COMMUNITY VOICE NEWSLETTER
Spring
2015
A Message from the CEO
Dear Friends,
maintain our strong commitment to our
consumers, we are looking for more innovative
It feels like the
service delivery options that utilize a variety of
year has started resources. We are hopeful this approach leads
off with record
to partnerships, integrated or layered services
speed! 2015
and new approaches to programming. This is
looks to be a
a time to focus on stewarding our resources
year of
and capitalize on collaborative relationships.
opportunities
and challenges. Finally, thank you for taking time to read
Later this month we will open our fifth and final through our quarterly newsletter. It gives us a
Thrive by Five Detroit location, where young chance to update friends and family on the
children can participate in daily early education good work that is being done here at
programming. Once open, we will have over
Development Centers. And although the
350 total slots for center and home based
holidays are far behind us, please don’t pass
Head Start and Early Head Start programming. up the story about one particular family’s
It is through comprehensive Early Childhood
experience with our Adopt-a-Family holiday
programming where we can most effectively
program. It is a true testament about how the
prepare youth for academic success, promote holidays can be about so much more than gifts
healthy choices, stabilize families and break
under the tree. The families that received
the cycle of poverty.
holiday food boxes and gifts have not forgotten
the generosity and good will of our donors.
Later this year, we will open our McKenny
Most importantly, they haven’t let go of the
Community Center. Our vision for McKenny is kindness of strangers that touched their lives.
a true-community based facility that provides
With Appreciation,
services for children, adults and families. It will
house a multitude of programs that treat both
physical and mental health issues and can
connect the community with resources that
ease burdens and improve quality of life.
This year also marks a new and uncertain
mental health funding structure. In order to
PAGE 2
INSIDE
THIS
ISSUE:
“TYKEIA - GIVEN THE GIFT
OF HOPE”
Robert E. Shaw, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
PAGE 3
PAGE 4
PAGE 5
*RIVER SPLASH DASH”
“EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR”
“WHY MENTAL HEALTH
MATTERS”
“PARTNERING TO FEED
OUR COMMUNITY”
“Wellness
Through Art”
Tykeia - Given the Gift of Hope
Each year, Development Centers has the difficult,
yet rewarding task of identifying families to be
“adopted” for the holidays. This year, we were able
to select 10 families to be adopted. Tykeia and her
family were one of those lucky families.
Tykeia, a mother of two small children, felt the stress
of trying to make ends meet on a limited budget,
especially during the holiday season. Working parttime, she stated that without Development Center’s
Adopt-a-Family program, this past Christmas would
have been far from merry for her and her little ones.
A very generous group of employees at Ernst & Young teamed up to bring a Merry Christmas to
several of our most vulnerable families, including Tykeia. Families were adopted with hopes that
they could try something new this holiday season, smiling. As she reflects upon this past holiday
season, Tykeia smiles with tears in her eyes and says “I never expected to receive such a
magnitude of gifts for my kids.” Each of her two children had multiple boxes filled with presents,
including new bikes. She went on to say, “They even thought of me?! No one ever thinks of me!”
Tykeia’s “…only regret,” she stated, “[was] not taking a picture of my children when they opened
their gifts.” “However,” she said, wiping her tears, “sometimes when I’m having a bad day, I can
close my eyes and still see them smiling and that picture alone means the world to me!”
We feel so grateful for our generous friends at Ernst and Young. Not only did they provide
Tykeia’s children with more toys and clothes than they could count, they provided Tykeia with so
much more: hope and kindness. They treated Tykeia like a real person, making sure she had
her own gifts to open and letting her know they care about her as a mom and a person.
Tykeia’s youngest child is just one of several hundred children that make up Thrive by Five
Detroit, a combination of high quality Head Start and Early Head Start services. The mission of
Thrive by Five is simple: improve school readiness for Detroit children. Programming options
include full day, part day and home-based services in multiple zip codes across Detroit. Families
also have access to medical and
dental support, developmental
screenings, family stabilization
supports and much more. For further
information, please go to
www.thrivebyfivedetroit.org.
River Splash Dash
Get your running shoes ready for….
The 3rd Annual River Splash Dash!!!!
for July 11, 2015!
In the coming months, we will be sending out
For the past two years, Development Centers
announcements about how you can register to
has hosted the River Splash Dash 5K run, 1 mile participate in the event as well as how you can
walk and Kiddy Dash…
volunteer to help with
located at the very heart
coordinating and
of the internationally
operating the event.
acclaimed Detroit
RiverWalk. Each year,
So feel free to spread the
the event has
word to your friends,
successfully raised funds
family members,
to support Development
colleagues...anyone who
Centers’ Early Child
would enjoy a
Development
memorable summer-style
programming throughout
outing. Enter an event or
the metro-Detroit
take part in the
community.
excitement by cheering on others. The more the
merrier! There will be awards, drawings, prizes
We are very excited to announce that the next
and a special appearance by Paws, the Detroit
River Splash Dash has been officially scheduled Tigers beloved mascot!
Why Mental Health Matters
You’ve probably heard a lot about Mindfulness in
the media recently. Perhaps you think it means
sitting cross-legged on the floor and meditating.
Maybe you think mindfulness means to simply
concentrate on your breathing.
You may have even heard that
mindfulness means to focus on
your bodily sensations? Well
mindfulness is all of those things,
and so much more.
What you may be surprised to hear is that you have
probably been mindful at some point in your life and
didn’t even know it… Have you gone for a long walk,
breathing in the crisp, fresh air and then suddenly
realized that four hours have
passed? Have you listened so
intently to a song that for a
moment, you weren’t thinking
about anything but how beautiful
the melody was? That’s
mindfulness!
Mindfulness is paying attention to
the present moment, without
At the heart of it, mindfulness helps
getting stuck in the past or
people observe the way they think
worrying about the future.
and feel about their experiences,
Mindfulness can be practiced standing, sitting and
whether good or bad. This can really change the
walking. It can be practiced both indoors and out; at way you manage and react to stressful situations,
home, in schools, at work or simply out and about.
giving you a valuable tool to stay mentally healthy.
You can practice mindfulness for 5 minutes or 5
hours – that’s the great thing about mindfulness, you Retrieved from: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/
mentalhealthawarenessweek/what-is-mindfulness/
can tailor it to suit your own needs.
Janine Guastella
Guastella--Employee of the Year
Janine Guastella joined the Development Centers team in April 2013
and she has been a great asset to the agency and consumers ever
since. Her holistic and comprehensive case management skills
coupled with her caring nature for consumers and fellow co-workers
has earned Janine the award of Development Centers Employee of
the Year!
As an Adult Outreach Case Manager, Janine demonstrates a
thorough knowledge of community resources and counseling/social
work practices with high risk populations. She has extensive
expertise in working with persons in crisis and a remarkable ability to
motivate others towards achieving goals.
Janine is always willing go above and beyond to reach out to
consumers in the community and meet the their needs when they
are in crisis. With Janine’s assistance, one of her consumers was recently able to obtain a vehicle
and insurance. Always dependable, Janine offers support to her co-workers when they are
experiencing dilemmas with consumers. She has been an integral member of Development
Centers’ Strategic Planning Committee and has also played an active role in Development
Centers’ Council. During the agency food basket drive in November, Janine’s assistance was
integral in making the event a success. Development Centers is proud to have Janine as a
member of our team. We congratulate and thank her for the wonderful work she does each day!
Partnering to Feed Our Community
Development Centers is proud to announce that in
2014, we provided food to approximately 2,000
families! This would not have been possible
without the support of our partners - Forgotten
Harvest, Quicken Loans, and The Detroit
Leadership Academy - who are all dedicated to
ending hunger in Detroit.
On the fourth Thursday of each month, Forgotten
Harvest delivers approximately 12,000 pounds of
food to the parking lot of The Detroit Leadership
Academy. Development Centers staff, along with
Quicken Loans volunteers and volunteers from the
community, distribute the food to local families in
need. Despite fluctuating and sometimes harsh
weather conditions, staff and volunteers
consistently arrive to serve their fellow community
members and continue to fight hunger.
Development
Centers would like to
express our
appreciation to
Forgotten Harvest,
The Detroit
Leadership
Academy, Quicken
Loans and our
friends and
neighbors for making
this monthly event an
ongoing success.
Quicken Loans Volunteers
warming hearts on a cold
If you have questions
winter day.
about this event or
are interested in
volunteering, please contact Louise Burgan at (313)
255-0900 ext. 7112.
Wellness Through Art
Development
Centers Board of
Directors:
Kathy OperhallPresident
Rodger ProngVP Business
Kendra TobesVP Programming
Dr. Subhash GulatiTreasurer
Kevin OutlandSecretary
Gary Francis
Melvin Houston
Gary Ley
Honorary
Members:
Jeffrey Kravitz
Nancy Wanchik
Please join us for Development Centers’
4th Annual Wellness Through Art Exhibition
to take place on Tuesday, May 19th
at the Redford Township District Library
from 12-7pm!
Over the past two months, participants of the Wellness Through Art initiative have
attended art workshops facilitated by local artists at Development Centers.
These workshops promoted wellness by offering participants an opportunity for
artistic expression, socialization and community building.
MISSION
STATEMENT
Development
Centers is a 501c3
non-profit
organization
committed to
improving the lives
of individuals,
families and the
community by
This event will showcase and celebrate the efforts and talents of the participants
while promoting mental health awareness.
Please come to enjoy free
entertainment and food. We look forward to seeing you there!
meeting behavioral
If you have questions about our Wellness Through Art exhibition or if you would
like to help support our families, please contact Sally Bond at (313) 255-0900 ext.
1218 or at [email protected]. Please check us out at www.develctrs.org to
learn more about the great work we do!
through a
health, social and
vocational needs
continuum of
prevention,
treatment and
training services.
Development Centers
17421 Telegraph Rd.
Detroit, MI 48219
Visit our new website:
www.develctrs.org
Like us on Facebook
Development Centers Services and Locations
Administrative Offices
17421 Telegraph Road
Detroit, MI 48219
(313) 531-2500
ACCESS
Adult Behavioral Services
PATH
24424 West McNichols
Detroit, MI 48219
(313) 531-2500
Child & Adolescent
Services
Early Childhood & Family
Services
Full Circle
School Based Programs
Central Office
17321 Telegraph Road
Detroit, MI 48219
(313) 531-2500
Early Head Start and Head
Start Programs:
McKenny (EHS only)
20833 Pembroke
Detroit, MI 48219
(313) 977-9159
Seven Mile
13735 West Seven Mile Road
Detroit, MI 48235
(313) 307-7000
Winston
16161 Winston
Detroit, MI 48223
(313) 246-6060
Gompers ElementaryMiddle School (HS and
Great Start Readiness)
14450 Burt Road
Detroit, MI 48223
(313) 246-6060
Evergreen (EHS HomeBased)
19900 Evergreen Road
Detroit, MI 48219
(313) 977-9550
School Based Programs:
Cooke Elementary School
18800 Puritan Street
Detroit, MI 48223
(313) 651-3170
Family Alliance For Change
3627 West Vernor
Detroit, MI 48216
(313) 297-2975
Highland Park Renaissance
Academy
Barber Campus
45 East Buena Vista
Highland Park, MI 48203
(313) 865-0356
New Directions Clubhouse
24430 West McNichols
Detroit, MI 48219
(313) 531-0738
North Central Campus
17141 Ryan Road
Detroit, MI 48212
(313) 733-4806
PATH East
15400 West McNichols Ste. 2
Detroit, MI 48235
(313) 967-1503
Sampson-Webber
Leadership Academy
4700 Tireman Street
Detroit, Mi 48203
(313) 897-5961
Gompers ElementaryMiddle School
14450 Burt Road
Detroit, MI 48223
(313) 246-6060