10 Tips to help Overcome Holiday Stress Don’t let stress and worry hurt your health this holiday season. While ‘tis the season to be merry, for many of us, it’s also ‘tis the season for stress, anxiety and angst. During this time of year, people often resort to bad habits—this may come in the form of overspending, eating poorly, drinking too much or even lack of sleep.
To help you have a happy season, here are 10 tips to relieve holiday stress.
0 Comments
Community Solutions Announces Terkeltaub as Director of Project Development Virginia Beach, VA - December 4, 2018. . . Mike Terkeltaub has served children and families for over 30 years. He began his career as a residential counselor at Pleasantville Cottage School in the early 1970’s. He worked in the “cottages”, group homes and local school the children attended. He moved to Virginia in the early 1990’s where he founded a seminal Wraparound services program at the Barry Robinson Center. He was named the city of Hampton Virginia Comprehensive Services Act Coordinator in 1995. This led to accolades as Mr. Terkeltaub led a multi-agency collaborative in bringing children home from out of community institutional placements while reducing the number of children entering foster care. These efforts resulted in creating a unique and robust community based system of care. Mike began to serve as a consultant to local and state agencies regarding the development of trauma informed, family focused, strengths-based services for children, families and communities. He was the leader of Systems of Care and Wraparound efforts in Hampton Virginia and served for ten years as a consultant to the City of Hampton Systems of Care Leadership Team. He has over 25 years experience writing, developing, implementing and operating community-based programming for at-hope youth and families. He has been instrumental in developing strengths-based, community-based initiatives in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. These programs include Systems of Care approaches, Wrap-around processes, therapeutic foster care, therapeutic group homes, in-home services, mentoring, respite, and after school programs. He has consulted to communities, agencies and individual families in Virginia, Louisiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Arizona, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands. He develops creative and sensible community-based alternatives to out-of-home care for individual young people as well as systems approaches to reducing the need for out-of-home care. Mike has supported children and young adults successfully leaving state hospitals, treatment centers and long-term placements to live successfully in their homes, schools and communities. Mike has created multiple public/private partnerships in his home state of Virginia including specialized intensive foster care homes, teaching parent homes, intensive case management services and specialized homes for children and families with complex needs. He has provided technical assistance to many localities throughout Virginia in creating Systems of Care and Wraparound supports and services. He also served as the Executive Director of Children’s Behavioral Health Services in Phoenix, Arizona where he was instrumental in the development of community-based alternatives to out-of-home and out-of-community placements, as well as a leader in the development of family driven service delivery. Mike Terkeltaub most recently served as the Chief Administrative Officer for Child and Family Support Services (CFSS), Arizona’s largest provider of community based services. Mike has been part of the CFSS Team in various capacities for 10 years. He was instrumental in the development of Direct Supports, the Mental Health clinics in Northern Arizona, the Bring Our Children Home project and the development of Behavioral Health Direct Supports in Tucson Arizona. Since 2012 Mike has been the Project Leader in the development of Child Welfare (DCS) services at CFS Mr. Terkeltaub holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from City University of New York and a Master of Arts Degree in Social Issues from Old Dominion University. He has served as the keynote speaker and session trainer at over 50 conferences nationwide. Mike was born into the foster care system in Norfolk, Virginia and works diligently to improve outcomes for at-hope young people and families served by multiple child-serving agencies. He was recently honored as the Dreamweaver Wraparound award recipient by Karl Dennis and Dixie Jordan as well as was the recipient of the 2013 Hampton’s Hero Award. He was the recipient of the 2014 first annual Child and Family Support Services Person of the Year award which has been renamed the CFSS Mike Terkeltaub award. Community Solutions is proud and honored to have Terkeltaub as part of our team! Tips for a Sensory-Safe Holiday Season Season The holidays can be a fun – yet stressful – time for all of us. But, for those, especially children, with sensory overload issues, the holidays can mean more than stress. Avoid some of the power struggles, meltdowns and overloads with these tips.
Let us know what you have planned to help your child cope with the holiday season. Student becomes the mentor Dear CS, I come from a place where nobody gives me any responsibilities, nothing to take pride in. My experience in the Community Solutions program has been nothing but great for me, it made me question my career path. . . maybe I want to be a mentor. I want to help more young children, girls in particular, that have a similar history as me, to show them that their situations don’t dictate their future. It’s amazing how some things play out, I was in the Community Solutions programs for 2 years, I believe. When I first started in the after school program, I never spoke because I was still upset at the fact that I was in foster care. I didn’t want to be there at all. I started to open up months after starting. I grew to love Mr. John and Mr. Joe, my two favorite staff! They never gave up on me, everyday they would try to get me to speak, they did everything but it was on me to stop giving one word responses and hold a conversation with them. After that it’s history, now I talk holes in everybody’s head. I was in the CS Brighter Futures summer camp as well. I liked it, it was a great learning experience. I got a job at Kentucky Fried Chicken soon after the summer camp was over. I learned so many things about the business world… how to dress, how to properly interview, how to speak, all that good stuff. This summer I reached out the Mr. Larry for a job opportunity because I quit my job at Kentucky Fried Chicken and needed a job for the summer. He gave me a chance as a camp counselor. Being a camp counselor was probably the most fun but stressful thing I’ve ever done. There were so many different personalities who needed very different kinds of attention, it blew my mind. There were 3 pre-teen girls that I connected with because in every single one I saw a part myself. Even though they didn’t like my leadership or take it seriously because I was closer in age to them than everybody else, I just wanted to guide them in the right direction. In my opinion. they believe that fun equals trouble, which is so untrue. I wanted them to understand that I’ve done everything they have done and probably more. It was short lived though, they didn’t want my guidance. Besides that, I got to be a child again, I probably had more fun on some field trips than most of the children. Just being a part of the CS staff or family was amazing, it made me realize how much I loved to be around children. I just want to thank you all for giving me the experiences and continuing to help me throughout my senior year of high school, preparing me for college and the adult world. Thank you, Diamond Dr. Gwendolyn Cherry: "A Life-Long Learner" Virginia Beach, VA - September 17, 2018 . . Community Solutions is proud to announce that one of Hampton Roads' most-esteemed helping professionals has joined the Community Solutions team to equip our youth with tools for success. Help us welcome, Dr Gwendolyn Cherry.
Dr. Cherry graduated Cum Laude from Norfolk State University in 1980 with her undergraduate degree in Special Education; Cum Laude in 1991 from Regent University with her Master Degree in Education; in 2007 earned her Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, Miami, FL. In 2009, she studied abroad at Oxford University’s Hertford College in England. Dr. Cherry earned a second Master Degree in Government with a certification in Law and Public Policy from Regent University in May 2010. Dr. Cherry served as the Director of the Office of Youth Development for the City of Norfolk; and has extensive experience as a teacher, behavioral specialist, dean, consultant, and school administrator with Norfolk Public Schools. Dr. Cherry retired in 2008 from Norfolk Public Schools with over 33 years of service. After retiring, Dr. Cherry has served as Executive Director, AMIKids Norfolk, Administrator, Second Chances Youth Program; and Education Consultant with Family Systems II, Inc. and Community Solutions academic programs. She is the owner of Cherry Education Consulting, LLC. Our Community Solutions' families are going to benefit greatly with Dr Cherry on the team! |