Oak Ridge Today

Kiwanis to learn more about Ridgeview on Tuesday

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Ridgeview-Behavioral-Health-Services

Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services (Screenshot from a video by Savanna Schubert)

 

Kiwanis members and friends will learn more about Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services on Tuesday.

Michael Yates, Ridgeview’s development director, will discuss Ridgeview’s facilities and services during a Kiwanis meeting at noon Tuesday, May 9, a press release said.

Ridgeview is a private, nonprofit community mental health center based in Oak Ridge that is committed to providing high-quality behavioral health services through prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance abuse, a press release said. [Read more…]

Ridgeview rep to discuss youth substance abuse on July 18

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Michael Yates

Michael Yates

Michael Yates, development director for Ridgeview Behavioral Services, will discuss youth substance abuse on Saturday, July 18, at Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge.

The presentation is titled “Youth Substance Abuse—the Complex and Courageous Conversation.” It’s free and scheduled for Saturday, July 18, at Grace Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge. It starts at 10:30 a.m. in the fellowship hall, and it is hosted by the church’s Mental Health Ministry. Child care will be available, a press release said.

Yates will discuss risk factors that drive the misuse and use of substances, and offer information on how parents and communities might best respond to strengthen protective factors for youth and families, the press release said.

“Youth and adolescents turn to substance abuse for a number of reasons,” he said. “Some want to experiment with boundaries, some do so because of peer pressure, and others are trying to cope with unmanageable pain, suffering, or anxiety.” [Read more…]

Substance abuse the topic of Tuesday health lecture

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Melody Morris

Melody Morris

Substance abuse comes in many forms. It can be the abuse of legal substances, such as alcohol or prescription drugs, or it can be illegal, such as the abuse of marijuana, cocaine, or methamphetamine. And it affects more than just the person using the drugs. Substance abuse can break apart families, ruin personal relationships, and make it difficult to keep a job.

Learn more about substance abuse when Methodist Medical Center partners with Ridgeview Behavioral Health to discuss this important topic during Health Night on the Town on Tuesday, March 31, at 7 p.m. in the Ridge Conference Room of Methodist Medical Center, located at 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Staff from Ridgeview will discuss substance abuse and its co-occurring mental health issues as well as an innovative treatment for expectant mother’s who have used or are at risk of using drugs. [Read more…]

Photos: Community leaders sleep outside to raise awareness of homelessness

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Pastor Steve Sherman with Homeless Sign

Pastor Steve Sherman of First Christian Church is pictured above at a camp-out on a cold Thursday night at First United Methodist Church that was intended to raise awareness of homelessness. (Photos by James Lewis) 

 

Several community leaders camped out Thursday night at First United Methodist Church to raise awareness of homelessness. The volunteers also collected linens and personal care items for the upcoming Warming Center project and brought attention to the need for volunteers to help with the Point in Time Count.

Here are photos by James Lewis.

The community was invited to come out to support the sleep-out participants from 6-7 p.m. Thursday (January 15), and local homeless providers were expected to talk about their agencies and what they are providing to homeless individuals in the community. [Read more…]

Ridgeview sobriety program recognized for excellence

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Ridgeview MIST Program Award

Receiving the award for the Ridgeview MIST program are Michelle Jones, program manager; Brian Buuck, chief executive officer; Kristin Bales, therapist; and Stacy Park, outpatient services director. (Submitted photo)

Mothers and Infants Sober Together, or MIST, was presented a Program of Excellence award at the recent annual meeting of the Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations, held in Nashville.

The MIST program provides outpatient treatment for mothers who disclose use or abuse of substances during pregnancy or test positive at delivery. The service includes in-home case management, individual and group therapy, and alcohol and drug support groups. The program serves between 80-100 families a year.

A primary goal of the program is to coordinate and provide mental health and substance abuse treatment services to prevent Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and to promote a stable, drug-free environment for the infant and family, a press release said. Families learn about bonding, attachment, parenting techniques, and addiction and recovery, to replace harmful parenting practices with safe, positive, and nurturing ones. Another goal is to assure access to and compliance with medical care and routine, consistent contact with a primary care physician and/or pediatrician. Urine drug screens are conducted to ensure the safety of the unborn and newborn babies. [Read more…]

Man found with gunshot wounds in Ridgeview parking lot taken to hospital but dies

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Emergency workers were unable to save a man found with two apparent gunshot wounds in his chest on Tuesday in the rear parking lot of a mental health center in Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has not released the man’s name or age, and a report said the shooting remains under investigation. [Read more…]

Letter: Thanks ORPD, Ridgeview, mental health community for ‘Preventing Tragedy’ seminar

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To the Editor:

I would like to express appreciation for the “Preventing Tragedy: A Community United” presentation on Monday, April 15, at the New Hope Center. The Oak Ridge Police Department and Ridgeview are to be applauded for providing a public discussion about avoiding shooting tragedies. It is clear both the police and the mental health community, including the East Tennessee Mental Health Association, care deeply about the public’s being better informed with regard to mental health issues.

As Ben Harrington of the ETMA said, the public can use the Head in the Sand approach and hope that the problem will go away, or they can inform themselves and find ways to address it. It was pointed out that about 26 percent of persons will need some form of mental health treatment in any given year, so that it is not rare for people to need help.

Police Chief Jim Akagi described the sequence of events in Newton, Conn., and how the school “did everything right,” and yet the gunman was able to shoot his way into the building. He indicated that there is more needed in preventing a similar tragedy than more police officers. [Read more…]