John Saunders, MS, CASAC-T, joined The Bridge in 2009. He is currently a Case Manager in Bronx Supportive Housing, and also works within New York/New York III Medical and Substance Abuse Disabilities.

John grew up in NY state run group homes and foster care as a child. He is now part of the Men of Color Group at Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Community Center in Harlem where he is an active participant. At one of the group's meetings, Sharon Cadiz, Director of the Clinical Consultation Program at the City of New York's Administration for Children's Services (ACS), was present and heard John speaking. She was impressed and immediately asked him to speak to group home managers and supervisors within ACS from all 5 boroughs.

In January of this year John went to the ACS headquarters to speak about what to expect with children aging out of group homes, child safety in foster care and the community, adolescent development and emerging adulthood issues from 18-25 year olds. He was then asked back 4 more times each month, through to this past April, to speak to child protection case managers. John even won an appreciation award designating him a "Child Safety Champion" signed by the Manhattan Borough Commissioner of ACS, William Fletcher, and Cadiz.

Sharon Cadiz wrote "John, you gave a simply outstanding presentation, and I am eternally grateful for your clarity of expression that gave voice to the essential nature of how conditions of life, child welfare, policy and practice can demonstrate both the best and worst of the human experience. Your recollections of those who positively impacted your life; and the impact of racism on multiple levels, resonated in powerful ways. Your inclusive regard for how we can make a difference; how mind, body and spirit play a big part, as well as the importance of inner reflection and accountability to the highest values for all regardless of life circumstance, connected to us all in meaningful ways. Your clinical and personal insights were all valuable and very affirming for the staff of the [ACS] Clinical Consultation Program. You must know that your ability to speak in authentic ways about the opportunities for giving help and addressing the scourge of racism is inspiring."

John is an achiever. He graduated in March from the 2nd ever class of Bridge staff mentees from our Bridge Mentoring Program and is a member of our Veteran's Programming Committee. John also completed his Masters of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University while working at The Bridge. He is currently studying to be a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, which he hopes to complete in 2014.

Spring preparations are well underway for our Urban Farms. Recently, Natalie Brickajlik, Bridge Horticulture Program Coordinator, and Patricia Callahan, VP of Vocational Services, attended the "Just Food" Conference to learn new techniques for improving our Urban Farm curriculum and to obtain creative ideas for utilizing produce to engage more Bridge clients.

Just Food is a nonprofit that connects communities and local farms with the resources and support they need to make fresh, locally grown food accessible to all New Yorkers. Among some of the things learned at the Conference were techniques for educating Bridge clients in fun ways on seed starting, as well as canning/pickling processes, as a means to make produce available year round for our clients.

Currently the new greenhouse at the Morris Avenue Urban Farm in the Bronx is being used to sprout seedlings, utilizing Burpee seeds, to be planted in all of our Urban Farms and Gardens. So far seeds have been started for Okra, Kabocha Squash, Mesclun Lettuces, Grape Tomatoes, Heirloom Watermelons, Brussel Sprouts and many other veggie varieties.

Our "worm farm" workshops have also been restarted as a means to create compost for our farms. Worm farms are a great way to convert food scraps into food for our Urban Farms. By building our own worm farms, we recycle many materials that would normally be thrown away! We like to think of worm farms as another way to recycle and keep it green at The Bridge.

The worm farm can be built with anything resembling an old plastic box with a tight lid that is waterproof and can be punctured for ventilation. The worm farm is started in a box with shredded newspaper, old leaves and a small amount of food scraps. The worms thrive on these materials! We only feed them organic food scraps (fruits and veggies), plus eggshells, which they actually find quite yummy. No meat or dairy products are used.

The worms will double in population every 8 weeks, so they are fed new scraps every 8 weeks. Since they enjoy the darkness, we cover the "bed" with old newspaper and store the bin in a cool, dark place. We also make sure to keep the bedding moist. Every couple of months, the worm farm is ready for "harvesting" for compost.

Additionally, the Bridge's Horticulture Team is learning how to sprout seeds (Pea Shoots, Mung Beans and Alfalfa) for consumption, as they are jam packed with vitamins. This produce will be used to provide fresh, nutritious food to over 100 residents and Bridge staff.

The Bridge recently received a $25,000 grant from The Burpee Foundation to support our Urban Farm and Horticulture program, and also to expand the composting program and rainwater collection initiative at 3 of our Urban Farms.

The Bridge Horticulture Program, in collaboration with The Horticultural Society of NY, operates our Urban Farms in a responsible eco-friendly way. The Bridge utilizes rainwater-harvesting systems to conserve water and compost leaves and other scraps to create richer soil naturally. Seedlings are also sprouted from Burpee seeds, in our new greenhouse at the Morris Avenue Urban Farm in the Bronx that allows for an extended growing season.

Rainwater Collection Drum

The Bridge has 4 new residences in development, all of which will have green space. Urban Farms will be created at our new Tilden Avenue residence in Brooklyn, and our Melrose Residence in the Bronx. The new Herkimer Street residence in Brooklyn will have Garden Boxes to grow herbs and vegetables, and all future new construction will have green space as well. We are so grateful to have such meaningful support from The Burpee Foundation for this expansion.

Composting Program

This blog post is contributed by a Bridge Peer Worker and Bridge clients. Read more about how Bridge clients support each other and advocate for themselves through the Peer-to-Peer Program here.

Contributed by: Angela Cerio, Bridge Peer Facilitator, C.P.R.P.

On Wednesday April 3rd, four people from The Bridge headed to Albany for a full day conference titled "Recovery is for Everyone". The NYC DOH&MH's Office of Consumer Affairs sponsored us for travel and overnight accommodations in Albany. Getting there was half the fun. We left from The Bridge after [PROS] groups, and headed across the GWB to take Rte. 17 up to the NYS Thruway, stopping on the way for coffee and restroom breaks. We got to know each other much better as we chatted while I drove.

From left to right: Gary Rollins - Peer, Angela Cerio - Peer Facilitator, Laszlo Varga - Peer, Sharon Murphy - Peer

Once we got to Albany, we decided to go to dinner before checking into our hotel. The Capitol Buffet on Wolf Road was the ideal choice for dinner. Everyone got exactly what they wanted to eat – and all they could eat of it. 

Thursday morning we made our way to the Marriott for registration and a continental breakfast. As we went in we saw Jody Silver, Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs for the NYC DOH&MH. I introduced her to the peers from The Bridge who her office had approved to come with me. I also ran into Jim Stone, former NYS OMH Commissioner, whom I served under on the MHPAC for several years. I mentioned that his old position is currently vacant and asked if he might consider another round as commissioner. "Once was quite enough!" was his reply.

Gary found four seats for us right upfront in the second row of the conference hall. After a few words about "Recovery and Transformation in Behavioral Health" by the sponsors – Community Care of Pittsburgh - Patricia Deegan, PhD gave the keynote address. I have been a fan of Pat Deegan for many years and her talk on "Balancing the Duty to Care with the Dignity of Risk" did not disappoint. Her talk was fascinating, and an excellent introduction to the mental health recovery movement for the three Bridge participants who accompanied me, Sharon Murphy, Gary Rollins and Laszlo Varga. The next speaker was Dr. Peggy Swarbuck from New Jersey's Collaborative Support Programs Institute for Wellness and Recovery Initiatives who spoke on "Promoting Wellness and Recovery by Living, Learning and Leading." Next, Lisa Dixon, MD, Director of Columbia University's Center for Practice Innovations spoke on the "Science of Recovery".

After lunch, Jody Silver, Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs, whom we met earlier on our way in, along with Meggan Schilkie, Deputy Director of NYC's Bureau of Mental Health, presented on PARACHUTE NYC, a new pilot program funded by the federal government which includes respite beds and a peer support component, hiring over 100 people with psychiatric histories.

Next came a panel discussion "Talking About Recovery" which gave three viewpoints by peers who are now working within the system about the language we use and how some words and phrases can be disempowering, reinforcing hopelessness and chronicity, while different ways of saying the same thing can lead to hope and empowerment. This presentation seemed to resonate most with the people I brought with me, and they've asked me to get more information on this.

After break, was the workshop "break-out" session, offering a choice of four presentations. We all decided to attend Pat Deegan's workshop on "Peer Staff as Disruptive Innovators". As the only peer staff leading service groups in The Bridge's PROS program, I found it extremely interesting.

After dinner, we headed home in the car my son had loaned me for the trip. The only anxiety I experienced this entire trip was the traffic once we got to Manhattan. The peers with me were extremely helpful in navigating to their residences when my GPS was of no help due to the tall buildings, tricky turns and one way streets in their neighborhoods. It took another hour to get myself home to Staten Island.

I enjoyed this trip immensely, and it was nice to have the opportunity to get to know the people I work with at The Bridge in such a stimulating yet relaxed atmosphere.

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Thoughts on "Recovery is for Everyone" Conference:

Contributed by: Sharon Murphy - Bridge Peer

The conference "Recovery is for Everybody" was very educational for me. I learned a lot about the mental health system and new skills I can use to advocate both for myself and others. The whole experience enhanced my skills as an advocate and the attitude of professional people who spoke at the conference helped me understand more of my own diagnosis. Thank you for letting me attend.

"The job of poetry is to give a better reputation to language" — Scott Zwiren, Bridge Poet

Contributed by: Patricia Thackray - Director of The Bridge Poetry Program

April is National Poetry Month. The work presented here by The Bridge Poets is both a celebration of National Poetry Month, and an apostrophe to the ever changing, evolving moon. Most often, writing is a solitary process. This exercise affords us the opportunity to find common ground and discover things we might not discover when writing on our own.