A San Francisco Clinic Shows Promise in Treating Drug-Fueled Public Breakdowns https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/us/san-francisco-drug-mental-health-clinic-lurie.html?searchResultPosition=1 A former Goodwill thrift store now houses an urgent care clinic for people experiencing mental health breakdowns in public. A new facility at 822 Geary Street in San Francisco includes small bedrooms, medical exam rooms and a laundry area. Credit...Minh Connors for The New York Times By Heather Knight Reporting from San Francisco Nov. 9, 2025 For years, they have been a disturbing part of daily life in San Francisco. People stumbling into rushing traffic. Screaming incoherently. Threatening strangers on sidewalks or while riding the bus. What has never been clear is where to take people in the throes of a mental health crisis or drug-fueled hallucinations. Emergency rooms are crowded and chaotic. Jails are intended for people who commit crimes, not those having breakdowns. Sobering centers can provide a space to rest, but do not always offer longer-term care. All of those places often send people back to the streets after a few hours, their cycles of despair continuing. But now, San Francisco is trying something new. In a city known for bureaucracy, it is remarkably straightforward. And if its early success continues, the program may serve as a model for other communities trying to find a middle ground between “live and let live” and “lock them up” as they try to address drug addiction and mental health issues on the street. A facility at 822 Geary Street — in a neighborhood locals call “the Tendernob” because it sits north of the gritty Tenderloin and south of fancy Nob Hill — has morphed from a shuttered Goodwill thrift shop into an urgent care clinic for people having public breakdowns. San Francisco paramedics responded to a 911 call about a woman splayed unconscious on a sidewalk. They roused her and offered to help, but she declined and walked away. Credit...Minh Connors for The New York Times It is always open. It is always staffed with a nurse and several mental health specialists. A doctor is always on call. Police officers, paramedics and street crisis counselors can drop off people who need help at any time. People in crisis can walk in themselves, or be brought in by family members or friends. As of Oct. 1, the state has certified it as an alternative to emergency rooms, which means that ambulances can drop people there. The facility is voluntary, and people can leave whenever they want to, but the aim is to make the patients feel comfortable and decide to stay. The staff also treats patients’ low-level medical needs, prescribes anti-psychotic medication, gives them access to laundry facilities and showers, and provides space to rest. Case managers can connect people to longer-term help, such as a methadone or buprenorphine prescription to fight opioid addictions or a bed in a residential treatment center. The stories of people the clinic has helped so far are heart-rending. There was a homeless woman addicted to methamphetamines who had climbed down onto subway tracks searching for cigarette butts. She hears voices and yells in public without knowing she is doing so, she told caregivers at 822 Geary. They said she is now in a 90-day residential treatment program and on medication. A homeless man, also addicted to drugs, was having delusions related to artificial intelligence and the Church of Scientology, but is now sticking to a treatment plan that includes medical care and counseling, staff members said. The city is partly reimbursed by Medi-Cal, California’s health care program for low-income people, and also uses funds from a business tax approved by voters to pay for homeless services. The facility opened in late April, and new data from its first five months showed that 344 people were admitted, and 88 went on to enter residential treatment programs, a higher percentage than other city programs achieve, the mayor’s office said. Tests for drugs, pregnancy and Covid-19 laid out in an examination room. Credit...Minh Connors for The New York Times The rest returned to their own homes or the homes of family members, or entered a homeless shelter or hospital. Twenty-six people left against medical advice, and 45 were cleared to be discharged, but did not say where they were headed. Keith Humphreys, a Stanford professor who specializes in psychiatry and behavioral health, said most cities offer people experiencing mental health crises and drug addictions just two extreme options: emergency rooms or sobering centers without medical care. He said he was not aware of other cities offering this kind of middle ground. “Innovations that work seem obvious in retrospect,” he said. An examination room. Credit...Minh Connors for The New York Times Mayor Daniel Lurie won his seat after promising to make the city’s streets safer and cleaner. The Covid-19 pandemic and the fentanyl epidemic had proved to be a double whammy, emptying downtown office buildings and turning some sidewalks below them into open-air drug markets and homeless shantytowns. Two people, on average, were dying every day of drug overdoses, a number that remains stubbornly high. There were 38 drug deaths in the city in September. Mr. Lurie insists that sometimes simple solutions work the best for problems that seem intractable. “For years, we’ve overcomplicated things in San Francisco,” Mr. Lurie said in an interview. “We want to meet people where they’re at, and if they’re ready to get treatment, we want them to have it quickly.” London Breed, the former mayor who lost to Mr. Lurie last year, purchased the building that now contains the clinic in late 2021 for $6.3 million. She said it would house the city’s first supervised consumption clinic, where drug users could smoke or inject under supervision. The idea was to get drug use out of public view and to avert potential overdose deaths by having trained specialists on hand with Narcan. But the city attorney told Ms. Breed that the idea was legally dubious, and she never opened the clinic. Her administration instead came up with the idea for an urgent care clinic for people having public breakdowns. But she did not open that version either, fearing it might anger neighbors and harm her re-election chances. So the building sat empty until April. Isaac James, a paramedic, speaks with a person seeking help for addiction in San Francisco. Credit...Minh Connors for The New York Times A person seeking help with addiction checks into 822 Geary Street. Credit...Minh Connors for The New York Times Supervised consumption sites exist in New York City and Providence, R.I., and Burlington, Vt., is close to opening one. But they have not advanced elsewhere in the United States, and Mr. Lurie said San Francisco will not open one on his watch. “It’s not legal,” he said. “It’s not happening.” President Trump has pushed states to go in the opposite direction: opening involuntary treatment centers for homeless drug users. Utah is developing such a plan. Mr. Lurie has tried to avoid antagonizing the president, and said last month that he and Attorney General Pam Bondi have agreed to form a partnership to “combat fentanyl and hold drug traffickers accountable.” The refusal to consider a supervised consumption site and the commitment to a partnership with the Trump administration are part of the Lurie administration’s shift to more moderate drug policies. Mr. Lurie has also supported more arrests of dealers and users and has ceased the practice of handing out free fentanyl smoking supplies unless counseling is included. He has also stressed that recovery is the city’s top goal when it comes to drug policy. Without the patients, 822 Geary Street could be mistaken for a nail salon. Two lines of blue lounge chairs sporting throw pillows and blankets face each other under exposed beams and high-end lighting. It sounds like a library, with people talking in hushed voices. There are a couple of small bedrooms, medical exam rooms and a laundry area. Lockers up front store people’s belongings — no street drugs or other contraband are allowed inside. On a recent day, two women slept in lounge chairs under blankets, both with the red, bloated hands and arms that are telltale signs of injection drug use. A man sprawled on a couch watching TV. Isaac James, a paramedic who has assisted people having public breakdowns in San Francisco for several years, said that it helps to have a new place to take people in crisis. “It’s not the hamster wheel just moving people from one place to the next,” Mr. James said on a recent afternoon, as he sat shotgun in a van that zipped from one street crisis to the next, answering 911 calls. At 3:30 p.m., the team received a call: A man who suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder said he was spiraling. He was trying to stay off drugs and feared that he was about to relapse. The paramedics took him to 822 Geary Street. “Thank you, guys,” the man said. He and Mr. James fist-bumped their goodbyes. The man entered a treatment facility the next day. Heather Knight is a reporter in San Francisco, leading The Times’s coverage of the Bay Area and Northern California.

The Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (PRA) held their 50 th Anniversary Celebration and conference at Drexel University, in Philadelphia, November 10 – 11, 2025. It was a very exciting reunion of pioneers and leaders in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation who had not been together like this since the last in-person conference in 2018. Over the two days, there were three informative panels (research, public policy, and peer support) and 16 amazing workshops. Overall, three main themes were woven through the two-day event that represented the current practices and most urgent needs in the psychosocial rehabilitation field: Peer Support Transition Age Youth Policy and Advocacy   Crestwood was a Gold Sponsor of the event. Speaking was by invitation only, so we were honored to be asked to deliver both a workshop and to participate in a panel discussion. Crestwood’s two presentations fell under the first area listed above – peer support. Alyssa Torres, Peer Support Specialist at Crestwood Fallbrook Healing Center, participated in a panel focusing on “ The Centered Peer: Avoiding the Drift, Embracing the Mission .” While this was the focus of the panel, questions also included other challenging issues currently being experienced in peer employment. Alyssa did a great job of representing West Coast concerns, which were somewhat different from the situations in other states. It was interesting to see the variations in how peer support is implemented in different types of facilities in different geographic areas. Patty Blum, Alyssa Torres, and Lori Ashcraft from Crestwood presented a separate workshop on the advantages of Peer Support Specialists (PSS) working in crisis settings titled, “The Magic of Peers Working in Crisis Settings.” The workshop was well received, and the team provided several handouts to enable attendees to go deeper into understanding the innovative practices that have been developed with peers in a recovery-oriented crisis setting. The theme of Transition-Aged Youth began with a panel of researchers followed by many informative workshops. On the second day, the theme of Policy and Advocacy was set in motion by a panel of experts discussing “Federal Policy Shifts and the Future of Recovery.” This panel provided time and space for the audience to ask questions and talk with experts about current issues. Finally, to round out the theme of Advocacy, Mark Salzer, a long-time friend and colleague of Crestwood presented, “A Just and Necessary Mission: Centering Community Inclusion in Psychiatric Rehabilitation Advocacy.” Of particular interest was a workshop entitled “INSET: Psych Rehab for People Who Don’t Want It,” presented by Melissa Wettengel, MPH. Rita Cronise, a colleague and researcher from New York State, who came along to support the Crestwood team, introduced us to Melissa, who is operating a program in Long Island (New York) that is very much like the new program Crestwood is offering in San Francisco for people who are uncomfortable in traditional treatment settings. Melissa will be doing a podcast with us, and there may be more opportunities to collaborate with Melissa and this innovative program, so stay tuned. A special thank you to Pam Norris who accompanied the team, cheered us on, and helped support us throughout the event. And of course, thanks to Crestwood for supporting this event and making it possible for us to attend, present, and participate. To see photos of the 50 th  Anniversary Celebration, please visit PRA’s website: https://www.psychrehabassociation.org/50th-anniversary-photos

Crestwood Champion Healing Center team prepares for their Out of the Darkness Walk Crestwood was proud to sponsor several American Foundation for Suicide Prevention “Out of the Darkness” Community Walks this fall.   October 4: Santa Barbara Out of the Darkness Community Walk October 19: San Diego Out of the Darkness Community Walk October 25: Sacramento Out of the Darkness Community Walk   These walks are a time to come together as communities and rally around a common cause. Together we help shine a light on the importance of mental wellbeing and suicide prevention. Our Crestwood Champion Healing Center staff shares their experience of participating in the Santa Barbara Out of the Darkness Community Walk:   It was truly a beautiful and impactful experience, walking together along the beach and through the UCSB campus, surrounded by a sense of hope, connection and community.   There were a few speakers who shared their stories of loss, strength and healing. It reminded us of why it is so important to talk about mental health and to support one another!   We had the opportunity to choose beads that represented our personal connections to suicide. It was a simple but powerful way to honor loved ones and show our support.   It certainly was an emotional and inspiring day, and we are so grateful we were able to experience it together as a team!

The 2025 WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) Symposium was held October 5 – 8 in Montana. What a fabulous event! Crestwood was well represented by Shanel Mayo and Greg Parnell, both Directors of Recovery, Education, Advocacy and Leadership, as well as Linda Downing, Recreation Director, and Sheila Schiltz, Recreation Assistant, from the Crestwood Bakersfield campus.   The event kicked off with Shanel leading a creative activity where participants decorated puzzle pieces that represented Wellness, which they put up on the wall. Next, Linda and Sheila led an activity with smaller puzzle pieces where participants wrote down their triggers and then created action plans on the other side. On the second day of the symposium, Mary Ellen Copeland, the founder of WRAP, gave some opening comments and encouragement via Zoom. Later, Greg and Shanel presented “WRAP in the Workplace,” with the newly released WRAP at Work workbook in their hands for the first time – fresh off the printer. It was well received, and the bookstore sold out of all 50 copies they had. Greg also supported Shanel in “The Dynamic Duo: Recreation Therapy and Wellness Recovery Action Planning” – another well received workshop. Linda and Sheila presented, “The Power of Play: Promoting Recovery & Wellness Through Creativity.” Other conference highlights included great presentations by peer supporters from Japan and the well-known Horton Brothers presenting “WRAP on Reentry.” The event closed with a Q & A session with Mary Ellen Copeland and her husband Ed. This was such a wonderful reminder of how WRAP is changing the world, offering us a roadmap for wellness, so we all have the opportunity to be the best version of ourselves. Thank you to everyone involved in putting together such an impactful symposium!

Solano County NAMIWalk team stands ready to cut the ribbon and start their walk. Crestwood is proud to have sponsored and participated in several NAMIWalks this fall season, including:   September 20: NAMIWalks Solano County October 4: NAMIWalks San Luis Obispo County October 18: NAMIWalks Kern County   Throughout the state, we walk together to advocate for mental health for all and to support our friends, family members, and neighbors.   Crestwood San Luis Obispo County PHF shares about their participation in the SLO NAMIWalks:   This is the second year that Crestwood has participated in the San Luis Obispo County NAMIWalks and each year it gets better! It is so wonderful to be a part of a community that is passionate about mental health and bringing not only awareness but support to those that need it. It is a breath of fresh air to be among other like-minded organizations who are so passionate about helping others. SLO truly is an amazing county to collaborate with!

Greg Parnell, Crestwood Director of Recovery, Education, Advocacy and Leadership, attended The Alliance for Rights and Recovery Annual Conference in Callicoon, New York from September 29 – October 1, 2025. One of the Keynote Speakers was Pat Deegan, PhD, (pictured above center) who spoke about the history of the Peer Movement and things we need to continue doing in the face of adversity to keep the Movement strong. It was truly an honor for Greg to meet one of his Peer Heroes whose article, “Recovery as a Journey of the Heart” (1996), was a great inspiration to him. Greg presented his workshop, “Disruption, Discovery and Balance: Finding Balance in Lived Experience & Telling Your Story for Peer Support.” In this interactive and inspiring workshop, attendees explored key areas of personal wellness, including Self-Discovery; Health & Nutrition; Education & Employment; Spirituality; Recreation/Re-Creation; and Relationships, all in a peer-led environment. As in years past, Greg was also invited to lead Zumba sessions for attendees, which is always a big hit!

Music Therapy is playing an important role for clients in their recovery at Crestwood Center Sacramento. And it all starts with the drumming circle that was started by Linda Gerardy, a Registered Music Therapist and Director of Recreation, at the campus. “On our Psychiatric Health Facility (PHF) program, I use music with exercise and movement groups, guided imagery and art, and occasional lyric analysis, but my favorite is a weekly Creative Expression Drumming Group, utilizing various hand drums and hand percussion instruments,” said Linda.  “My mantra to clients is that no musical background is needed to have a successful and enjoyable experience in this group.  It is a rarity to have a client answer “No” to “Do you like music?” and the sound alone has a way of drawing in otherwise reticent clients to see what we’re up to.  The variety of instruments provided, learning their names, sounds and capabilities are intriguing, and in most cases, a source of instant success that is empowering and sustaining.” “The sound of a drum helps us to notice our own heartbeat, the part of us that keeps us alive and vital” The American Music Therapy Association defines Music Therapy as a clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional, and can help promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, express feelings, enhance memory, improve communication, and promote physical rehabilitation for clients. “The sound of a drum helps us to notice our own heartbeat, the part of us that keeps us alive and vital,” explained Linda.  Drumming in a drum circle with others can be meditative, but also energizing and invigorating depending on how it is structured.   Specific studies conducted by professionals in the fields of music therapy and mental health show us that drumming reduces anxiety, tension and stress, helps control chronic pain, boosts the immune system and releases negative feelings, blockages and emotional trauma. “Community effects of drumming allow for an opportunity for participants to feel connected with others and gain a sense of interpersonal support.  This is especially important at our PHF program, where the tendency to isolate is evident with many clients, and the need to develop quick connections to others, who are in similar situations, is needed in order to make all of our program groups more meaningful and beneficial,” said Linda. There are also both cultural and spiritual connections to drumming for several Native American clients who have come through the campus’ doors.  One client patiently informed Linda and her peers that in her tribe’s culture, the same people don’t both dance and drum, so her contribution to the group was to quietly dance her “shawl dance” in a circle around their drumming.  Another client thoroughly enjoyed the drumming, but felt the need to sing as well, teaching them a song in the Chippewa language, after which they were able to provide the rhythmic accompaniment for her singing. Another positive aspect of a drumming group is the ability for clients to serve in a leadership position, a role which is often difficult to provide in an inpatient setting.  They have had clients with extensive musical backgrounds who easily and willingly take on this task, but even those without any formal music experience are usually quite successful in taking a leadership role once Linda has modeled it for them. At Crestwood Center Sacramento, the drumming group will continue to be a wonderful outlet for clients to express themselves through music and helping them with their recovery and wellness goals.  Linda summed it up best by saying, “Music, with a drumming group as one small part, is a medium whereby we can more easily connect with ourselves and others.  It truly is a universal language where people can join together, at times free of the need for verbal communication, to be able to experience life more fully.” Contributed by: Linda Gerardy, RMT Director of Recreation Crestwood Center Sacramento

How many times do we have to see our clients, friends and coworkers receive a diagnosis of breast cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or coronary disease at an early age? How many times do we see these same people pass away from “natural causes” in their 30s, 40s and 50s, while we see the average life span of people grow from 51 years in 1910 to 78 years in 2010? The sad fact is that for those among us living with a mental health diagnosis, the average life expectancy is conservatively 10 years less than those who don’t have that challenge and it also accounts for 8 million deaths worldwide annually.  NAMI and other research suggest that the life expectancy gap is actually 14 to 31 years shorter for those with a mental health issue.  The mortality rate for people with schizophrenia is four times higher than those without this diagnosis and those with a bipolar disorder have a 13 year decreased life expectancy. This is a reflection of our broken system and communities in need of healing and compassion. Much of this early mortality is attributed to “natural causes” such as heart disease, pulmonary diseases, cancer, cerebrovascular, respiratory, and lung diseases. Elizabeth Walker, a researcher at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, writes, "People with mental health disorders have a high prevalence of chronic medical conditions, with fewer resources to manage these conditions. People with mental health challenges are dying prematurely and at a rate far exceeding their peers without this diagnosis.” How many people that we love and care for have to die before their time and how many times do we have to plan services and mourn their passing? This disturbing health crisis is often overlooked. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), life expectancy has increased dramatically, unfortunately, “reductions in mortality are not shared equally in this country across racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups or health-related conditions.” So what can be done to start to change this shocking reality? The first change that is needed is how we deliver services as a society. We need to be honest about the disparities in our culture. Services may be accessible with wheelchair ramps and Braille signage, however, there is no tolerance for people who are disheveled, responding to voices, have ticks, look different or have unpredictable behavior.  This intolerance creates barriers so preventive healthcare, such as routine checkups, mammograms, and teeth cleaning, is out of reach.  These disparities have led to women with mental health issues dying from cancer at twice the rate as the general population, and these women are also three times more likely to die from breast cancer.   Researchers, Colton and Manderscheid, found that the secondary consequences of mental illness are poverty, unemployment, poor housing, stigma, and low self-esteem leading to challenges accessing healthcare, including health professionals’ misdiagnosis, less focus on physical health, low compliance with health screening and treatment, and poor communication.  This has to stop! We have to create pathways to accessibility, prevention and care.  We need to train more primary healthcare providers to work with people with mental health challenges, which is something Crestwood Behavioral Health has been providing to our county stakeholders.  We need to design clinics, waiting rooms and services that are more accepting and inclusive of all marginalized populations. We need to develop more welcoming and validating preventive health screenings and utilization of services. The second thing we need to do in our communities is the creation of Federally Qualified Health Clinic Clubhouses that welcome those with mental health challenges, the homeless, the disenfranchised and their families.  A Clubhouse is first and foremost a local community center that offers people who have mental health challenges the hope and opportunities to achieve their full potential.  During the course of their participation in a Clubhouse, members gain access to opportunities to rejoin the world of friendships, family, employment and education, and to the services and support they may individually need to continue their recovery. A Clubhouse also provides important routine health screenings that are completed in a client-friendly space, rather than in a hospital or sterile clinic setting. Crestwood is currently looking to explore creating a Clubhouse program in San Diego.  Also, a mobile whole health services unit, a companion to the Clubhouse, is needed to bring health screenings and health services to the homeless where they are, whether it is under a bridge, in a shelter or at a wellness center. The next action that needs to be taken is to launch a statewide Wellness and Resiliency Initiative similar to the one Crestwood has adopted in all of our programs that includes serving heart-healthy diets and creating client-oriented cookbooks with heart-heathy recipes and shopping guides. It includes planting organic gardens and using the farm to table approach in our meals. It is bringing Zumba and Yoga to every campus and community.  It is having exercise tracks in yards that used to be used for smoke breaks. At Crestwood we support smoking cessation, sobriety and meaningful roles to help replace addiction and isolation. Crestwood also teaches meditation and mindfulness to our clients which lowers heart rate, reduces risk of heart disease and increases pulmonary capacity. Another action we can take is to live healthier lives as healthcare providers. At Crestwood we use Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) to support our workforce, with staff being paid for time off the floor to attend WRAP groups. We provide mental health days, as well as sick days and expect our staff to do routine health screenings – modeling wellness. We employ meditation and mindfulness practices at all staff meetings and events to encourage our staff to practice mindfulness as a health and wellness practice. At Crestwood we will continue to do our part by looking for and incorporating innovative health and wellness measures into our programs.  We can truly practice self-care each day, creating a compassionate community of people caring for themselves and others. This may not move the needle on the mortality rate very quickly; however, it is a promising start that we hope will begin to create healthier, longer lives for our clients, friends and coworkers. Contributed by: Patty Blum, PhD Crestwood Vice President

Drumming has been a tool used in many cultures for many things, from communication, holistic rituals, community gatherings, and healing.   People have had an intimate connection with the drum since discovering that the beat of the drum is analogous to the beat of the human heart.  As a universal, vibrational language, the drumbeat communes with the Earth and all of her creatures. There have been numerous research studies conducted about the power of drumming and the significant effects it can have on the human spirit and body.  Drumming is now being used to help people with Alzheimer’s, children with autism, and teens with emotional dysregulation.  Large corporations have also used drumming to help employees focus attention and improve spirits. Research further suggests that drumming can serve as a distraction from pain and grief by enabling communication between the cerebral hemispheres, using the physical transmission of rhythmic energy.  This allows one to connect with their own spirit at a deeper, more intimate level, making it easier to access feelings of insight, understanding, certainty, conviction and truth. Drum circles provide an opportunity to connect with groups of like-minded people, including those struggling to find their own personal resonance.  Individuals may make this connection by listening and feeling the pulse of the drum, and working out their own personal rhythm in contribution. Sound vibrations have been known to resonate through every cell in the body, freeing energy blockages that can form as a result of unexpressed feelings and emotions.  Drumming helps emphasize self-expression, which can aid in an individual’s ability to address emotional health and issues with conflict and even violence.  Participants are given the opportunity to present and receive positive feedback.  It can help us find our center and become more mindful of the present.  Playing in a drum circle can create a magical paradox of moving from the awareness of being out of one’s body to being firmly grounded in the moment.  Group drumming can complement traditional talk therapy, providing a vehicle for personal transformation, as well as community building. Pam Akins, LMFT, a Clinical Consultant at Crestwood American River Psychiatric Health Facility, said, “Witnessing the responses of our clients to participation in a drum circle has been a personal growth experience for me.  As a clinician, I have had to give up control of the circle and allow the drummers to take what was needed and give as they were able to.  The main attraction is the drum, center of the circle and the heart of healing.  The circle creates unity and a sense of community among the participants. In the PHF setting, some clients are active participants, while others may be observers, but it is evident that some type of shift occurs with everyone involved, even if only momentarily.” “The most common initial response is that the client does not know how to play a drum or keep a rhythm, but, once an attempt is made, I can see the client respond to the beat that they create, and start to become increasingly more confident.  Instruments are eagerly shared and exchanged.  The circle creates unity and a sense of community among the participants. Playing along and sharing their hearts, helps the group become centered and calm,” explained Pam. The experience of conducting a drum circle at a PHF, with clients who are struggling with finding wholeness, has shown Pam and the staff the powerful, amazing and positive effect that beating on a hollowed wooden circle, covered by a tightly stretched membrane, can have. Contributed by: Pam Akins, LMFT, Clinical Consultant, Crestwood American River PHF and Nancy Soncrant, Campus Administrator, Crestwood American River

When Sam Kim joined the Crestwood Manor Alameda team as Program Director, he brought to their community the gift of music.  Sam believes that music is an important part of daily life for many people and very quickly found out that the same is true for the residents of Crestwood Manor.  He decided to organize a music group at the facility called, the Sounds of Crestwood. The group meets every Friday in the facility’s community center and has grown from a few people, to a full orchestra of residents who play, sing, dance, listen and write music, or even simply come to turn music sheets for others and to just enjoy the festive atmosphere. Sam has managed to grow the facility’s inventory of instruments to now include percussion, guitars, ukulele, bass, electric piano, harmonica and even a violin. People have donated used instruments and they were also able to purchase some inexpensively. “Everyone can be an artist or musician once they step into the Sounds of Crestwood and express their creativity and talent,” said Sam. The staff has seen so many positive results, such as with residents who are reluctant to participate in other groups at the facility, now can’t wait for the Sounds of Crestwood on Fridays. It has also helped new residents to feel right at home and make peer connections more easily and accessible. One of their new residents said, “I can tell I am going to like this place already because music is my thing!” Other residents are reporting feeling joyful and proud that they can share their talent with others. Another resident stated, “I was a professional singer when I was young. The Sounds of Crestwood reminds me of the good old days.” “It’s a wonderful way for people to share in a safe and encouraging atmosphere. It’s really amazing the talent we have in our community and the memories shared by people who used to play or used to write music that are now so excited to have this wonderful venue to do it again.  It’s also an environment that helps people make friends with others who share a common interest in music,” said Sam. At Crestwood Manor Alameda, Sam and his musical group plan to continue to share, inspire and uplift both residents and staff alike with the beautiful Sounds of Crestwood. Contributed by: Samuel Kim, MA. Program Director Crestwood Manor Alameda

The staff at Idylwood Care Center is always looking for new ways to support the well-being of their residents.  Recently, Dietary and Occupational Therapy staff and interns came together to design and launch the Garden to Table program.  This program guides residents in the gardening of seasonal vegetables and herbs, provides education on plants, promotes physical activity, encourages healthful nutrition and supports emotional and mental well-being. The daily schedule for the program begins with staff sharing with residents a variety of information on nutrition, food basics and overall health and well-being strategies.  Next they demonstrate how-to gardening fundamentals such as weeding, watering, pruning and harvesting. In addition to working in the garden, residents are also encouraged to walk through the garden and get moderate sun exposure during sitting breaks. This give them an opportunity to enjoy the garden, while increasing their Vitamin D levels through sun exposure, which helps with calcium absorption to improve bone density and maintain muscle and nerve function. Residents are also involved from the beginning in the preparation of the garden by helping to choose what types of vegetables to plant such as peppers, basil and tomatoes.  When it is time to harvest the vegetables and herbs, residents are able to help choose a favorite recipe to use them in, so they can enjoy first-hand the delicious benefit of what they have grown. The Garden to Table program has been successful in helping residents to increase their group participation and peer interaction; improve their overall well-being and fitness by increasing strength and dexterity; increase their moderate sun exposure time and Vitamin D levels; and improve their weight management and lab levels. The facility plans to expand their Garden to Table program by having Dietary and Occupational Therapy interns and staff collaborate with residents to create new recipes for what they have grown and also donate a part of their garden produce to local community outreach programs. By sharing their garden bounty with the community, the hopes are that the residents will feel a sense of accomplishment and empowerment that they are making a difference in other people’s lives. With all of these amazing benefits, the Garden to Table program is having an overall positive effect on the mind, body and spirit of the residents at Idylwood Care Center. Contributed by: Sandy Narasimhan MS,RD,CSG and Rashmi Rajadhyax PD,OTR/L

The day Crestwood Behavioral Health opened the Kingsburg Healing Center was one of those beautiful moments of transformation. We spend much of our lives working with people and ourselves on transformation, it could be changing a small behavior or a big one, and it may mean adding an exercise routine, revising a Recovery Service Plan, or helping a person find a job.  Transformation may also be seen in the developing of a new program, which was the central theme in the opening our Kingsburg Healing Center. Transformation for Kingsburg Healing Center began with rehabilitating an old building that had been vacant and lifeless for decades, into a beautiful, warm, welcoming facility. It involved designing a new program that incorporates all of our recovery services such as Homelike Environments, Mind, Body, and Spirit Wellness, Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Trauma-Informed Approaches.  The development of the Kingsburg Healing Center also gave us a chance to get to know the neighbors and community leaders and to start becoming part of such a wonderful community. Opening week for our Kingsburg Healing Center was very exciting and included an Open House on January 27, where community leaders and neighbors were welcomed in to tour the newly transformed facility and meet the staff. The event began by a warm blessing from Father Gregory, from the Holy Family Parish.  Kingsburg Mayor, Bruce Blayney, then provided opening words and other local community leaders such as Kingsburg District Hospital Board Members Glenn Snyder, Robert Johnson and Arlie Rogers, as well as Kingsburg City Manager, Alex Henderson also added their own words of welcome. Dawan Utecht, Director of Fresno County Behavioral Health, shared her kind words with the group.  Many other community leaders were also in attendance such as City Council Members Staci Smith and Michelle Roman; Chief of Police Neil Dadian; and Steve Safarjian, local broker/owner of RPS Real Estate. The Open House was a great success with more than 200 community members attending.  One Kingsburg citizen, Mrs. Johnson, commented, “Thank you so much for letting us tour the facility.  Crestwood has done an amazing job transforming the old Hospital. My husband and I are excited to leave here and tell all our friends what the facility looks like and what we learned from the tour.”  And another Kingsburg citizen, Mr. Lopez, said, “Your staff was so nice and gave us a lot of great information about the facility during our tour. Thank you for giving the community a chance to see for ourselves all the hard work that has gone into the building and understanding what your company stands for.” So one week later on February 1, after two years of planning, challenges, hearings and a lot of hard work, the Kingsburg Healing Center was ready to open for clients!  On that opening day it was a gift to have five clients who were warmly received in our welcome room; who sat watching our fish tank; who walked in our yard; who found a space for a quiet time in our serenity room; who shared in delicious homemade lasagna; and who  slept on new beautiful, comfortable beds. These five people were now on a journey to start their own recovery transformation. Kingsburg Healing Center is not only a transformation of an old building into a beautiful new program; it also is the beginning transformation in the lives of our clients and their families.  “I want you to know that I think the Kingsburg Healing Center is such a loving and warm place.  It is a wonderful place for my daughter.  She is doing so much better now that she is here,” said one client’s mother. No longer will clients in Fresno County have to travel hundreds of miles for mental health services and no longer will their families have to make long trips to visit them. “I wish this place had been here sooner, it would have been nice to have our son here sooner.  Now that he is back in Fresno County we can see him anytime we want and we know it will help him get better,” said one client’s parents.  The transformations at Kingsburg Healing Center are just beginning. Contributed by: Patty Blum, PhD Crestwood Vice President