Doug McBrierty grew up on Cape Cod, a die-hard Red Sox fan. So when he returned from the Iraq war with a traumatic brain injury, it was a given that baseball would be part of his recovery, thanks to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Five years ago, the nonprofit gave McBrierty a $3,500 scholarship to attend the Red Sox fantasy camp in Fort Meyers, Florida. Even though he hadn’t played catch in twenty years, McBrierty felt welcome at the camp staffed with former Red Sox players.
“Ability didn’t matter,” McBrierty told Mary E. O’Leary of the New Haven Register. “They greet you with open arms. It’s like a family reunion every year,” he said. McBrierty, who is now a firefighter, struck up a friendship with Gary Allenson, a former Red Sox catcher who currently manages the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a minor league baseball team.
Today, McBrierty attends the camp every year to help other wounded veterans play ball. “There are a lot of people there with disabilities, but they take the time to teach them,” McBrierty said. Rico Petrocelli, a former Red Sox shortstop and third baseman who helps at the camp, recalls a veteran who’d lost an arm in combat and learned to hit again, and another vet who walked with a cane, but “made a diving catch in right field.”
Now McBrierty, Petrocelli and others are working to raise money to send more veterans to baseball camp. Many former Red Sox pitched in autographed items for a silent auction that was held a couple of weeks ago in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Wounded Warrior Project funds a variety of adaptive sports experiences for injured veterans — from skiing to skydiving to scuba diving.
For those veterans who grew up dreaming of being on the baseball diamond, the chance to join the boys of summer at a fantasy camp can’t be beat.
MORE: This Amazing Nonprofit Helps Injured Vets Rebuild Their Lives
Tag: connecticut
After Newtown Shooting, This Critical Program Helps Police Deal with Mental Health Emergencies
In the wake of school shootings like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary, understanding mental health issues has become a major concern in the national dialogue. For authorities, part of that is having the skills to identify red flags, and in a criminal situation, to know when someone is in need of help.
Recognizing mental health has become a priority for the state of Connecticut. To educate workers, authorities have created the Crisis Intervention Team, which trains police officers in understanding how to recognize and respond to the spectrum of behavioral and mental health issues, according to NPR. The program, which is one of about 2,7000 across the country, teaches policemen everything ranging from assessing suicidal people to implementing de-escalation techniques. On Wednesday, Connecticut lawmakers even passed a bill that requires police officials across the state receive similar training.
Lance Newkircher, a patrol officer in Fairfield, Connecticut, said that it’s not difficult to interview “the person who just stole four tires from BJ’s” and get that person to admit what’s going on. But “it’s incredibly difficult to get someone who believes they have an assignment from the FBI to really admit that they don’t, and [that] they do need help, and it’s time to go and talk to somebody at the hospital. So that’s the skill set.”
Newkirchen is one of 18 that are part of Fairfield’s Crisis Intervention Team, which was launched about three years ago. (In total, there are 107 officers on the town’s force.) Members attend statewide workshops and seminars, which encourage police officers to foster relationships not just with their communities but with mental health providers as well.
MORE: For Refugees, American Dream Starts With Better Mental-Health Screenings
Newkirchen points out that having this type of training gives officers a better understanding of a situation before they enter it. For example, if a policeman receives an emergency call from a house he has already visited responding to a suicide attempt, he has the details he needs to assess what happened before he gets there.
For Fairfield, that training is important. Newkirchen estimates he gets two to three calls per eight-hour shift regarding mental health.
“I would say 50 percent of the time, [the calls we get] are calls like this — where we are making, I think, a huge difference,” he told NPR. “We won’t be back, and that family has a very different sense of what we do as police officers.”
That’s a critical step in fostering a relationship between authorities and their community. As we grapple with national tragedies like Newtown, it’s vital that authorities understand the role that mental health can play in any situation.
“You know, protocol for a police officer is always, ‘Protect yourself,’ ” said third-year John McGrath. “To be able to learn what they’re thinking and what’s going on in their mind, kind of gives you a better perspective of what’s going on and what you’re able to do to further protect yourself and to protect them.”
Watch These Amazing Firefighters Lift a Truck to Save an 86-Year-Old Man
There’s so much to be said about the strength of firefighters. As the Huffington Post reports, a group of first responders saved the life of a Fairfield, Connecticut man who was pinned between his pickup truck and his garage.
According to reports, 86-year-old Franc Us was stuck for two hours in his garage before his cries for help were heard by his neighbors and notified the authorities. An emergency response team of about seven firefighters, paramedics and police showed up.
MORE: How Google Glass Can Fight Fires
As you can see in footage below caught by DoingIT Local.com, the team decided that the best way to free the man was by simply lifting the truck with their bare hands — no fancy equipment necessary. The man was taken to the hospital for his injuries and has reportedly been listed in critical condition.
According to a press release from the Fairfield Fire Department, the team contemplated “… multiple options… to free the trapped elderly man, but it was low-tech brute strength teamwork with the assistance of on scene Police officers that helped free the patient.”
Clearly the firefighters’ skills go way beyond putting out hot flames.
[ph]
Meet a Couple Whose Service to Veterans Will Make You Smile
Who knows if volunteering is the secret to a long-lasting partnership, but for one Connecticut couple, serving veterans has certainly served their 45-year-long marriage well.
Joanne and Jerry Blum met in 1967, after Jerry returned from serving in Vietnam. He was working at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, as a psychiatric aid, and Joanne was in nursing school, assigned to the same ward as Jerry during her three-month rotation. When she moved back to Massachusetts, Jerry’s friend convinced him to call her. And as they say, the rest is history.
They got married in 1968 and ever since, they have been working with veterans. Their whole family became involved with the West Hartford Veterans of Foreign Wars. “Joanne marched with the drill team,” Jerry told M.A.C. Lynch of the Hartford Courant. “I was in the color guard. Our daughters were in the fife and drum corps.” Professionally, Joanne worked as a nurse for thirty years at the veterans’ hospital in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
In more recent years, the Blums started volunteering with the Jewish War Veterans. “The Jewish War Veterans is the oldest active veterans service organization in America,” said Jerry. “Their mission is to dispel the idea that Jews don’t serve in the military, and to take care of veterans.” Through Jewish War Veterans, the Blums help homeless veterans and those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. They also assist veterans in hospitals through their organization’s Grant-A-Wish program — providing the vets with such comforts as new shoes and restaurant meals.
“Any time we do anything for the veterans, it’s the best mitzvah, something that you do that’s more than a good deed. You do it with no possible return,” Jerry said, but “for the feeling inside that this is what we exist for.”
MORE: An 87-Year-Old World War II Veteran Made A Promise at 19 to Help Someone Every Day
Connecticut’s Health Insurance Exchange Works So Well, Officials Are Selling It to Other States
Among the many faulty health insurance exchanges that entered the market late last year prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, there is one that could soon be considered the gold standard — and is carrying the stamp of approval from the Obama administration. Connecticut has had so much success with its Access Health CT exchange that it is setting up a consulting business to help other states build websites just like it. Call it an “exchange in a box”, but the hope is that states such as Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon — all of which were plagued by problems with their insurance websites — as well as any of the three dozen states that have been relying on the glitchy federal exchange will license or franchise at least some of Connecticut’s technologies in order to help their exchanges run smoother. “We realized that we had invented a better mousetrap,” Dr. Robert E. Scalettar, a board member on the Connecticut exchange, told the New York Times. “We could package our services and expertise and make them available to other states, promoting collaboration and avoiding a duplication of effort.”
MORE: How Crowdsourcing Medical Bills Can Usher in a New Era of Healthcare Transparency
Under the plan, which was spearheaded by Kevin J. Counihan, chief executive of Access Health CT, states could set their own policies for their insurance exchanges while buying technology and other services, including eligibility determinations, enrollment assistance and call center operations, from Connecticut. “This would be an ideal solution for a state that does not like big government or does not want to hire a big new staff,” Counihan said. “You can get the benefits of a state-based marketplace without the headaches of building or staffing it yourself.” This way, states can use what’s worked for Connecticut to build a website that will work better for citizens, without needing to start from scratch. And in Connecticut, the numbers don’t lie. About 55,000 people have signed up for private health insurance through Access Health CT since October, far exceeding the goal state officials set with still a month to go before the end of open enrollment. You know what they say, if it’s not broken, then sell it.
ALSO: The Checklist That Can Reform Healthcare
How a Homeless Man Inspired a U.S. Senator
It’s often said you can’t understand what someone is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes. So when U.S. Senator Chris Murphy decided he wanted to learn about the challenges facing homeless men and women in his community, he did just that. In late December, Murphy spent a day shadowing “Nick”–he requested his real name not be printed–a 40-year-old man who had spent six months on the streets. Murphy met Nick early in the morning, when his shelter asks residents to leave for the day. After wandering the neighborhood and briefly seeking relief from the cold at a local Dunkin’ Donuts, the duo went to the library, where Nick spent a few hours applying for jobs and responding to emails.
Throughout the day, Murphy learned that despite Nick’s rough start in life — his dad was a drug addict, and Nick has struggled with addiction, as well — he was able to graduate high school and work as a salesman for many years. He only became homeless when he was laid off and lost his home last year. With more than 20 years of work experience, you might think it would be easy for Nick to find a job. But as Murphy learned, the cycle of poverty is vicious. “He can’t get a job without a permanent address and can’t get a permanent address without a job,” Murphy told ThinkProgress.
After having lunch at a soup kitchen — beans, hot dogs and canned corn — Murphy accompanied Nick to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, then killed some time until they could line up at the shelter to wait for a bed. “As sobering as a day like this is, it’s slightly inspirational to hear somebody who’s been through what these guys have been through still believing there’s better days coming up soon,” Murphy told the New Haven Independent. Maybe the Senator’s influence–and his new experience with homelessness–can help those better days arrive.
MORE: Utah Is on Track to End Homelessness by 2015 with One Simple Idea
When This 82-Year-Old Helps the Homeless, All He Asks for Is a Hug
Every Wednesday afternoon, 82-year-old Anthony “Joe the Barber” Cymerys heads to Bushnell Park in Hartford, Conn., with nothing more than a folding chair and a duffel bag full of his special tools. For the past 25 years, he’s been dolling out free haircuts to the homeless men and women who frequent the park, and all he asks for in return is a hug. Cymerys, a retired real estate investor who learned how to cut hair from his dad when he was growing up, got the idea to provide free haircuts for the homeless when he was volunteering at a shelter in 1988. He met a heroin addict named Arnold who was badly in need of a haircut, so he offered his services. After that, his mobile barbershop was born.
MORE: How a Homeless Man Inspired a U.S. Senator
Last June, city health officials forced Cymerys to leave the park after some residents expressed concerns about the safety and sanitation of his services. But the mayor, Pedro Segarra, quickly gave him a special dispensation, along with a proposition: the city would help him obtain a state barber’s license, if he wanted one. (No word yet on whether he’s taken them up on that). The following Wednesday, “Joe the Barber” returned to his spot in the park, and dutifully trimmed the hair of his clients, to whom he’s become quite close. “They’re my family,” Cymerys told CBS News. “They really are my family.”
MORE: This Homeless Man Decided to Help a Driver in Trouble. What Happened Next Changed His Life Forever
Why 5 States Are Introducing Longer School Days
Schools in Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee are redesigning their 2014-2015 schedules to include an extra 300 hours per year. Those hours will be used to provide students (most in high-poverty areas) with extra instruction and enrichment, like letting students experiment with personalized learning technologies or teaching them about world cultures, healthy living, foreign languages, independent study, and art. “We really did this because we really believe that students can benefit from these enrichment activities and the typical school does not accommodate all of that learning,” said one Connecticut superintendent.