The Baby Therese Rose / Sara Chavez Kids Corner was unveiled today at the Ribbon Cutting ceremony at the Alhambra Police Department. With press on hand to document the event, Mary Glenn did the honors and officially made the room "open for business."
Pictures from the event can be viewed by clicking on the slideshow below:
An article about the room ran in the Pasadena Star-News.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
My story and the Mental Health Task Force Connection
by Esther Siu (Mental Health Liason)
I like to go back in my early days and find traces of my early life working with community back home in Hong Kong. The earliest experience I remembered was in middle school when I joined an after school program. I was assigned to read to the blind at a Catholic center while the blind person typed it in Braille. I remember how nervous I was at the beginning and how they laughed and thanked me for what I did. That helped and made me understand, they were just like me. As I became a young adult, I had a friend who was a social worker working with mentally challenged children. I went to visit her and spend the morning at the center with the children. The staff there showed a lot of patience and love. I can tell the children felt it because they were laughing and playing. A morning well spent and perhaps led me to think of what I wanted to do later on in life. Becoming part of Kingdom Causes Alhambra, gave me the opportunity to continue some of these early beginnings as I work with the mental health task force in the city of Alhambra.
Mental health awareness became an interest of mine because I have an uncle who struggled with schizophrenia for a good part of his life. Before my grandfather passed away, he told the brothers and sisters to take care of their youngest and most tender brother. So they took turns taking care of him up till the very end. I had the privilege to visit Uncle Chester once at the institution where he was hospitalized. It was quite a challenge to be among so many people with mental health illness issues. When my uncle passed away, he left behind some money. Since he had no children, the money was distributed among the nieces and nephews. I used it to subsidize my tuition at Fuller. I tell his story because I owe him a “thank you.” I took comfort that many people will benefit from what he gave me. This is how I would remember him.
by Esther Siu (Mental Health Liason)
I like to go back in my early days and find traces of my early life working with community back home in Hong Kong. The earliest experience I remembered was in middle school when I joined an after school program. I was assigned to read to the blind at a Catholic center while the blind person typed it in Braille. I remember how nervous I was at the beginning and how they laughed and thanked me for what I did. That helped and made me understand, they were just like me. As I became a young adult, I had a friend who was a social worker working with mentally challenged children. I went to visit her and spend the morning at the center with the children. The staff there showed a lot of patience and love. I can tell the children felt it because they were laughing and playing. A morning well spent and perhaps led me to think of what I wanted to do later on in life. Becoming part of Kingdom Causes Alhambra, gave me the opportunity to continue some of these early beginnings as I work with the mental health task force in the city of Alhambra.
Mental health awareness became an interest of mine because I have an uncle who struggled with schizophrenia for a good part of his life. Before my grandfather passed away, he told the brothers and sisters to take care of their youngest and most tender brother. So they took turns taking care of him up till the very end. I had the privilege to visit Uncle Chester once at the institution where he was hospitalized. It was quite a challenge to be among so many people with mental health illness issues. When my uncle passed away, he left behind some money. Since he had no children, the money was distributed among the nieces and nephews. I used it to subsidize my tuition at Fuller. I tell his story because I owe him a “thank you.” I took comfort that many people will benefit from what he gave me. This is how I would remember him.
Monday, June 23, 2008
CITY SPOTLIGHT
Person of the Month for June:
Ruben Miramontes and Alhambra volunteers
By Dawn Miller
For the month of June, Kingdom Causes is spotlighting 10-year-old Ruben Miramontes and the community members of Alhambra who have rallied around his family, his mom Valerie Franco and Ruben’s 8-year-old sister and 16-year-old brother, to help the family in a difficult time. Ruben is afflicted with ALD a degenerative disease made famous by the movie, Lorenzo’s Oil.
Adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, is a genetically determined neurological disorder that affects 1 in every 17,900 boys worldwide. The presentation of symptoms occurs between the ages of 4 and 10, and affects the brain with demyelination. Ruben is losing his eyesight and also his hearing.
Ruben’s mom is a County employee and had already exhausted her sick and vacation leave. After being told that her son had only months to live, she has taken an extended leave of absence to care for him and spend as much time with him as possible. The family has been meeting all their bills through donations from friends and co-workers, but is expecting more doctors’ bills and funeral expenses.
On June 21st, members of the San Gabriel Valley YMCA, the Alhambra Firefighters, Alhambra Autokraft and the Alhambra community, including Councilman Gary Yamauchi, held a carwash at the San Gabriel Valley YMCA and Alhambra Autokraft to raise funds for Ruben’s medical care and his family’s ongoing financial need. They were assisted by Alhambra city Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, students from the Y and local schools and other members of the community. This was a great example of people in the community collaborating to make a difference for a family in need. They volunteers we are spotlighting did so much to “inspire”, “connect” and “mobilize” the community around a worthy cause. For their hard work, we want to spotlight all who came out to help Ruben’s family with the challenging months ahead!
Person of the Month for June:
Ruben Miramontes and Alhambra volunteers
By Dawn Miller
For the month of June, Kingdom Causes is spotlighting 10-year-old Ruben Miramontes and the community members of Alhambra who have rallied around his family, his mom Valerie Franco and Ruben’s 8-year-old sister and 16-year-old brother, to help the family in a difficult time. Ruben is afflicted with ALD a degenerative disease made famous by the movie, Lorenzo’s Oil.
Adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, is a genetically determined neurological disorder that affects 1 in every 17,900 boys worldwide. The presentation of symptoms occurs between the ages of 4 and 10, and affects the brain with demyelination. Ruben is losing his eyesight and also his hearing.
Ruben’s mom is a County employee and had already exhausted her sick and vacation leave. After being told that her son had only months to live, she has taken an extended leave of absence to care for him and spend as much time with him as possible. The family has been meeting all their bills through donations from friends and co-workers, but is expecting more doctors’ bills and funeral expenses.
On June 21st, members of the San Gabriel Valley YMCA, the Alhambra Firefighters, Alhambra Autokraft and the Alhambra community, including Councilman Gary Yamauchi, held a carwash at the San Gabriel Valley YMCA and Alhambra Autokraft to raise funds for Ruben’s medical care and his family’s ongoing financial need. They were assisted by Alhambra city Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, students from the Y and local schools and other members of the community. This was a great example of people in the community collaborating to make a difference for a family in need. They volunteers we are spotlighting did so much to “inspire”, “connect” and “mobilize” the community around a worthy cause. For their hard work, we want to spotlight all who came out to help Ruben’s family with the challenging months ahead!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Alhambra PD Kid's Corner Funds Raised
Hello everyone!
The Children's Room (now named the Kid's Corner) is coming along nicely. This past Saturday we had some volunteers come and help us unload all the furniture, put the TV on its bracket, cover our temporary sofa (we have a really cool one ordered) and put all our toys and books in their place. Thanks to those that came out!
We are still in need of funds and donations for the room. Check out the pictures below and let us know if you like to donate toward anything on our wishlist. An updated wishlist can be found under the pictures!
Peace,
Dawn
Hello everyone!
The Children's Room (now named the Kid's Corner) is coming along nicely. This past Saturday we had some volunteers come and help us unload all the furniture, put the TV on its bracket, cover our temporary sofa (we have a really cool one ordered) and put all our toys and books in their place. Thanks to those that came out!
We are still in need of funds and donations for the room. Check out the pictures below and let us know if you like to donate toward anything on our wishlist. An updated wishlist can be found under the pictures!
Peace,
Dawn
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
7th Annual Mental Health Conference for Faith Leaders
by Esther Siu, City Intern
Last Thursday June 5, 2008, Mary and I attended the 7th Annual Mental health Conference for Faith Leaders, 2008. The title of the Conference was, “Empowering Individuals, Families and Communities”. The conference took place at the California Endowment Building located next to the Union Station at the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The event was free and it drew a crowd of about 250 leaders of different faith communities. According to the conference spokesperson, this was by far the largest gathering. The support indicated the concern for mental health wellness across religious lines.
After the opening ceremony, the first presenter, Craig Rennebohm, the founder of “Mental Health Chaplaincy”, spoke. The title of his talk was, “Out of Depths: Mental Illness, Spirituality and Caring Community”. Dr. Rennebohm has worked with the homeless population in Seattle, Washington, many of whom have mental illnesses. He shared passionately about his own struggle with depression. Then he gave suggestions on how to befriend those with mental illnesses living on the streets. They are often very lonely. The key phrases he used were “coming along side” and “having/demonstrating compassion”. It reminded me of Jesus as he reached out to the leper who wanted to be healed. The acceptance and embrace were as important to the leper as the actually healing.
After a sumptuous buffet lunch and some networking, the afternoon session began. The presenter was Rev. Siang-Yang Tan, PhD. The title of his talk was "A Spiritual Perspective on Mental Illness: Sin, Sickness, or Satan”. Dr. Tan said there was a time when all mental illnesses were thought of as demonic possession. Then there was a time when people thought mental illness was a myth. In his view, both were wrong. In order to accurately diagnosis the mental illness, Dr. Tan suggested that we needed to know the root causes. It could be brought on by guilt, a moral cause, or an illness such as the chemical imbalance of the brain or an evil spirit. In each of these situations, the treatment should be different.
The afternoon program included the interfaith panel and other workshops. It is important for the faith community and mental health community to work together for wholeness of the individual and community. Both play vital roles in the healing and wholeness process. Our hope is to be instrument’s of God’s shalom.
by Esther Siu, City Intern
Last Thursday June 5, 2008, Mary and I attended the 7th Annual Mental health Conference for Faith Leaders, 2008. The title of the Conference was, “Empowering Individuals, Families and Communities”. The conference took place at the California Endowment Building located next to the Union Station at the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The event was free and it drew a crowd of about 250 leaders of different faith communities. According to the conference spokesperson, this was by far the largest gathering. The support indicated the concern for mental health wellness across religious lines.
After the opening ceremony, the first presenter, Craig Rennebohm, the founder of “Mental Health Chaplaincy”, spoke. The title of his talk was, “Out of Depths: Mental Illness, Spirituality and Caring Community”. Dr. Rennebohm has worked with the homeless population in Seattle, Washington, many of whom have mental illnesses. He shared passionately about his own struggle with depression. Then he gave suggestions on how to befriend those with mental illnesses living on the streets. They are often very lonely. The key phrases he used were “coming along side” and “having/demonstrating compassion”. It reminded me of Jesus as he reached out to the leper who wanted to be healed. The acceptance and embrace were as important to the leper as the actually healing.
After a sumptuous buffet lunch and some networking, the afternoon session began. The presenter was Rev. Siang-Yang Tan, PhD. The title of his talk was "A Spiritual Perspective on Mental Illness: Sin, Sickness, or Satan”. Dr. Tan said there was a time when all mental illnesses were thought of as demonic possession. Then there was a time when people thought mental illness was a myth. In his view, both were wrong. In order to accurately diagnosis the mental illness, Dr. Tan suggested that we needed to know the root causes. It could be brought on by guilt, a moral cause, or an illness such as the chemical imbalance of the brain or an evil spirit. In each of these situations, the treatment should be different.
The afternoon program included the interfaith panel and other workshops. It is important for the faith community and mental health community to work together for wholeness of the individual and community. Both play vital roles in the healing and wholeness process. Our hope is to be instrument’s of God’s shalom.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Alhambra Police Dept Kid's Corner is almost ready! A great group of Kingdom Causes volunteers worked this past Saturday afternoon to clean all the old furnishings out of the room and get it re-painted and ready for all the new furniture, toys and games that are being donated or funded by members of our community. Please contact our office if you'd like to help with the next work day on June 14th. Below is an updated list of items we still need and a fundraising meter showing how close we are to our goal of completing the room. Thanks for all your support!!
By Dawn Miller
By Dawn Miller
Monday, June 02, 2008
As We Journey Together in Alhambra:
Mental Health Task Force Roundtable Discussion with Alhambra Pastors
May 22, 2008 by Esther Siu (City Intern)
Last Thursday, May 22, at 9 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Alhambra, about 25 Alhambra Pastors gathered together for a roundtable discussion hosted by the Mental Health Task Force of Kingdom Causes Alhambra. I was excited to greet them as they pulled up at the parking lot and walked into the room. For those of us who did not get a chance to have breakfast, we were delighted to find hot coffee and fresh donuts waiting for us! We felt immediately at home.
Once settled, Mary Glenn, Executive Director of Kingdom Causes Alhambra, gave a brief introduction and made everyone felt welcomed. From the surveys we collected, there were main issues to be discussed. We divided the topics. Mary, who had been a youth pastor and Dr. Christine Wong whose expertise is in youth and family hosted the first table. The discussions centered on youth issues such as gang related activities in the schools and cross cultural relationship in the families. There were a lot of good discussions as Pastors shared their experiences and situation in their congregations. The question was, “How do we make the Gospel message relevant to the young people and serve families more effectively?” It is a real challenge to church leaders since the community of Alhambra is quite diverse.
Laura Depp, a Licensed Marriage and Family Counselor and Kathy Ermeling, a Certified Grief Counselor hosted the second table. Their discussions centered on the topic of depression. Laura gave a general introduction on how to recognize depression while Kathy spoke on specific situations such as depression among the elderly and those who are grieving. There was a lot of interest in the material presented and good sharing from Pastors. The discussion ended with a question and answer time. Everyone went away having a better grasp of this illness that has touched and changed many people’s lives. Time went by quickly. After the discussions, we broke into small groups for prayer.
It was a wonderful to be part of this experience. The Pastors of Alhambra came together with a sprit of unity. I am reminded of Nehemiah who prayed and encouraged the people of Jerusalem to begin building the city wall as it lay in ruins. The people responded, ‘“let us start building,” So they committed themselves to the common good.’ (Nehemiah 2:17, 18) We too have begun to rebuild our city walls!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
CITY SPOTLIGHT
Person of the Month for May:
Joe "Peppy" Sciarra
Joe "Peppy" Sciarra is the poster boy for heart health and getting Alhambra residents involved in raising money for the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Peppy had his own eye-opening experience with heart health when he had chest pains and an angioplasty in 1996. He says he recognized the signs of his heart trouble after a presentation at an Alhambra Rotary Club meeting. As a result, he started supporting the Heart Institute which birthed the Alhambra Heart Walk with support from the Alhambra Rotary Club members. A community event for many years, this year’s Heart Walk was a tremendous success with over $7,000 raised for the children’s hospital. In speaking with Peppy and his wife, Lucille, after a recent Rotary meeting, it is clear that he is touched by how the Children’s Hospital serves patients without regard to their ability to pay for medical services. He is committed to raising money for this worthy cause through the Annual Heart Walk and getting community members motivated to care for their own and their families’ heart health. Peppy credits the Rotary club and a team of people for the success of the Heart Walk, not wanting to take the credit for the event himself and because he champions a spirit of community ownership and heart health awareness on behalf of all of Alhambra, Peppy is our City Spotlight Person of the month. He exemplifies our motto at Kingdom Causes of inspiring, connecting and mobilizing people for community transformation.
Monday, May 12, 2008
AmeriCorps - our new partner
by Dawn Miller
I attended the AmeriCorps orientation on Monday May 5th through Friday May 9th in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA as a part of Kingdom Causes Alhambra's new partnership with AmeriCorps. Other branches of Kingdom Causes in Long Beach and elsewhere have been partnered with AmeriCorps in their community development efforts for a few years now. With this new partnership, Alhambra can utilize our support from the CRWRC (Christian Reformed World Relief Committee) and AmeriCorps to target specific neighborhoods for community development.
Our target neighborhood will include the downtown core, including the Police Dept, City Hall, the Alhambra municipal courts, Alhambra high school and the new city library, which is still under construction. It will also include a portion of the neighborhood south of the downtown core and focus on getting these residents connected with the city agencies and services whose purpose is to serve them.
The Americorps training was an overview and introduction to the program for participants (such as myself!) for the first two days and then 1st year participants went through Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) training. This kind of community development focuses on the assets already existent in a community and uses community mobilizers to connect people and catalyze the use of those assets. Another way to describe this is strengths-based community development. Similar to the StrengthsFinder test, which focuses on leaders' strengths and how to capitalize on them, ABCD focuses on the assets the community already has and looks to community organizers to help connect people with those assets and get people collaborating to make a better community.
From Garfield Ave.(East) to 4th St. (West) and Woodward Ave.(North) to Misson Rd. (South) - this is our target neighborhood.
View Larger Map
by Dawn Miller
I attended the AmeriCorps orientation on Monday May 5th through Friday May 9th in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA as a part of Kingdom Causes Alhambra's new partnership with AmeriCorps. Other branches of Kingdom Causes in Long Beach and elsewhere have been partnered with AmeriCorps in their community development efforts for a few years now. With this new partnership, Alhambra can utilize our support from the CRWRC (Christian Reformed World Relief Committee) and AmeriCorps to target specific neighborhoods for community development.
Our target neighborhood will include the downtown core, including the Police Dept, City Hall, the Alhambra municipal courts, Alhambra high school and the new city library, which is still under construction. It will also include a portion of the neighborhood south of the downtown core and focus on getting these residents connected with the city agencies and services whose purpose is to serve them.
The Americorps training was an overview and introduction to the program for participants (such as myself!) for the first two days and then 1st year participants went through Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) training. This kind of community development focuses on the assets already existent in a community and uses community mobilizers to connect people and catalyze the use of those assets. Another way to describe this is strengths-based community development. Similar to the StrengthsFinder test, which focuses on leaders' strengths and how to capitalize on them, ABCD focuses on the assets the community already has and looks to community organizers to help connect people with those assets and get people collaborating to make a better community.
From Garfield Ave.(East) to 4th St. (West) and Woodward Ave.(North) to Misson Rd. (South) - this is our target neighborhood.
View Larger Map
Thursday, May 01, 2008
The April 28th (2008) City Council Meeting at City Hall in Alhambra was an opportunity for community members to voice their concerns over a number of issues impacting the community. The meeting kicked off with about 60 members of the Asian Youth Center and Friends of Clean Air sharing with the Council various statistics and commentary about the negative health effects of secondhand smoke and arguing for a ban on smoking in Alhambra city parks. There were also a number of other issues discussed including the relocation of a neighborhood church, the installation of new stop signs, work on the Alhambra Public Library and how city funds are allocated for work in the city. All of these issues impact all who reside and work in Alhambra.
By attending City Council meetings you get a front row seat to see how decisions are made, ordinances put into place and how you as a resident of Alhambra can be a part of the process. It’s clear the Council is genuinely interested in hearing from the public on a variety of matters. However, there were few members of the faith community there to weigh in on these topics of concern. We can make an impact in our city by getting involved in these meetings, as citizens raise issues and the City Council responds to the challenges facing our city. City Council meetings are on alternating Monday nights from 7-9 PM in the Council Chambers at City Hall. They are open to the public and you may address the Council directly by submitting a blue card during the open session of the meeting. You will be called on and you have five minutes to present your remarks.
I encourage you to attend one of these meetings. It really opened my eyes to many things going on in our city that we can be praying for and getting involved with. It’s also a reminder of how our democratic political process needs the input of all of its citizens, especially those committed to seeing God's Shalom come to our city.
By Dawn Miller
DawnM@kingdomcauses.org
By attending City Council meetings you get a front row seat to see how decisions are made, ordinances put into place and how you as a resident of Alhambra can be a part of the process. It’s clear the Council is genuinely interested in hearing from the public on a variety of matters. However, there were few members of the faith community there to weigh in on these topics of concern. We can make an impact in our city by getting involved in these meetings, as citizens raise issues and the City Council responds to the challenges facing our city. City Council meetings are on alternating Monday nights from 7-9 PM in the Council Chambers at City Hall. They are open to the public and you may address the Council directly by submitting a blue card during the open session of the meeting. You will be called on and you have five minutes to present your remarks.
I encourage you to attend one of these meetings. It really opened my eyes to many things going on in our city that we can be praying for and getting involved with. It’s also a reminder of how our democratic political process needs the input of all of its citizens, especially those committed to seeing God's Shalom come to our city.
By Dawn Miller
DawnM@kingdomcauses.org
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Hi.
Dawn here to let you know that I'm working on getting the word out about the renovation we're doing on the Children's Room at the Alhambra Police Department. For more info, see the Fact Sheet on the project below:
(click on the top right corner to open a larger version)
or email me and let us know how you'd like to participate.
There are opportunities to donate funds for specific items; toys, books and furniture for the room; or help out on a work day to renovate the room.
Blessings to you as you consider how you might participate in this project!
Dawn here to let you know that I'm working on getting the word out about the renovation we're doing on the Children's Room at the Alhambra Police Department. For more info, see the Fact Sheet on the project below:
(click on the top right corner to open a larger version)
or email me and let us know how you'd like to participate.
There are opportunities to donate funds for specific items; toys, books and furniture for the room; or help out on a work day to renovate the room.
Blessings to you as you consider how you might participate in this project!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
We Care
by Esther Siu, City Intern
by Esther Siu, City Intern
During a brief stay in Hong Kong back in mid December last year, I noticed how busy people were. The fast pace, long working hours and tight living conditions can take their toll on folks. It was not difficult to notice the various ways people tried to release some of their stresses.
One morning while walking to a museum, my husband and I took the shortcut through an alley. Two men were cursing at each other over a parking space and it turned into a brawl. One afternoon at the metro station, a woman was yelling at her husband on her cell phone. While waiting for our turn at the ATM machines, a young man kicked the door in frustration on his way out. But the story that troubled me most took place on Christmas day. A woman was killed by an oncoming train as she jumped off the platform in what seemed like a suicide attempt. It saddened me because she had chosen to end her life on Christmas day. Her circumstances must be very difficult.
These stories are not unique to Hong Kong. We hear of them in Alhambra. As churches, what are our shares of responsibility towards the problems in society? What if these stories take place within our churches? Of course, it is unrealistic to assume we have the solutions to people’s problems. For some individuals, the issues are deeper than what meet the eye but we can make a difference. What does it mean when we say, “we care”? What kinds of practical help can we offer? The Mental Health Task Force at Kingdom Causes wrestles with these questions and is here to support pastors and church leaders who are also wrestling with these questions.
On the second Sunday of each month the Task Force gathers to discuss the needs we hear from different congregations. Our team members are made up of counselors, chaplain, therapists and pastors. We share our experiences, resources, and concerns. We encourage mental wellness awareness, discuss preventive measures and intervention for those with more serious mental health issues. We want to be good listeners. We sent surveys to pastors and churches in Alhambra to find out the various needs in the different congregations. Partnering with them we hope to find solutions. In the upcoming round-table discussion in May, the Mental Health Task Force invites you to join in this dialogue. Let us know of concerns and the challenges your church is facing. We may not have solutions to every problem but we do want to say, “We care.”
“The leper came to our Lord begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!’” (Mark 1:40,41)
Note:
If you are a church leader in Alhambra and would like to take part in this survey, please email us: alhambra@kingdomcauses.org
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