January 4, 2023 West Babylon North

Helping You Help Others

By Noelle Lambert

The Charity of the Month for January is Pal-O-Mine Equestrian

Pal-O-Mine

Equestrian is a local non-profit organization that began in 1995 as a therapeutic horseback riding program for individuals with disabilities and other vulnerable populations. They grew from having two programs, eight horses and 80 students per week to 11 programs, 25 horses and 400 students per week - and they continue to grow today! “Our mission has been, and continues to be, to provide a comprehensive therapeutic equine program using horses to facilitate growth, learning and healing,” said Lisa Gatti, Founder and CEO of Pal-O-Mine Equestrian. “We proudly serve individuals with disabilities, those who have been abused or neglected, the military and the impoverished.”

Their location in Islandia offers an unequaled setting for equestrian activities, with a 20-stall barn on 13 acres, handicapped accessible bathrooms, a 100’ x 120’ indoor arena with state-of-the-art-footing and a rider hoisting system, 3 outdoor riding arenas, classrooms, accessible playground, a greenhouse and a wellness center. They offer the following programs:

Lessons: This program provides quality adaptive riding and unmounted lessons that benefit individuals with cognitive, physical, emotional and mental disabilities. Each one of their riding instructors excels in their field and continues with training and certification throughout their careers.

Equine Assisted Learning: This program incorporates horses experientially for educational and emotional growth and learning. Using unique approaches to create positive and constructive learning experiences for children and adolescents who are at risk of failing in the traditional academic setting, this program has changed the lives of countless individuals.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy: This follows a model designed by EAGALA,

Inc., the leading international EAP training and certifying organization.

Currently, Pal-OMine Equestrian has 7 Licensed Mental Health Professionals and 11 Equine Specialists who are certified in this model. Groups that are participating focus on the following issues: grief, trauma and abuse, eating disorders, substance abuse, addiction and codependency.

Speech & Occupational Therapy: Clients respond well to therapy incorporating activities with animals, and a variety of therapy goals can be addressed using this treatment strategy. Occupational Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists run this program to provide therapy services with the assistance of wonderful animals.

Military: For more than four thousand years, horses have been an integral part of warfare. Today, horses are still playing an important role in war, this time in the recovery of military veterans who have suffered emotional and/or physical injuries. This program is an EAGALA designated Military Program and offers individual, group and family sessions to help people heal.

Corporate Leadership: The way individuals interact and react with horses is very similar to the way they interact with their clients, customers, peers and work groups. People interpret horse behavior/emotions through the lens of their personal perception. How they interpret horses can often be a metaphor for their work, attitudes and relationships. Pal-O-Mine Equestrian is proud to offer a Corporate Leadership program.

For more information about this organization and all they offer, please call 631-348-1389 or visit www.pal-omine.org. Don’t miss next week’s article to learn about how you can get involved and help others in your community.

STUDENTS SUPPORTED ON ALL LEVELS -

Students at Robert Moses Middle School in the North Babylon School District are working with the counseling staff on setting goals. Each student wrote down a goal on a feather. The feathers were all joined together to create an art mural of wings on a bulletin board that reads “Where Will Your Wings Take You.” Photo courtesy of North Babylon School District

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The counseling team at Robert Moses Middle School in the North Babylon School District is developing new initiatives and helping students achieve those goals this school year.

New for this school year, the counselors have launched a respect/ responsibility/relationship program. The 3Rs program uses common language to connect students and staff.

Robert Moses students are being rewarded was a pawprint when they meet

Robert Moses Students Supported On All Levels

any of these expectations set forth by the program. They can turn in one pawprint for a reward or save up 10 and get a pair of cozy pajamas. The initiative sets a schoolwide behavior standard and acknowledges when students are displaying good behaviors. Support staff, cafeteria aides and security guards all have pawprints to give out.

Robert Moses counselors have also partnered with L.I. Crisis Center for push-in lessons on social-

emotional learning and awareness. During the interactive workshops, community educators speak to students on topics such as mental health, managing emotions and cyberbullying awareness, depending on the grade level.

Robert Moses counselors are also visiting sixth grade classrooms to work on goal setting and reflection on the first quarter of school for students. They are breaking down goals into short-term and long-term to help give

students a sense of direction, responsibility and respect, tying into the 3Rs initiative. They recently asked students to write down a goal on a feather. The feathers were all joined together to create an art mural of wings on a bulletin board that reads “Where Will Your Wings Take You.”

Working with seventh and eighth grade students, the counselors connect these goal-setting initiatives to their academic plans for high school and beyond.

They show students how to use Naviance to enter their goals and the planner tool helps them work on their organizational skills. The counselors work with eighth graders to start to explore different programs of study and think about the electives/options they have in high school.

Some additional initiatives offered at Robert Moses by the counseling staff include a Lunch Bunch program, where students can meet new faces, play

games and interact during their lunch period outside the cafeteria. Following morning announcements on Wednesdays, there’s a Wellness Wednesday tip of the day for students that connects back to different social emotional learning initiatives in the building. Eighth grade students can also sign up to be student ambassadors to welcome new students in the building or peer tutors/homework helpers after school for the younger students.

Successful Donation Drive

On Monday, December 19, 2022, Noelle Lambert and The Bryn Elliott Team concluded their Holiday Donation Drive, which ran for four weeks and had drop-off locations throughout Long Island. The drive brought in countless donations, all of which were given to a local non-profit organization, the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless (LICH).

“It was such a great experience and people didn’t hold back,” said Noelle Lambert, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “I received calls, texts and emails from people who heard of the drive and wanted to donate, many of which ended up giving so much that they couldn’t bring it all into a drop-off location in one trip. Although it’s a very sad reality that many individuals are experiencing homelessness and other hardships right here on Long Island, it was really refreshing to see our community come together and do something about it.”

The Long Island Coalition for the Homeless strives to end homelessness on Long Island, and to alleviate the issues associated with homelessness and poverty for homeless and at risk persons in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The organization’s distribution center where the donations were brought is located at 600 Albany Avenue in Amityville,

and is also known as their boutique. People in need can make an appointment to come to the boutique and leave with clothes and other items, such as non perishable food and personal care products for free. LICH is here to work directly with people in need, as well as with case managers, shelter staff members, school employees, church members and the like who are helping these individuals.

”This organization does so much good and it was a pleasure to contribute towards their important mission,” said Bryn Elliott, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “So many people have clothing and miscellaneous items that they aren’t using, while others are in real need; it’s just a matter of coordinating a collection. However, it’s clear that the holiday spirit helped our drive quite a bit. I want to express how thankful we are to all who donated, as well as for the businesses that allowed us to use their locations for the drive, which includes USA Auto Body in East Patchogue, The Fish Store in Bayport, Long Island Media Group in

Farmingdale and Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Smithtown and Farmingville.”

“We are so very grateful for this drive that Noelle and The Bryn Elliott Team put together,” said Bailey Riekkinen, Community Engagement Specialist at LICH. “The Long Island Coalition for the Homeless will continue to advocate and serve until we achieve our mission of ending homelessness on Long Island. In 2022, we referred over 700 households for permanent housing through Coordinated Entry, a system that ensures the most vulnerable Long Islanders are prioritized for permanent, affordable housing. Affordable housing is scarce on Long Island, and we are consistently working hard at connecting Long Island’s most vulnerable to the available resources. Additionally, we received and distributed over 10,000 pounds of food and toiletries along with countless clothing items to locals that are homeless and at-risk on the streets and in shelters through our boutique and pantry.”

Together we can make a true difference in our community.

If you would like more information about starting a donation drive with the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, please contact Bailey at 631.464.4314 x125. For more information about LICH and all they offer, visit www. addressthehomeless.org or call 631.464.4314.

Creating A Dementia-Friendly Holiday Season: 4 Tips From The Alzheimer’s Foundation Of America

With the holiday season underway, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is providing four tips to help families affected by dementia enjoy the spirit of the season in a dementia-friendly way. “The holiday season can be both joyful and stressful for all of us, especially individuals living with a dementiarelated illness,” said Jennifer Reeder, LCSW, AFA’s Director of Educational and Social Services. “Being proactive, adaptable, and inclusive of the person’s wishes and abilities are the best ways to help them have a happy and joyful holiday season.”

Families, partners and friends caring for someone with dementia should consider the following steps: Avoid overdecorating. Decorating is part of the holiday season fun, however, too much stimulation may be challenging for someone with dementia. Keep decorations festive, but simple—too many flickering lights or noisy items could be overwhelming. Instead of elaborate decorations, try choosing a few favorite items. Phase in decorations over a period of days instead of all at

once, so that changes to the person’s environment are less confusing.

Create a safe and calm space. Don’t use fragile decorations (which can shatter and create sharp fragments) or ones that could be mistaken for edible treats. Be mindful of potential tripping hazards on the floor, such as wires for decorations. Securely hook Christmas trees to the wall to avoid falls and use menorahs or kinaras with electric candles to reduce fire hazards. As well as a physically safe environment, create a space where your loved one can sit in comfort and where guests can visit in small groups or one-toone. As much as possible, maintain the person’s normal routine when scheduling visits.

Adapt past favorite traditions or create new ones. Build on old traditions when appropriate, such as enjoying favorite music or movies, or looking at pictures of past holiday celebrations. Start new ones that center on activities and events the person enjoys and can do, such as touring neighborhood holiday lights, and do it together. Take a strengths-based and person-centered approach and incorporate

what the person can do and what they choose to do now, rather than dwelling on what they used to do. Focus on those things that bring joy and let go of activities that seem too stressful.

Involve the person in the planning and preparations. Whenever possible, involve the person by asking what traditions are important to them—it keeps them active and involved and helps you prioritize and plan appropriately. For example, if they always sent out holiday cards or baked holiday cookies and still want to do so, do it together with them. If they can no longer shop for gifts for their loved ones, invite them to help with wrapping the gifts so that they feel they are contributing.

The AFA Helpline is available seven days a week to help provide additional information about creating dementiafriendly holidays or any other caregiving questions. Connect with a licensed social worker by phone (866-232-8484), webchat (www.alzfdn. org) or text message (646586-5283). The web chat and text message features can serve individuals in more than 90 different languages.

PUZZLE ANSWERS:

Donations collected from the drive

Noelle Lambert & Bryn Elliott

Did You Know?

While flowers certainly add beauty and a wonderful aroma to wedding ceremonies and receptions, there are other reasons behind their inclusion in such festivities. In ancient Rome, brides carried or wore flower garlands because the Romans believed flowers signified hope, fertility and new beginnings. In the Middle Ages, brides did not carry flowers, but rather strong-smelling spices and herbs. The rationale was that the herbs and spices would drive away bad luck and evil spirits. Flowers also served another practical purpose. In eras when bathing was a luxury, different flowers and herbs helped mask body odors. It wasn't until the Victorian era, when flowers were used to symbolize romantic love, that they became part of wedding ceremonies, according to Modern Weddings magazine.