representative Timothy Williamson, West Warwick Town Council Member Edward Giroux, and West Warwick Fire Chief Charles Hall, as well as government officials from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), RI Housing Authority and the RI Dept. of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals (MHRH) attended the event. Also in attendance at the standing room only event were Kent Center staff who worked tirelessly for years to see the project through to fruition and several of the building’s new residents who eagerly await moving day around the first of December.
With the opening of the 12-unit apartment building, The Kent Center has expanded its supported apartment program, which provides 24-hour a day, on-site services for people with a severe and persistent mental illness. The supported apartment program enables services to be delivered more effectively to clients whose lack of stable housing often complicates their treatment.
The beautiful new apartment building, which replaced a dilapidated old tenement building, was designed by the Providence-based architectural firm of Durkee Brown Viveiros and Werenfels (www.durkeebrown.com ). The new building is indeed a major improvement and will, it is hoped, ignite even more positive changes for the neighborhood.
Financing for the $2-million project came from HUD, the RI Housing Resources Commission, RI Housing, and MHRH. The Kent Center is grateful to all those who worked with us on this most worthwhile project.
PRESS RELEASE: November 3, 2004
THE KENT CENTER HONORS SOVEREIGN BANK FOR COMMITMENT TO INDIVIDUALS RECOVERING FROM MENTAL ILLNESS
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Warwick, RI At their annual meeting and awards ceremony, The Kent Center presented Sovereign Bank with a Community Partner Award for their efforts in improving the quality of life of individuals recovering from mental illness by providing transitional employment opportunities throughout their organization and in several states. Brenda Diko, Recruiter and Banking Officer at Sovereign Bank in East Providence, accepted the award on behalf of her company. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, also an awardee and a staunch proponent of mental health reform, delivered the keynote address at the event, which was held on October 25th at the West Valley Inn in West Warwick.
Since March 2003, The Kent Center’s Hillsgrove House, an internationally certified program that provides vocational services to adults with mental illness, has worked with the East Providence office of Sovereign Bank and has placed several of its members in transitional employment positions within the bank. Additionally, Brenda Diko, who was instrumental in launching the transitional employment program has joined Hillsgrove House’s advisory board and has initiated a Sovereign employee solicitation campaign in support of Hillsgrove’s members.
“The managers of Sovereign’s Consumer Lending and National Lending Divisions have been supportive of our partnership with The Kent Center’s Hillsgrove House and have embraced the use of Hillsgrove’s members in transitional employment assignments,” stated Ms. Diko. “It has been a very successful and truly rewarding experience for all those involved and we look forward to continuing to work with this program.”
For over 27 years, The Kent Center for Human & Organizational Development (formerly the Kent County Mental Health Center) has provided mental health and substance abuse services to adults, adolescents, children and families living in the communities of Kent County. The Kent Center is guided by a vision and set of principles that are dedicated to improving the quality of life in our communities by promoting growth, mutual interdependence and recovery.
PRESS RELEASE: November 2, 2004
THE KENT CENTER HONORS CONGRESSMAN KENNEDY FOR OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP ON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
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Warwick, RI Perceived by many as the member of Congress most dedicated to advancing legislation designed to improve the quality of life for the roughly 54 million Americans who suffer with mental illness, U.S. Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy received The Kent Center’s Outstanding Legislative Award at their annual meeting and awards ceremony. Congressman Kennedy also delivered the keynote address for the event, at which Sovereign Bank, CHILD, Inc., and journalist John Howell were also honored. The event was held on October 25th at the West Valley Inn in West Warwick.
“I am honored and humbled to receive this award from The Kent Center, an organization that has served as one of the trailblazers for quality mental health care in Rhode Island,” said Kennedy. “For me, reforming our mental health delivery system isn’t just about improving carethough that is a large part of it. It’s about ending the discrimination against the millions of people who suffer from mental illness.”
In Congressman Kennedy’s staunch support of mental health reform, he has sponsored or co-sponsored several important pieces of legislation, including The Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003 to promote full mental health parity and end insurance discrimination against mental illnesses. This legislation has bi-partisan, majority support in both chambers of the Congress, but has yet to be brought up for a vote. Other legislation strongly supported by Congressman Kennedy addresses key mental health issues facing children (The Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act), families (The Keeping Families Together Act), and seniors (The Positive Aging Act).
“Congressman Kennedy’s commitment to mental health treatment and his leadership in the Congress have been exceptional,” stated the Kent Center’s President and CEO, David Lauterbach. “And we at the Kent Center believe him to be a most worthy recipient of this award.”
For over 25 years, The Kent Center for Human & Organizational Development (formerly the Kent County Mental Health Center) has provided mental health and substance abuse services to adults, adolescents, children and families living in the communities of Kent County. The Kent Center is guided by a vision and set of principles that are dedicated to improving the quality of life in our communities by promoting growth, mutual interdependence and recovery.
PRESS RELEASE: September 13, 2004
THE KENT CENTER ACHIEVES THREE YEAR CARF CERTIFICATION
Warwick, RI The Kent Center for Human & Organizational Development (formerly the Kent County Mental Health Center), has been informed by CARF, The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission, that it has been accredited for a period of three years for the following programs: Integrated Behavioral Health Programs Assertive Community Treatment, Case Management, Community-Based Rehabilitation, Community Housing, Crisis Intervention, Outpatient Treatment, Day Treatment; Children and Adolescents Case Management, Crisis Intervention, Outpatient Treatment; Employment Services Employment Services Coordination, Employee Development Services. This represents the highest level of accreditation awarded to organizations that show substantial fulfillment of the standards established by CARF. The Kent Center received special commendation for its psychiatric services.
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PRESS RELEASE: September 13, 2004
HILLSGROVE HOUSE ACHIEVES THREE YEAR ICCD CERTIFICATION
Warwick, RI The Kent Center for Human & Organizational Development (formerly the Kent County Mental Health Center), has been informed by the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD), that Hillsgrove House has been certified for a period of three years. This is the highest level of certification awarded by the ICCD.
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MARCH 2004
Calling all Kent Center Programs!
March Madness is coming to The Kent Center!
Win great prizes at the March 24 all-staff meeting. Celebrate your program or team’s successes and become eligible to win a prize. Be creative and have fun!
Three ways to win:
- Program with the most successes
- The most creative celebration
- The most unusual success story
Contact Quality Circle members Ruby at ext. 216 or Martha K. at ext. 335 before an event for photos and story.
MARCH 31, 2004
“Pasta La Vista, Baby” Fundraiser Held at West Valley Inn
A delicioso spaghetti feast and raffle was held at the West Valley Inn in West Warwick to benefit Hillsgrove House, Rhode Island’s only internationally-certified
clubhouse for disabled adults.
FEBRUARY 1, 2004
Rhode Island’s Community Mental Health Organizations, DMHRH Receive National Recognition for Station Fire Crisis Response
The Rhode Island Council of Community Mental Health Organizations, Inc. is pleased to announce that its member organizations and the RI Department for Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals have been selected to receive the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) Community Crisis Response Award of Excellence. The Award will be presented at the NCCBH Annual Meeting on March 1, 2004, in New Orleans, LA.
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