HHCD RECEIVES GOVERNOR’S SAFE AND DRUG FREE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES GRANT

Under the leadership of our Prevention Coordinator, Stephany Jones, HHCD has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Governor’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities to provide the SANKOFA violence prevention program in several of the schools in Jefferson Parish. This research-based program will teach the students the skills they need to avoid the results of violent behaviors in their schools and communities. A parent component also engages the reinforcement and support of the students’ parents to keep their children safe in the violent world in which we live.

HHCD Grand Opening Aug 13th

July has been an exciting month for HHCD as we continue to get settled in the newly renovated Celebration Hope Center. The Lord has continued to bless the CHC as we reach out and help the hurting people in the New Orleans area. 

As the new fiscal year started on July 1, HHCD has renewed and expanded its contracts to provide addiction recovery services, mental health counseling, and prevention programming throughout our community. We continue to work with the Access to Recovery Program with the Office of Addictive Disorders and will soon offer an array of recovery support services for our clients to include Family Involvement, Anger Management, Life Skills, and Spiritual Enrichment.  Transportation and childcare are also provided for our clients.  The Celebration Hope Center is also working to begin providing addiction treatment and recovery support services at the St. Bernard Campus of Celebration Church.

Plans are under way for our official Grand Opening scheduled for August 13, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. The following Sunday, August 16, will be an Open House for the congregation of Celebration Church.

As our services expand, the need to complete the remaining portions of the Celebration Hope Center has become critical. Please see our Partner With Us page for ways you can help with this endeavor.

June E-news: CHC New Center and Michele Dugas Award

CHC MOVES INTO NEW CENTER ON AIRLINE DRIVE

After two (2) years of post-Katrina construction, the Celebration Hope Center has moved into its new facilities at 1901-B Airline Drive in Metairie. This is part of the site of the Celebration Church campus that was totally destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The new Center contains a child-friendly waiting room, two (2) large group rooms for our addictions treatment, a completely equipped play therapy room, and numerous counseling offices. Through the grace of God, a grant from the State of Louisiana, and the direction of our Project Coordinator, Jo Ann Schaefer, the new CHC will be a beacon of hope to the people of New Orleans where they can find help, hope, and healing from the hurts and issues in their lives.

We look forward to completing Phase II of the center which will house a computer lab to provide job and life skills to support the recovery of our clients and two classrooms to expand our adolescent counseling and substance abuse treatment programs. Already needed counseling offices will also be part of Phase II.

MICHELE DUGAS RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FROM NOBTS

Michele Dugas, who graduated from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in December 2008, has been awarded the first annual James A. Headrick Award for Excellence in Christian Counseling, an honor acknowledging her “diligence and commitment to excellence in academic endeavor and an adherence to Christ-like personal character.” The award was bestowed by the faculty of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Michele is now working as a part-time counselor with the Celebration Hope Center.

Counselor’s Corner Car Accidents and Nightmares

Question: I recently had a car accident. Since then, I have been afraid about driving and I have nightmares at night about the accident. What is going on?Answer: Car accidents are a traumatic event, but most people really minimize car accidents, especially if a person is not seriously injured. You have been traumatized by this accident, which means that an event happened to you that you were not expecting and your life was threatened. When someone is traumatized by an event, such as an accident, natural disaster, or violent crime, then the body goes into high alert. Within 1/100th of a second, one part of the brain alerts another part and the body begins to produce stress hormones – such as adrenal and cortisol. Your body is prepared for an emergency. Your heart races, you have tremendous energy in your arms and legs, your stomach stops digesting, and you are hyper-vigilant to your surroundings. You are on high alert to have the flight or freeze response that God gave us to respond to danger. Once the danger is over, then the brain alerts the body and the body stops producing the stress hormones and settles down.

Sometimes if the traumatic event is very overwhelming or continues for a long time, like people in New Orleans experienced with Katrina, then the body stays in the stress response. Although the stress response is good for short-term, it is not good for long-term. So, if you are experiencing stress, such as nightmares, fear, avoidance or obsessive thoughts, then that means that your body is still in high alert. You brain is producing stress hormones and your brain is trying to make sense of the event. It’s very normal for this to happen immediately following a traumatic event, but if it continues over a week after the event, then it is something to be concerned about.

Being on high alert may mean that you are having physical symptoms, like fatigue, nausea, headaches, and muscle tremors. You may have cognitive symptoms, such as confusion, difficulty making decisions, nightmares, and/ or flashbacks of the event. You may have emotional symptoms like anxiety, guilt, grief, denial, depression, irritability, and/ or panic. You may have behavioral symptoms, like desire to withdraw from others, change in activity, increase or decrease in appetite, and/or startle response. Finally, you may have spiritual symptoms, like anger at God, questioning if God cares or is in control, a withdrawal from church, and/or a loss of purpose.

Before talking to a professional, first try to do some things that really help you relax. Your body needs to come off of the high intensity response to the trauma. Drink water, avoid caffeine, exercise, and worship. Do things that purposely calm you. Find someone that listens well to share your story, which helps you make sense of everything that has happened. Ask God to show you what good could possibly come from this event, such as greater appreciation for your family and life or improvement in driving skills. If you continue to have these symptoms, consult with a medical doctor or a counselor.

Michele Louviere serves as Clinical Director of Celebration Hope Center, a ministry of Healing Hearts for Community Development (HHCD). You can connect with Michele and learn more about how HHCD is bringing help, hope and healing to New Orleans by visiting www.HealingHeartsNola.org.

Q & A with Counselor, Megan Clunan

Question: I feel so stressed out! I am unable to accomplish enough. I am overwhelmed at work and home, and now I have started having really bad headaches and even pressure in my chest. Help! Do you know what may be wrong in my life?Answer: Yes, you are experiencing some level of negative anxiety in your life. Those thoughts, sentiments and experiences are all too common among individuals today. According to current statistics, “anxiety is the most common mental illness in the U.S. today, affecting over 40 million adults in the United States. Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion total each year and almost one third of the country’s $148 billion total mental health bill.

In fact more than $22.84 billion of the costs associated with the repeated use of health care services is sought out by people who are experiencing the physical side affects of anxiety. Individuals who experience physical symptoms of anxiety often mislabel what they are experiencing as simply physical and therefore seek health physician after health physician in hopes of discovering relief.

Mental health related issues which can stem from continued negative anxiety include: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Various Eating Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Various Phobias. Potential physical effects, or psychosomatic disorders, as a result of anxiety include: Headaches – typically tension headaches which lead to migraines, chest pressure and heart palpitations, muscle tension, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, shortness of breath and irritable bowl syndrome. Needless to say, anxiety has the potential to be very detrimental to ones mental and physical self. Therefore individuals must be proactive in fighting the anxiety ridden lifestyle.

Meditation is just one way in which we can fight anxiety. A recent clinical trial showed improvements in coronary heart disease risk factors, including lower blood pressure, among heart patients who practiced meditation. Meditation does not mean one simply sits and thinks about nothing for hours on end, rather in mindfulness meditation the person focuses on a particular item, rolling that thought around in their mind for 10-20 minutes.

As believers, God has provided us with many good truths, many statements of hope, and many instructions which are intended to help us live in confident peace rather than in an anxious free fall. The Bible supplies truths which we, as believers, must take time to focus (meditate) upon – even if that time is just 10 minutes. In the action of meditation we begin to fight anxiety while experiencing the energizing freedom of what it means to live in the peace of Christ. All throughout the Psalms we see the psalmist meditating upon the Word of God (Psalm 1:2, Psalm 39:3, Psalm 48:9, Psalm 77:12, Psalm 119:15, 23, 27, 48), and we should follow in his example. I challenge you, this week to begin taking 10 minutes out of your day to meditate on the simple truths of God’s word. Isn’t it time to take hold of the life that is truly life? Begin today by meditating on God’s word. Doing so will help shift your focus away from what everything around you is saying you must strive toward and onto His perspective for your life.

Megan Clunan
Masters of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy – Student Counseling Intern for The Celebration Hope Center

April 2009 Newsletter

APRIL E-NEWSLETTER

CADA Award Nomination

HHCD was nominated by the Governor’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities to receive the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (CADA) Annual Excellence in Prevention Award. HHCD was recognized for providing LifeSkills classes at Clark High School and Lafayette School in Orleans Parish, as well as at the Hume Development Center and Building Better Communities.  HHCD also provides Children of Addicted Parents Support Groups in conjunction with Celebrate Recovery on Friday nights. HHCD is also actively involved in the Prevention Systems Committee of the Louisiana Drug Policy Board and the New Orleans Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. 

 

CLINICAL DIRECTOR WRITES “COUNSELING CORNER”
Michele Louviere, LMFT, Clinical Director for the Celebration Hope Center has been engaged by The Baptist Message to write a bi-monthly article on Christian counseling principles. These articles will be posted on the HHCD  website as well as on the Baptist Message website. This month features Q & A with Guest Writer and Counselor, Megan Clunan. The information shared in this column will be beneficial to counselors and consumers alike. Read the April article.

 

THE BAPTIST MESSAGE HIGHLIGHTS CELEBRATION HOPE CENTER
The Baptist Message, a bi-monthly publication, recently highlighted the history and mission of the Celebration Hope Center.  Read the article to learn more about the journey that God has been paving for providing help, hope, and healing to the people in the New Orleans region in the areas of mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and case management.

For text only readers: Paste this URL in your browser: http://www.baptistmessage.com/articledetail.php?articleID=cd1af0a8b0d23c3c923e6f89fb56cd8c

HHCD RECEIVES GRANT FROM KCI Servant’s Heart Foundation

Healing Hearts for Community Development has received a $13,000 grant from the KCI Servant’s Heart Foundation to enhance the counseling services for children and their families.

In the after-math of Hurricane Katrina, our children often seemed very resilient to what had happened in their lives. However, they continue to suffer in numerous ways and have had great difficulties in handling the many changes in their lives and the stress experienced by their parents and families as they try to rebuild their lives.

These new funds allow the Celebration Hope Center to bring help, hope and healing to these children who need counseling to overcome the results of Hurricane Katrina as well as other life issues.

We are extremely grateful for the generosity of the KCI Servant’s Heart Foundation.

March 2009 E-Newsletter

Greetings!! Healing Hearts for Community Development (HHCD) is happy to report that the Celebration Hope and Counselor Training Center is nearing completion at the Airline Drive Campus of Celebration Church in Metairie. As most of you know, the entire campus of Celebration Church was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

The Celebration Hope and Counselor Training Center will be a Beacon of Hope to a city which continues to struggle with its recovery and to the thousands of people whose lives were forever changed. Our staff of trained professional counselors, along with counseling interns and practicum students, and Counselors in Training (CIT) with the addictions program, bring help, hope and healing to hundreds of individuals, children, adolescents, couples, and families throughout the New Orleans area.

We are very excited about what God has been doing through HHCD’s Celebration Hope Center. In 2008, the Celebration Hope Center

 served 500 adults, children, adolescents, couples and families with an array of mental health needs bringing emotional healing and renewing many marriages and families;
 treated 100 individuals seeking to overcome the ravages of addictions in their lives giving them the support they need for long-term recovery;
 provided strength-based case management for our mental health and addiction clients to insure their long-term recovery;
 met the physical needs of numerous families in making their lives whole after the destruction brought by Hurricane Katrina.

Your help in bringing help, hope, and healing to the people of New Orleans would be greatly appreciated.

Here’s how you can help:

 Pray for our clients to be healed.
 Pray for our counselors as they work each day to help our clients recover.
 Pray for the buildout of the Celebration Hope and Counselor Training Center.
 Make a Donation to continue the greatly needed counseling services. Each $50 you give will provide one (1) hour of counseling for an individual, couple, child or adolescent.
 Make a Donation toward the Counseling Center Buildout.
 Volunteer to help at the Celebration Hope Center.

Due to state budget cuts, HHCD has lost two (2) major contracts to provide mental health and addiction services in Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes. Therefore, your help at this time is crucial for hurting people to receive the help, hope and healing that God wants them to experience.

Thank you for partnering with us.