Transforming Lives - The Newsletter of The Harris Center Summer 2017 - Issue 4 | Page 5

CEO Search Update - The Honorable Jon Keeney As many of you know, The Harris Center Board of Trustees appointed a Search Committee of the Board several months ago to lead the Agency’s efforts in the search for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With the help of the Meyers Group, a national recruiting firm, the Search Committee is in the midst of conducting a national search for qualified candidates for the CEO position. The Search Committee will continue its work until we identify a candidate with the capability of leading The Harris Center with its critical mission into our exciting future. To ensure the selection reaches a successful outcome, the Search Committee interview process includes The Harris Center staff and many of our external partners. I want to thank the staff of The Harris Center for their continued dedication to and focus on the mission of The Harris Center during this time of transition. In addition, thank you to each and every one of you, our community stakeholders and partners, for your support as we work to ensure that our next CEO is the best choice to lead our Agency into the future. On behalf of my fellow board members, I wish you and your loved ones a relaxing and fun-filled summer. Respectfully, Jon Keeney Chairperson, Board of Trustees Chair, Search Committee Prosumers -Peer Recovery in Action Recovery: one word with countless possibilities. Because there is not one definition of recovery, everyone has their own meaning and their own story. “The Agency slogan is Transforming Lives, and so, when we think of that and we think of recovery, it means to help someone progress in finding meaning in their life. They are not merely progressing towards eliminating symptoms, but to be able to live a meaningful life past the mental health challenges that they face,” said Ana Oyarvide, Recovery Manager for the Mental Health Outpatient Services Division of The Harris Center. While the recovery journey is unique for each individual, it is a tie that binds. Those who have lived experience in recovery from mental illness, commonly referred to as peers, offer an insight that is invaluable to those who are either just starting their process or those who find it beneficial to talk to others who understand what it is like to live with a mental illness. This is why The Harris Center employs a number of peers and family partners, which are parents or guardians with lived experience in raising children with mental or emotional challenges, across the Agency’s programs to provide additional supports to consumers and their families. In fact, The Harris Center employs more certified peer specialists than any other local mental health authority in Texas. “It’s not a replacement or a substitution. It’s in addition to the medication management that you may be receiving from your physician, an addition to the therapy, an addition to the skills training that your rehab clinician is providing you,” said Oyarvide. As part of its commitment to incorporating Learn more about how our collaboration with Prosumers is making a difference by visiting http://bit.ly/ProsumersRecovery. peers in the recovery process, The Harris Center maintains various partnerships and collaborations throughout the community with peer-oriented organizations that help empower individuals receiving services to become active members in the community. One of the partnerships is with Prosumers, which started eight years ago. “Prosumers is not a group of people, it’s not a title, it’s a job description. So anybody can be a Prosumer, somebody who is being proactive in their life and giving back to others. It’s not who you are, it’s what you do,” said Janet Paleo, founder of Prosumers. Prosumers normally meets the second Saturday of the month at the main administrative building of The Harris Center located at 9401 Southwest Freeway. During the meetings, people share a meal for the first hour. Once the second hour hits, they move into the empowerment part of the meeting where the group strives to inform, educate, inspire and help people be the best they can be. “Prosumers is a family of choice. We are a group of people who get together to support each other and at least once a month have a targeted conversation about something that will help us live life powerfully. When people walk in through the door we tell them there is no such thing as a stranger. You may feel that you’re in a new place the first meeting but by the time you leave, you are one of us. The only requirement to be a Prosumer is to walk in the door and want to have an amazing life. It’s a place where you can be comfortable just being you,” said Prosumers Executive Director Anna Gray. Recovery is possible, and The Harris Center offers multiple opportunities for individuals living with a mental illness to support one another along the way. Anyone interested in additional information regarding peer services at The Harris Center may contact Ana Oyarvide at [email protected].