The Loop - Nevada (February 2023)

THE LOOP

Greetings from WestCare Nevada,

There is so much more to share with you all regarding what appears to be an extremely fast start to 2023 and the month of February. The fact is, we didn’t even get to finish telling you about all our January events. However, in this February Loop, there is probably no word or action more significant toward bringing in a new year and actively celebrating the month, than Love.

Love is a force that unites us all, allows us to find strength to overcome challenges and celebrate life’s most precious moments. Love allows us the opportunity to embrace diversity and appreciate the unique qualities that make each of us priceless. Love should be found in our relationships, our friendships, our work environment, and in the communities we are a part of.

If you really think about it, we cannot successfully maintain our motto of Uplifting the Human Spirit without having love for those in our care. It is my belief that whatever we do, and whatever title or position we may hold, if it is done so with love, then the results tend to end up more meaningful and impactful for all involved.

In this issue, you will read and see some of these results and how love, generosity, and a willingness to work hard and work together benefits the people whom we have dedicated ourselves to serve.

These highlights include:

Our most recent Tamale Feast

The annual Hoodies for the Homeless donation drive

The ElevateNV Affordable Housing Series

Shine the Light Tour of WestCare Nevada programs

Black Monday 2023

Black History Month Festival

A Promotion Announcement for Ms. Gardis Canty

As usual, we hope and pray that you enjoy this issue of the WestCare Nevada Loop. In the spirit of this month’s theme, I only have one more thing to say - I love you and your WestCare family loves you!

Leo Magrdichian, LCSW, LCADC, Vice President

The 3rd Annual Tamale Feast

By Irma Magrdichian, Director of Residential Services

Our team celebrated the New Year with our 3rd Annual Tamale Feast The 1,250 tamales were made by a team of staff and clients who provided four tamales to every client in every program in Southern Nevada on New Year’s Day!

Here are just a few quotes from some of our happy clients:

“The tamales were jammin! Point blank! Period! Awesome job!”

“The tamales were yummy!”

“Those tamales were paramount to my recovery! Full of love and laughter in every bite! Thank you!”

“The tamales were delicious!”

Gardis L. Canty and Her Journey with WestCare!

Gardis L. Canty, with a master's degree in licensed professional counseling and several undergraduate degrees in early childhood education, first joined the WestCare family in September 2017. At that time, she had no experience in substance abuse treatment, but had a great passion for working with women.

She was offered guidance by her colleagues and was mentored by our current Vice President of Nevada, Leo Magrdichian. In 2019, her passion and efforts led her to become the clinical manager of our Women and Children's Campus Fast forward, she recently accepted the position of Director of Community Health Services at our Maryland Parkway location!

Gardis shared: "WestCare provided me a space to be myself, a place where I could show my scars, embrace my shortcomings, and grow into my authentic self. For that reason, among many, WestCare will always hold a special place in my heart. Here is where I learned and defined through my life experiences how to uplift the human spirit."

Please join us in congratulating Gardis on this new role. We can’t wait to see the moves she’ll make to continue Uplifting the Human Spirit of all of those that we serve!

Hoodies Donated to Keep Our Clients Warm

By Dana Anderson, The ISI Group

Co-founded by Dana Anderson and Phillip Limon, the Industry Supporting Industry Group works tirelessly to create monthly live art events with original concepts, powered by community efforts. This year, their annual Hoodies for the Homeless warm clothing drive donated 50 bags of warm clothing items to WestCare Nevada. Their donations clothed many of our clients at the Women and Children’s Campus and Harris Spring Ranch

We’d like to thank all the drop off locations that participated in the clothing drive:

We hope to make spirits even brighter in 2023 with the continued support of our amazing community partners!

Housing and Development Workshop with ElevateNV

By Andrew Moran, Development Director

On Feb. 2, we attended the second workshop of the ElevateNV Affordable Housing Series presented by The Nevada Housing Coalition This informative session featured conversations with Nevada leaders regarding affordable housing, rental acquisition, development, affordable financing, and other topics. In this workshop, we were able to create an action plan and receive immediate feedback regarding specific development projects that we are currently pursuing like the Village at the Women and Children’s Campus We'd like to thank the Nevada Housing Coalition for making this event such a valuable resource for local providers like our own!

A Partnership for Increased Housing and Care

By Todd Edwards, Clinical Director

Shine A Light is a 501(c)3 community organization that provides referrals to community partners who help accommodate Instant Placement with Access to Treatment and Housing (IPATH) for individuals experiencing homelessness in the greater Las Vegas area. They are committed to helping support each client that enrolls into their IPATH continuum through each stage of their transition from chronic homelessness.

In collaboration, we were honored to host Shine a Light Las Vegas for tours of our Southern Nevada programs and had a collaborative working lunch. As a community partner that helps hundreds of people living in the underground flood channels of Las Vegas, we’re proud to venture into the depths and engage this underserved, hidden population on a dignified and personal level.

With our full continuum of behavioral health services, we see ourselves as the front door to a life of recovery for those seeking to break the chains of addiction and poverty. This exciting new partnership with Shine a Light will serve to continue to remove barriers faced by those individuals in our community that have the greatest need for care.

Recovery is Celebrated and Heroes are Recognized at Black Monday 2023

By Angela Mangum, VP Revenue Cycle Management, WestCare Foundation

On Feb. 13, a fellow Las Vegas provider, There is No Hero in Heroin, hosted the latest installment of Black Monday, their annual event to raise awareness and support funds. This event brings resources and support services together to help bring awareness to addiction and emphasize recovery. We were honored to be an event sponsor as well as one of many providers to share about their services by way of a general WestCare Nevada booth, lit up beautiful blue light, softly highlighting our flyers and swag and a booth on behalf of our Spiritual Alumni Group, accompanied by alumni members proudly wearing their Spiritual t-shirts! Everyone was all smiles and handshakes knowing that they were all there to help those in need at any point in recovery.

To make a great night even better, our VP of Operations, Leo Magrdichian, was honored as their 2023 Hero of the Year for his years of service in the field of treatment and rehabilitation! After humbly approaching the stage, he selflessly made two confessions at the podium. The first of which was that he was the least deserving of all of the nominees and the second being that he has never worked a day in his life for the past 12 years because, “when you are helping people in need in a community you love, you never work a day in your life.”

Following the event, he remarked, “I was truly honored to have been first nominated and then actually chosen as the Hero of the Year at this year’s Black Monday event. It is a gift to be able to serve some of our most vulnerable in this community in this capacity and to then be recognized in this manner as a good steward. This gift is truly remarkable and something that I will never forget.”

Please join me in congratulating our friend and colleague, Leo, on this profound honor and to our fellow providers, brothers and sisters in recovery, and the dedicated team behind the Black Monday event who made it all possiblethank you! This event is proof that treatment works and recovery happens!

In Solidarity and In Celebration

By Mar-Cha’ (Bell) Madison, Program Manager, Connections Fatherhood F.I.R.E.

In celebration of Black History Month, we were honored to attend the Black History Month Festival at the Springs Preserve. It’s important as a nation and to us as an organization, to support and promote the celebration of Black history - creating unity while acknowledging the accomplishments of Black individuals who created change in their own right. It was a wonderful thing to see everyone at the festival engaged, eating, dancing, and celebrating. There were speakers expounding on the richness of African American culture and how we are “stronger united than divided” as a nation. Black history is understanding our past, because when you know where you come from, you have a better understanding of where you’re going. I believe that by supporting, we as a community, a state, a nation, or a world are saying we stand with you, we acknowledge you, and that you matter! Thank you, WestCare, for standing with my community and my culture.

Follow