HSU Department of Social Work Fall 2015 e-Newsletter

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Fall 2015 e-­‐Newsle.er

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Hello Members of the HSU Department of Social Work Community, As you read about the good work students, faculty, and graduates are up to in this edi@on of the Humboldt State University Department of Social Work newsleBer, consider how your contribu@ons as a student or alum are furthering our departmental efforts. Your internships strengthen our community connec@ons. Your research and wri@ng extend our ideas across the globe. Your employment in public and private organiza@ons transforms services for thousands of individuals and families. The Department of Social Work is able to support students and community partners through a combina@on of many funding sources. For example, we use the Social Work Trust to cover costs related to the deeply meaningful field recep@on at the end of each year that honors our agency supervisors and the students they work with. Please consider making a dona@on to the Social Work Trust by clicking on the “Give Now” buBon to the leP. Five or ten bucks goes a long way for us. We are grateful for the ongoing rela@onship we have with our students and graduates. Warmly, Ronnie Swartz Chair, Department of Social Work

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Department Partnerships

HSU OhSnap! Campus Farm Stand

Every Wednesday at 10 AM during Harvest Season HSU's OhSnap! (or the Supplemental Nutri@on Assistance Program -­‐ a collabora@ve partnership between the Department of Social Work and Health Educa@on) has been passing out FREE Local farm-­‐fresh fruits and veggies to HSU Students. BACKGROUND: A RECENT ARTICLE IN THE LUMBERJACK explains how HSU is working to solve food insecurity for students.

Semester Spotlights -­‐ Fall 2015

IMAGE: River Warriors PresentaIon/Ah Pah OrientaIon in Goodwin Forum

Blue Creek Ah Pah TradiIonal Yurok Village OrientaIon and Trip September 24 and October 1, 2015

Each Fall semester, social work students, staff and faculty are invited to the Blue Creek Ah Pah Tradi@onal Yurok Village to par@cipate in an experien@al learning opportunity unlike any other within the context of social work educa@on. The week prior to the trip, students aBend an orienta@on. This Fall, the Department welcomed James Genshaw, Yurok Visitors Center Cultural Director. Follow THIS LINK to view his storytelling. Follow these links (PART I / PART II) to view the en@re orienta@on.

Geneva Shaw, MSW Director and Lecturer, explains about the purpose of the trip to Ah Pah: "As developing social change agents, it is impera5ve to have a fundamental, balanced understanding, and a human connec5on to the peoples and communi5es with whom you are working for and with. Here, locally, our Tribal communi5es provide us with rich learning opportuni5es for social and environmental jus5ce, na5on building, intergenera5onal healing, and the capacity of human beings to be resilient. It's not enough to read and lecture about such models and concepts in a classroom seBng -­‐ at Ah Pah we get to feel it and carry that experience with us as we con5nue to develop as people and professionals.”


(OhSnap!, cont.)

Cal State Long Beach received a $100,000 grant to study how each of the 23 campuses in the CSU system are dealing with student food insecurity and homelessness. Besides par@cipa@ng in the research, HSU is helping food insecure students through Oh SNAP!, Oh SNAP! has been a part of the HSU community since 2013. Oh SNAP!’s weekly farm stand with free fruits and vegetables was made possible by a $5,000 dona@on by the Associated Students to purchase produce from local farm Earthly Edibles. Since its launch, 100 students visit per week.

Erin Derden LiBle, former Farm to Market Specialist at CAFF tells us:

“Back in spring, we (CAFF) met with Professor Jen Maguire and Health Educator Mira Friedman at HSU to brainstorm ways that a CSA could come to campus to serve students as part of their Oh SNAP Campus Food Programs Humboldt State. Flash forward a few months and Earthly Edibles CSA is

IMAGES: HSU Social Work students and faculty at the annual trip to Ah Pah taken by Lizbeth Navarro


(OhSnap!, cont.)

delivering fresh corn, melons, broccoli, onions and more to the second weekly Farm Stand today! Icing on the cake is that students can aUend weekly cooking classes to learn how to prepare some of this goodness. The class only uses equipment what you would find in a dorm room -­‐ hot plate, microwave, etc.”

Professor Jen Maguire explains:

“We heard from students who were using Humboldt State University (HSU) Oh SNAP! that in addi5on to the food they were accessing at the campus food pantry, they also desired fresh produce and had a preference for local organic vegetables. Many students shared that they would like foods that were a beUer fit with their cultural food preferences, which oYen included fresh greens. Because of my connec5ons to the Humboldt Food Policy Council, I was familiar with the work of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and I knew about their mission to

Department of Social Work Academic Colloquium IMAGES: HSU Social Work students and faculty at the annual trip to Ah Pah taken by Lizbeth Navarro ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mending the Basket: Weaving Wellness in Indian Country October 20-­‐21, 2015 at the Blue Lake Hotel and Casino

“Mending the Basket” brought together advocates, service providers, program administrators, law enforcement, and community members to learn about and address concerns for the wellness and healing for our local community. The conference con@nued the custom of Cultural Sharing by the local


(OhSnap!, cont.)

advocate for family farmers and sustainable agriculture. It seemed like a perfect match with Oh SNAP’s needs and resources. That is when we pulled together a team from HSU (students working at Oh SNAP!, health educa5on, social work, and facili5es management), CAFF, and Earthly Edibles (a local family farm) to create a plan for more students to access fresh culturally appropriate foods on campus that also supported local family farmers. The Oh SNAP! Campus Farm Stand was ini5ated through these early partnerships. The local produce was paid for through dona5ons from HSU Alumni.”

Are you interested in the sta@s@cs so far in just the Fall 2015 semester? Here they are!

•  492 CalFresh applica@ons •  2636 visits to the Food Pantry •  1040 visits to The Farm Stan •  58 people at the Cooking Demonstra@ons

IMAGES: (row-­‐1, L-­‐R) Nikki Bradford, Angela Sundberg & Ken Smith, Geneva Shaw & Yvonne Doble, (row-­‐2) Geneva Shaw & Yvonne Doble presentaIon of Rooted in Community (Mending the Basket, cont.) Tribal Community and offered workshops centered around topics such as Domes@c Violence, Sexual Assault, Compassion Fa@gue/Burnout, and Self Care as Service Providers. Geneva Shaw (MSW Director, Lecturer) and Yvonne Doble (Assistant Director of Distributed Learning and Field Educa@on, Lecturer) designed the workshop to provide par@cipants with an overview of the various ways programs and agencies can deepen their working rela@onship with the Social Work Department at HSU. The workshop collabora@vely iden@fied partnership opportuni@es, methods to develop social work student learning ac@vi@es to best serve the goals, needs and capacity building in our local communi@es, agencies, and organiza@ons, and strategies for developing students into effec@ve future professionals in rural and Indigenous communi@es.


(OhSnap!, cont.)

MORE ABOUT CAFF -­‐ Founded in 2006 in Arcata, CA, Community Alliance with Family Farmers advocates for California family farmers and sustainable agriculture. CAFF is dedicated to family-­‐scale agriculture that cares for the land, sustains local economies and promotes social jus@ce.

Weekly Cooking DemonstraIons in the RecreaIon and Wellness Center

Oh SNAP's weekly cooking classes are led by local chef, Bethany Steffani. The classes teach useful cooking techniques that use healthy and affordable foods on equipment that students have access too. cooking classes have includes instruc@on on preparing healthy meals including vegetarian, vegan and meat op@ons.

“We have increased the number of classes this semester and oYen have classes that are completely full!” -­‐ Ravin D. Craig, Co-­‐Coordinator of the Oh Snap Campus Food Programs.

IMAGES: (L-­‐R) Sheri Johnson accepIng award, HSU Social Work students at the filming of Sheri's video

Humboldt State University 1st Annual Hands-­‐On Learning Faculty CelebraIon -­‐ October 23, 2015

This Fall, Humboldt State University hosted it's 1st Annual Hands-­‐On Learning Celebra@on at Merryman's Beach House. Those honored included Sheri Johnson (Director of Field Educa@on, Social Work) and Nancy Vizenor (Assistant Professor, Business Administra@on) for their outstanding contribu@ons to students' success at HSU. The gathering was an opportunity to celebrate their achievements, network, share goals and best prac@ces, and honor our colleagues. Sheri reflects on the celebra@on:

“Working with our students is the best part of this job! Witnessing their growth and development is an amazing process. Knowing that they are the future of social work gives me hope.” Social Work students in Field Experience/Field Seminar courses (pictured above -­‐ right) came together to film a video for Sheri's honoring. Follow this LINK to view the video. Thank you, Sheri, for all that you do!


(OhSnap!, cont.)

"We are proud of these student driven programs. One of the beau5ful things that we have learned is that students are not just coming for food but also because their is a sense of community in our space. Students come by just to drink hot chocolate and hang out. This speaks highly of the welcoming and suppor5ve environment the students have created. No s5gma here!" -­‐ Mira Friedman, Co-­‐Coordinator of the Oh Snap Campus Food Programs.

Faculty Check-­‐Ins

Here is what one of our faculty/lecturers have been up to this semester...

Holly Scaglione, Lecturer I have been an associate with Redwood Equine Partners for seven years, offering equine-­‐assisted growth and learning ac@vi@es for individuals and groups in Humboldt County. We have recently had the opportunity to partner with the Humboldt County Proba@on Department to launch a pilot program en@tled “Horses Help” u@lizing AB 109 monies. This summer we facilitated a 16-­‐session curriculum with a group of individuals involved in the proba@on system. It was a great success and we are looking forward to con@nuing our work in this realm into the future. We plan to launch a non-­‐profit organiza@on in the near future in order to be able to offer services to community members that would not otherwise have access to powerful, transforma@ve equine-­‐assisted modali@es.

Most recently I have become Co-­‐Director (along with Dr. Ronnie Swartz) of the Humboldt Ins@tute for Harm Reduc@on which is primarily focused on harm reduc@on research, policy, and prac@ce with regard to substance use. We are looking into how to bring harm reduc@on modali@es to local schools and drug-­‐educa@on programs. We also act as advocates for advancing progressive drug policy both at the state and federal levels.

I currently teach three classes: -­‐ Social Agency Experience -­‐ an undergraduate course where students volunteer in the field in order to gain a feel for what it may be like to be a social worker. -­‐ MSW FoundaIon Internship Seminar – this course requires students to intern at a social service or government agency, school, or non-­‐profit. -­‐ Integrated Clinical PracIce -­‐ a generalist prac@ce class for advanced year MSW students with a focus on skills, theories, and policies related to mental health and problema@c substance use.

Next semester I will be teaching an upper division elec@ve course en@tled, Drugs, Jus@ce, and Harm Reduc@on. I am very excited about teaching this class, as it has been one that I have wanted to teach for a long @me. I am looking forward to discussing harm reduc@on, drug policy, and restora@ve jus@ce prac@ces with the BSW Seniors.


I have the privilege of working with three fabulous MSW students on their Master’s Projects this year; Candy Bryant, Loren Stentzel, and Stacy Bricco. It’s an honor to be in a suppor@ve role for our students as they navigate the oPen challenging waters of designing and implemen@ng a community-­‐based project while balancing employment, classwork, family life, etc. You are all doing a great job…you’re almost there!

I relish the passion, dedica@on, and delight students bring to their volunteer placements and to the classroom. My students are intelligent, thoughwul, passionate, and courageous individuals. I enjoy gexng to know them and encouraging their learning process as they begin to walk their social work path.

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IMAGE: HSU OhSnap! Campus Farm Stand and Cooking Demos

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Social Work Student AssociaIon

The HSU Social Work Student Associa@on (SWSA) has had a busy few months. Over the summer, the Associa@on held planning mee@ngs to determine a path for the club, iden@fy a mission statement, and

IMAGES: (row-­‐2) locaIon of Lake County, Trisha Robinson with granddaughter Natalia, Kevin McGeoch, Mary Pagan, Terri Gonsalves

Student Stories


(SWSA, cont.)

brainstorm topics that to work on during the school year. In addi@on to elec@ng tradi@onal officers, they appointed a student liaison to aBend the Social Work Department mee@ngs and advocate on behalf of students. Their con@nued efforts include looking for ways to gather informa@on from students on issues the liaison can bring to these mee@ngs. One of the club’s goals this year is to build community through engagement.

SWSA president, Whitney Polk, explains:

“So far this year we’ve been involved in several campus and community events. A few weeks into the semester, the SWSA held a potluck mixer for incoming students to meet club members and get their ques5ons answered. We had a great turnout, and look forward to mee5ng more students throughout the year.

In September, the club formed a team and par5cipated in the Out of the Darkness

(Student Stories, cont.)

Voices of Lake County -­‐ Social Work Students AcIvely Engaged in Community

Saturday, September 12th, 2015 is a day the residents of Lake County, CA, will keep with their in their minds and in their hearts. At 1:30pm a brush fire began and immediately consumed 50 acres. The fire quickly grew to 400 acres by 4pm and was over 10,000 acres by 6:30pm. It was past 25,000 acres late that night. The fires physically and emo@onally impacted the lives of the residents, as well as their extended family and friends. Several Lake County residents are students in the HSU Department of Social Work’s Distributed Learning (online) Program. While the Department supported the relief efforts from afar gathering and delivering supplies such as blankets, clothes and toiletry items, the students were there, ac@vely engaged in their community. The stories in this publica@on are to honor their experience, their work in the field, and their con@nued effort to engage in their community while earning their Social Work degree. FOLLOW THIS LINK TO VIEW VOICES OF LAKE COUNTY ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

Alumni Highlight

Rochelle Trochtenberg, BASW '09, MSW ' 15

Rochelle Trochtenberg is currently Humboldt County Transi@onal Age Youth Collabora@on’s (HCTAYC) Lead Youth Organizer. HCTAYC, a component of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Transi@on Age Youth (TAY) Division, serves young adults age 16-­‐26 as they transi@on to adulthood and independence. It has three main units: TAY Behavioral Health, the Independent Living Skills program and HCTAYC.


Community Walk which raised funds for the American Founda5on for Suicide Preven5on. In October, we tabled at the Clubs Fair and Homecoming. At the Homecoming Fair, we held a contest and had two winners who received Wildberries giY cards. The club also par5cipated in Indigenous Peoples Week. We had a representa5ve aUend a seminar and community dinner, chalked around campus, and par5cipated in a day of ac5on regarding climate change and sustainability.” The SWSA has also been hard at work planning for Lobby Days (April 17-­‐18, 2016, in Sacramento). Lobby Days is a way for students and social workers to engage in policy prac@ce by advoca@ng on behalf of a bills, mee@ng their legislators, and learning more about the lobbying process. Their planning mee@ngs address funding, reaching out to local representa@ves, and working on educa@onal materials to bring to social work classes at HSU.

IMAGES: Rochelle Trochtenberg Rochelle grew up in the foster care system in Los Angeles County. In and out of child welfare services since she was 5 years old, she was taken out of her home for the last @me when she was 13. She was raised in group homes for youth and she was labeled “severely emo@onally disturbed.” She emancipated on her 18th birthday and became homeless, couch surfing and living in shelters un@l she met a family that allowed her to stay with them for a year as long as she went to school. As a former foster youth, Trochtenberg felt compelled to voice her opinion about the group home system at a July 2008 conference the county held to gather the opinions of youth like herself. When she openly cri@cized the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Service’s approach to group homes, she didn’t know she would end up being invited back for more discussion and eventually employed by the department. Trochtenberg went on to earn an associate’s degree aPer eight years, applied to five state colleges and was accepted to all five. She landed at Humboldt State University where she earned a Bachelors in Social Work from Humboldt State University, served as the President of the HSU Social Work Student Associa@on as well as the Founder and Chair of the HSU Former Foster Youth Club. She interned at Child Welfare Services before becoming the Lead Youth Organizer of the Humboldt County Transi@on Age Youth Collabora@on. She earned her MSW from Humboldt State in 2015. A Lead Organizer of the Humboldt County Transi@on Age Youth Collabora@on (HCTAYC), Trochtenberg has received na@onal recogni@on for her work. Rochelle has acted as a leader and mentor, engaging youth with experience in foster care, mental health, juvenile jus@ce, and homelessness to bring their


(SWSA, cont.)

(Alumni Highlight, cont.)

For students interested in aBending, watch your inboxes for an email with more details soon! IMAGE: SWSA members at the Indigenous Peoples Week rally __________________________

voices and experiences in to policy-­‐sexng and decision-­‐making tables throughout various systems. Trochtenberg strives to improve systems by helping young people understand the policy, poli@cs, and impacts of laws, as well as how to navigate and leverage their power to shape the poli@cal conversa@on. She believes that systems func@on more effec@vely when decisions are informed and connected to the real life experiences and voices of those who depend on those services. Rochelle has dedicated herself to a number of statewide efforts, such as serving as Co-­‐Chair of the Ka@e A. Pathways to Mental Health Community Team, working on the California State Quality Improvement Project to Improve the Use of Psychotropic Medica@on Amongst Foster Youth, and serving on the California Child Welfare Council since 2010. Rochelle was a founding Board Member and Secretary for Youth In Mind serving un@l June of 2013 and serves on the Board of Directors for California Mental Health Advocates For Children and Youth (CMHACY) since 2009. TIMELINE December 2010: Local Youth Advocate Wins NaIonal ‘Unsung Hero’ Award The Youth Law named Trochtenberg one of four “Loren Warboys Unsung Heroes” -­‐ an annual award presented to individuals who have made exemplary contribu@ons to improve the lives of at-­‐risk youth in the child welfare and juvenile jus@ce systems. Jennifer Rodriguez, a staff aBorney for the Youth Law Center giving the award, said Trochtenberg is an example of how youth can help change the system when they are given a chance to join the discussion and a catalyst for a number of changes in the county, including improvements to the county’s children shelter, homeless youth services and mental health services. Trochtenberg says: "I don’t feel like a hero. The real heroes are the young people who are brave enough to speak up in the midst of challenging circumstances. I want to make sure that young people within the system have hope for a beUer life, and to pass on the acts of kindness she has received as a youth struggling to become an adult. I remember very much the pain that I felt as a young person. It really keeps me up at night when I know other youth are suffering. I feel like I owe it to the youth, I owe it to society. I feel so fortunate to have found a way out with all this help. It took a long 5me to become the person I am today. There were many years in my life where I never really believed I was capable, as a person challenged with mental health struggles, and always being the foster care kid who wasn’t able to connect to anyone. A lot of people came along and helped me see my own value as a person.”


IMAGE: Renee Saucedo of True North (speaking), Sheri Johnson and Laura Power (seated front right)

Month of the Promotores

Local agencies and organizaIons, including representaIve from the HSU Department of Social Work, gather to celebrate the Month of the Promotores The Month of the Promotores celebra@on on October 29,

(Alumni Highlight, cont.)

Rodriguez said Trochtenberg’s story is “a clear reminder about how much poten@al young people have when we actually give them the space and the opportunity to recognize their poten@al.”

July 2014: Humboldt County TransiIon Age Youth CollaboraIon (HCTAYC) wins naIonal recogniIon Partly under the direc@on of Rochelle Trochtenberg, HCTAYC was named one of three finalists in the “Children, Youth and Young Adults” category and one of four finalists in the “Partnership Development” category for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra@on’s (SAMSHA) 2014 Excellence in Community Communica@ons and Outreach Recogni@on Program.

HCTAYC was also honored for its work organizing Wellness Week, a free week-­‐long event with dozens of workshops for young people age 16 to 26. The workshops focused on SAMHSA’s eight categories of wellness: emo@onal, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupa@onal, physical, social and spiritual.

Trochtenberg says: “The HCTAYC Youth Advisory Board created this event for and by youth. Youth were leaders in developing wellness ac5vi5es to reflect rural youth culture. The advisory board strived to reach youth currently or formerly impacted by mental health, homelessness, foster care of the juvenile jus5ce system, using social media plaaorms and diverse community resources.”

August 2014: California Over-­‐Drugs — And Fails — Foster Children: Editorial Will Lightbourne, head of California’s Department of Social Services, says there’s no simple way to end the paBern of thousands of foster children spending much of their youth drugged into malleability. Lightbourne says it has to be part of the holis@c rethinking of the en@re foster care system that’s underway, giving doctors beBer op@ons than prescribing psychotropic drug upon psychotropic drug to control children who act out. Foster children are the most vulnerable of California’s young. They are in state custody as a last resort because going back to their families is impossible. Thousands of them are given powerful psychotropic medica@ons — oPen two or four or more at a @me, prescribed to deal with behavior and not to treat the mental illnesses for which the FDA has approved them. They can lead to life@me health problems. Reporter Karen de Sá relates story aPer story of young people who experienced over-­‐medica@ng in foster care. One, Rochelle Trochtenberg, as a teenager was diagnosed, so to speak, with a laundry list of mental illnesses, including bipolar and post-­‐trauma@c stress disorders. When she turned 18 and leP the system to live on the streets — she was on 10 medica@ons. When she finally got real help, she came off drugs en@rely and now is working on a master’s degree.


(Promotores, cont.)

2015, at the Open Door Community Health Center in Eureka, brought together dozens of agencies and organiza@ons to support the health and welfare of the Spanish speaking community.

Sheri Johnson, Director of Field Educa@on for the HSU Department of Social Work and Laura Power, HSU Department of Social Work La@no Community Outreach Coordinator/Lecturer supported the celebra@on by par@cipa@ng in the the planning process. Sheri Johnson explains:

"HSU Social Work students can engage with Promotores through volunteer opportuni5es via their coursework in SW 255 -­‐ Beginning Field Experience and SW 355 -­‐ Social Agency Experience. The Promotores are a friendly and loving group, and we are so happy to be here to support them! ABOUT PROMOTRES Promotores of Humboldt and

(Alumni Highlight, cont.)

Trochtenberg says: "I felt like I was a prisoner in my own body. But I oYen wonder whether the years I spent in foster care on numerous psychotropic medica5ons caused me las5ng harm. It's embarrassing when I brings a cup to my mouth and people ask why my hands are shaking so violently. I don't want to tell people I have a tremor because I was drugged for my whole adolescence.” September 2014: Movement in the Fight to Reduce the Use of Psychotropic MedicaIons on Children in Foster Care NCYL policy advocate Anna Johnson, along with former foster youth Rochelle Trochtenberg, delivered a presenta@on on the QIP to the California Child Welfare Council and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). The Council is taking steps to involve its members in the state work and has helped to guide state agencies to improve the QIP process. November 2014: KHUM 19th Annual Stop the Violence – Start the Healing Week three topic – Youth who are Vulnerable and the People Who Can Help with Rochelle Trochtenberg and Monique Molina from HCTAYC. LISTEN HERE

September 2015: California Assembly to vote on diminished bill package to curb psychotropic drug use on foster children Intensive lobbying by physicians groups and cost concerns have undermined progress on the centerpiece of a bill package designed to end the excessive use of psychotropic drugs on California's foster youth.

The author of Senate Bill 253 -­‐-­‐ which would strengthen court oversight of foster care prescribing and demand more safety measures from doctors -­‐-­‐ has pulled his legisla@on back from considera@on this year. State Sen. Bill Monning's bill passed the Senate unanimously but won't go through the Assembly un@l next year, while three other bills inspired by the newspaper's inves@ga@on "Drugging Our Kids" move toward Gov. Jerry Brown's desk.

One of the former foster youth featured in the series, Rochelle Trochtenberg, has spent the summer shuBling from her Eureka home to Sacramento -­‐-­‐ a five-­‐and-­‐a-­‐half hour drive each way -­‐-­‐ to tes@fy in support of the bills. She es@mates she's told her personal story of suffering on too many meds about 10 @mes so far in the state Capitol, some@mes twice in one day.


Del Norte County are bilingual women and men from the community working for the well-­‐being of the Hispanic Families. Even though most Promotores work for a specific agency and have du@es to complete each day, Promotores play different roles in the community according to the support families might need. They will go out of their way to promote physical, emo@onal and spiritual health. The overall goal of the Promotores is the well-­‐being of the Hispanic community members. Promotores of Humboldt and Del Norte County meet monthly to get the needed support from each other to do a job that requires knowledge about many areas. Promotores discuss the lack of services in the Hispanic community and work together for possible solu@ons. Promotores share their knowledge with each other to provide informa@on to their clients in a culturally appropriate manner. __________________________

(Alumni Highlight, cont.)

October 2015: New laws signed into Law to Restrict Psychiatric MedicaIons Gov. Brown did not comment Tuesday, October 6, 2015, upon signing Senate Bills 484, 319 and 238, which were authored by state Sens. Jim Beall, D-­‐San Jose, and Holly Mitchell, D-­‐Los Angeles. "The 'Drugging Our Kids' documentary put the state on no@ce," Mitchell said, "and Gov. Brown has now put the tools in our hands to ensure that foster kids in our care are not over-­‐drugged for profit or convenience by those we pay to nurture and protect them." Under the new laws, more informa@on will be provided to the juvenile courts where the medica@ons are approved. And public health nurses who work with foster youth will have greater access to children's medical files, and play a larger role in monitoring medicated children's care. Beginning next year, regular reports will be produced on the number of prescrip@ons children have received, and whether they also received counseling services. And residen@al group homes that allow excessive prescribing could face correc@ve-­‐ac@on plans. Tuesday was a celebratory day at the Oakland-­‐based Na@onal Center for Youth Law, which led the reform efforts. "We can cut side effects earlier, we can no@ce if a kid is gaining weight or losing weight, we can no@ce if it's having the effect it's supposed to have, and we can change their treatment if kids have an opportunity to weigh in," said Anna Johnson, the center's health policy analyst. "People will now be paying aBen@on." Tuesday's news was emo@onal for former foster youths Rochelle Trochtenberg and Tisha Or@z -­‐-­‐ who both tes@fied repeatedly in the state Capitol as the legisla@on was being considered. Or@z, a 23-­‐year-­‐ old college student from Hayward, said she was simply "ecsta@c." And for Trochtenberg, 33, there is now a new way forward. Trochtenberg says: "It's personally a piece in my healing to feel like I overcame systemic abuse and was fortunate enough to be able to have a voice in preven5ng other foster youth from experiencing the debilita5ng effects of being over-­‐medicated. It's beUer healing than any drug to be part of this." READ MORE HERE ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________


Mural Project for Underrepresented Students

In the Spring of 2014 President Richmond gave F.R.E.E. (Finding Resources and Empowerment through Educa@on) a $10,000 grant to install a mural on campus in response to the Super Taco pain@ng issue. The Super Taco pain@ng was done by a senior graduate, won the art contest, and the pain@ng was purchased by the president's office and installed in the Jolly Giant dining room. Several students and employees on campus were concerned by the message and loca@on of the pain@ng.

Fall Gallery


Facilitated conversa@ons were held and the pain@ng was later moved to the library. F.R.E.E. has been working with Dr. Marisol Ruiz (Assistant Professor, School of Educa@on), Dr. Cesar Abarca (Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Traci Ferdolage (Associate Vice President, Facili@es Management, and Kris Patzlaff (Chair of the Art Department) regarding the mural. They have discussed image, loca@on, selec@ng the ar@st and installa@on. The students, with their faculty advisers Dr. Cesar Abarca and Dr. Marisol Ruiz, presented the mural and the ar@st they selected to the Facili@es Working Group. The ar@st is IMAGES: (row-­‐1) BASW Fall OrientaIon, (row-­‐2, L-­‐R) Fall Department Retreat, MSW Advanced renowned mural ar@st Randi Standing OrientaIon, (row-­‐3) LaInoNet Health Fair, (row-­‐4 & 5) HSU OhSnap! Campus Farm Stand Sabaque, also known as Saba. Of Diné Navajo and Jemez Pueblo ancestry, he currently lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico. For more informa@on or to see Saba's art, visit his website at Our mailing address is: Contact us: sabahut.com. Department of Social Work (707) 826 -­‐ 4448 __________________________ Humboldt State University socialwork@humboldt.edu 1 Harpst Street * Arcata, CA 95521 www.humboldt.edu/socialwork


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