Anka Michigan Newsletter - Summer 2013 Is this email not displaying correctly?
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Message from the CMO

Welcome to the first edition of the Anka Michigan Newsletter! This quarterly newsletter is dedicated to keeping our community partners, stakeholders, clients, support systems and staff up to date on the Michigan services of Anka Behavioral Health, Inc. We began providing Department of Veterans Affairs supported transitional housing for homeless veterans in May 2013. We have enjoyed an incredibly warm welcome from the village of Akron and are pleased that we are currently serving six veterans.  We have six more beds available and hope that you will help us fill them!  Over the next several months, we will focus on serving veterans and developing community relationships to maximize the impact we can make in your communities. I hope you enjoy this first edition of the Anka Michigan Newsletter and will continue to read it going forward.
 
Sincerely,
Nzinga Harrison, MD 
Chief Medical Officer
About Anka Akron Veterans Program
Developed in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs through grant per diem funds, the Anka Akron Program will provide transitional housing to homeless veterans for up to two years while they receive a variety of supportive services that will help them build the tools necessary to manage their illness and transition back into the community. The program will link veterans to a variety of resources, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, health care, legal and benefits assistance, transportation, permanent housing, vocational services, and recreational opportunities that increase life satisfaction, social skills, responsibility, and independence.

PROGRAM GOALS
The primary goal of the Anka Akron Program is to link housing with on-going supportive services for veterans experiencing homelessness. Key goals of the program are:
  • To enable homeless and formerly homeless veterans to secure and retain housing.
  • To provide flexible, integrated services to support veterans to stabilize acute and chronic health and psychiatric conditions.
  • To support veterans to develop networks of peer support and cultivate personal coping mechanisms that can mitigate the stresses often associated with mental illness, addiction, and traumatic personal histories.
  • To improve veterans' quality of life, and overall health and well-being.
ELIGIBILITY
To qualify for Anka Akron services, an applicant must meet the following criteria:
  • Male Veteran
  • Homeless
  • Current or history of mental health and/or addictive disorder
 Program participants must be willing to:
  • Develop a treatment plan and address issues leading to homelessness
  • Maintain a relationship with the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Anka
  • Follow house rules and participate in community living 
We also welcome Veterans experiencing:
  • Physical Disabilities
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Re-entry from the criminal justice system
Eligibility will be verified by the Department of Veterans' Affairs prior to program placement.

HOUSING
For Veterans who are homeless, Anka Akron offers:
  • Shared housing for up to two years
  • Subsidized rent with veterans paying 30% of their income
  • Weekly House Meetings
  • Assistance in obtaining permanent housing
SERVICES
Anka Akron Program’s on-going supportive services include:
  • Service Coordination & Advocacy
  • Peer Counseling
  • Vocational & Employment Counseling
  • Health Education
  • Life Skills Development
  • Recovery Support
 Anka Akron incorporates the principles of mental health and substance abuse recovery models to support Veterans in developing goals and strategies that will foster their successful transition to independent living.

For more information, please check out the Anka Akron Veterans web page.

About the Program Administrator

Ian McCormick, Program Administrator
As Program Administrator of the Anka Akron Veterans Home, Ian assists homeless veterans in a transitional housing program for those with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse issues. Responsible for clinical and administrative oversight of the program, Ian provides direct clinical care, supervises staff, and develops and implements policies and procedures. An integral part of Ian’s role is community outreach and stakeholder relationships, including the maintenance of linkages and communication with the Veterans Administration, city, county, state departments, volunteers, and the community at large.  Ian’s goal is for the Anka Akron Veterans Transitional Housing program to be successful in assisting veterans in their recovery and support the transition to permanent stable housing.

How to Refer
Anyone can make a referral!  To do so, simply fill out a Referral Form and send it to Ian McCormick, Program Administrator at the below contact information:
Email: [email protected] 
Phone: (989) 455-1933
Fax: (810) 213-6640

Anka Akron Open House & BBQ

To thank the community for their support, acknowledge volunteers, and celebrate the opening of the program, the Anka Akron Program site held an open house and BBQ June 13, 2013. The open house included a program overview, staff introductions, property tour, special acknowledgements, and BBQ lunch. Service providers, local community groups and agencies, and members of the public were invited to attend and appreciation plaques were given to a number of volunteers and agencies that assisted in the development of the program. Read more...


Anka Akron Flag Raising Ceremony

On Saturday, August 10, 2013, the Anka Akron Veterans Program held a flag raising ceremony in celebration of the program opening and the veterans that are currently being served by the program. The flagpoles, flags, and ceremony were made possible by the generous contributions of several community members and agencies, including Rock Products, Tom Cavanaugh, Earl Haney, Ron Amend, Fairgrove Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Women's Auxiliary of the Fairgrove VFW, Cass City Color Guard,  and Ken Martin Electric Inc. We are especially grateful for Mr. Pat Gibbard, who worked hard organizing the ceremony and is currently working towards coordinating free electrical work for the installation of the evening lighting of the American flag. The flag raising ceremony featured acknowledgements to contributors and the community following the raising of the American flag, Michigan flag, and POW-MIA flag and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner while the flags were saluted. Following the ceremony, cupcakes and ice cream were made and served by the Women's Auxiliary of the Fairgrove with some of the parents of the Cass City Color Guard. Thank you to all that contributed and attended the Anka Akron flag raising ceremony. We are so grateful to have so much support and encouragement from our community! See more photos...


History of Anka
Anka Behavioral Health, Inc. (Anka) is a non-profit organization with the mission to eliminate the impact of behavioral health problems for all people. In operation since 1973, Anka provides caring, dependable, and professional behavioral health and social service programs that serve over 15,000 individuals each year. For more information, please visit www.ankabhi.org

In 2013, Anka partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to open Anka Akron, a Veterans Transitional Housing Program. 



What is Anka’s Community Action Partnership (CAP) Program?
Copyright © * ANKA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, INC. 2013 * All rights reserved * Michigan Newsletter * Summer 2013

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By: Christina Antos, Anka Behavioral Health, Inc. 

AKRON, MI – On May 20, 2013, non-profit organization, Anka Behavioral Health, Inc. (Anka), opened the doors of their new veterans’ assistance program, Anka Akron, in the rural village of Akron, Michigan. Anka Akron is a transitional housing program for veterans experiencing homelessness and co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.

With the eighth largest population of Veterans in the country, the need for veteran services within the state of Michigan is significant. Services for veterans facing homelessness is also crucial as recent data has revealed that homeless veterans account for nearly 10% of the homeless population.

Developed in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs through grant per diem funds, the Anka Akron Program will provide transitional housing to homeless veterans for up to two years while they receive a variety of supportive services that will help them build the tools necessary to manage their illness and transition back into the community. The program will link veterans to a variety of resources, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, health care, legal and benefits assistance, transportation, permanent housing, vocational services, and recreational opportunities that increase life satisfaction, social skills, responsibility, and independence.

Once the site of a child care facility, Anka has owned the now veterans housing program property for close to four years. In addition to VA grant funds to support program operations, Anka invested a great deal of their own funds into renovating the facility. They turned a rundown barn into a gym, developed private bedrooms and shower enclosures, and made a number of improvements to enhance the safety and functionality of the site.

The community also played a large role in helping get the program started. “We had volunteers out here from Women’s Life Chapter of Caro cleaning, doing laundry, and making toiletry kits. Home Depot donated a $5,000 gift card to the program which helped us purchase program supplies. The Piece Makers’ Quilt Group from the Church of God in Millington have volunteered to make quilts for all veterans that come into the program. The community and neighbors have been great and we can’t thank them enough!” exclaimed Dr. Nzinga Harrison, Anka’s Medical Director and Senior Vice President of East Coast Operations.

To thank the community for their support, acknowledge volunteers, and celebrate the opening of the program, the Anka Akron Program site will be holding an open house and BBQ June 13, 2013 at 2:00PM. The open house will include a program overview, staff introductions, property tour, special acknowledgements, and BBQ lunch. Service providers, local community groups and agencies, and members of the public are invited to attend.

If you would like to attend the open house, please see details below:

Date: June 13, 2013
Time: 2:00PM – 4:00PM
Location: 3258 Ringle Road, Akron, MI 48701
Contact Info: Ian McCormick, Program Administrator
                        (989) 455-1933
                        [email protected]