On June 17, For All Seasons sponsored its second Migrant Resource Fair at the Volunteer Fire House on Hoopers Island in Fishing Creek, Maryland. The event, which drew over 130 participants, offered information and resources to local migrant workers, while also featuring arts and crafts, dinner, music, dancing, and plenty of fun.

“This was our second annual outreach event in Hoopers Island, and I’m delighted to say that it was a resounding success. Seeing the joy on the faces of the women and men enjoying the fair was truly heartwarming. The community’s overwhelming appreciation motivates me to improve this event year after year,” comments Ivy Garcia, Director of Latino Services at For All Seasons.

Garcia is serving as a bridge, connecting women to a variety of services, including mental health and rape crisis services at For All Seasons. She also provides education on self-esteem and helps migrant women as well as other Latino women across the region become empowered to take care better of themselves and to understand their mental health needs.

Because the crab-picking houses are very separate from each other in Dorchester County, For All Seasons decided to do an event where Garcia and the staff could reach all of the workers at one time to provide information on a variety of community services. Garcia reached out to some employers on Hoopers Island, including J M Clayton Seafood Company, Simmons Chesapeake Bay Seafood, GW Hall and Son, Russell Hall Seafood Inc., Lindy’s Seafood, Inc., Rippons Brothers Seafood, and Boats and Hose to encourage their workers to attend. Some employers on Hoopers Island as well as For All Seasons helped provide transportation for the workers so that they could participate.

Among the 20 vendors at the Migrant Resource Fair were Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence, Dorchester County Health Department, Choptank Community Health, Maryland Food Bank, Maryland Food Bank: SNAP Enrollment, Aetna Better Health of Maryland, Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center, University of Maryland Clark Comprehensive Breast Center, Dorchester County Public Library, Dorchester County Health Department Colorectal Cancer Screening Program, Santé Group, State of Maryland Office of Oral Health, St. Mary’s Refuge of Sinners Catholic Church, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Eastern Shore Area Health Center, Shore Legal Access, Priority Partners, Latido Latino, RESPIRAR Project, and Comptroller of Maryland. Vendors provided important resources including information on how to access medical and dental care, mental health services, health insurance, food, and clothing.

“The individuals who attend the fair are here with work visas. While they are here working, their needs can be met by For All Seasons and other local agencies. Every year, they bring different people to the island who will benefit from knowing this information, so it is important to keep providing these resources each year for them,” Garcia added.

Also in attendance at the event were 12 volunteers, including For All Seasons staff, many of whom are bilingual.  “We are grateful for the wonderful volunteers who came out to support our Latino Outreach event. The volunteers and staff were vitally important to making this event such a huge success,” commented Mary Wilson, Community Engagement Coordinator at For All Seasons.

For further information on For All Seasons Latino Outreach efforts, contact Ivy Garcia at [email protected] or call 410-822-1018, ext. 207.

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For All Seasons provides the highest quality mental health and victim services to children, adults, and families across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Services are offered in both English and Spanish and include therapy, psychiatry, victim advocacy, 24-hour crisis hotlines, outreach, and community education. For information about For All Seasons walk-in hours, contact For All Seasons at 410-822-1018 or visit ForAllSeasonsInc.org.

Morgan Blue recently was named Director of Operations for University of Maryland Shore Medical Group (UM SMG), which includes more than 150 physician and advanced practice providers in more than 21 primary care and specialty practices throughout Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties. UM SMG is affiliated with UM Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member hospital of the University of Maryland Medical System.

 

Morgan brings more than 13 years of experience to the role and has been with UM SRH since 2015, where she started as a physical therapist assistant. Most recently, she has been the practice manager for UM SMG – Nephrology, UM SRH’s Multi-Specialty Clinic and UM SMG – Radiology. Morgan will remain the practice manager for UM SMG – Radiology.

Morgan attained her Bachelor of Science in Health Services Management from University of Maryland University College. 

“Morgan’s passion, hard work, leadership and commitment to our organization is inspiring,” said Erika Jordan, Senior Director of Operations, UM SMG. “Her accomplishments have brought many successes to UM Shore Medical Group, and we are thrilled to see Morgan entering this new role, bringing her strengths to our team.”

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About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

 

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

 

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The University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is hosting free upcoming Safe Sitter® courses in partnership with the Talbot County Health Department. UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

The courses will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, and Saturday, October 19, at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton’s Health Education Center, 219 South Washington Street. This program will be taught by UM SRH Women and Children’s Department skilled nurses and offered to children ages 11 to 13. 

The course is designed to prepare students to be safe when they are home alone, watching younger siblings or babysitting other children. The instructor-led class is taught using games and role-playing exercises so that students can practice rescue skills. The Talbot County Health Department is providing a grant to cover costs in full for the first 50 students who enroll.

Participants in the program can expect to learn safety skills, including how to prevent unsafe situations and what to do when faced with dangers such as power failures or weather emergencies; child care skills, such as tips to manage behavior that will help sitters stay in control of themselves and the children in their care; first aid and rescue skills, including CPR and choking rescue; and life and business skills to help sitters screen potential childcare jobs, discuss fees and greet employers.

To register for the course, email Gladys Peeples at [email protected]. Early registration is encouraged, as class size is limited. For questions, call Stephanie Blades at 410-822-1000, ext. 5234. Additional Safe Sitter dates will be offered in 2025. 

 

About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

CENTREVILLE, Md. (May 28, 2024) – University of Maryland Shore Medical Group (UM SMG) – Primary Care at Centreville recently welcomed Jamie Del Puppo, MSN, RN, CRNP, as a nurse practitioner. Most recently, Del Puppo served as a nurse clinician in the medical-surgical oncology inpatient unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Del Puppo earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio.

To make an appointment with Del Puppo, call 410-758-4432.     

 UM SMG is part of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, which is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.  

 

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About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

 

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

 

For All Seasons’ Center for Learning is pleased to offer “Not a Number: Facilitator Certification Training” developed by Love146 on June 4 – 6, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day at Anchor Church in Easton, Maryland. This interactive five-module prevention curriculum is designed to teach youth how to make safe choices and protect themselves from human trafficking and exploitation through information, critical thinking, and skill development.

According to Susan Ahlstrom, Human Trafficking Regional Navigator at For All Seasons, “The program integrates a holistic view of the issue by focusing on respect, empathy, individual strengths, and the relationship between personal and societal pressures that create or increase vulnerabilities. Through open conversations, engaging activities, the use of media, and opportunities for disclosures, participants find ways to move beyond awareness to behavioral change. Participants will also learn through the curriculum how to help youth identify and utilize healthy support systems that may decrease their vulnerabilities.”

The training is open to 20 mental health/youth service professionals and is designed to equip professionals to implement the “Not a Number” curriculum. The training includes training on human trafficking and commercial sex exploitation of children, modeling of “Not a Number” modules; coaching on facilitation techniques with diverse settings and appropriate response to disclosures; and “Not a Number” participant teach back. This training program is supported by funding from the Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy.

To attend the training, the participant’s agency will be required to sign a curriculum licensing agreement with Love146, good for one year. After the training, participants who have completed the training will be certified to implement “Not a Number” through their respective agency licenses. Each participant’s agency must pay an annual licensing renewal fee to continue using the curriculum ($125 per trainer).

The cost is $750 (a $1,275 VALUE) and includes 21 CEUs. To register, contact Desiree Lakey at [email protected]. For further information, visit [email protected].

For All Seasons provides the highest quality mental health and victim services to children, adults, and families across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Services are offered in both English and Spanish and include therapy, psychiatry, victim advocacy, 24-hour crisis hotlines, outreach, and community education. For information about For All Seasons walk-in hours, contact For All Seasons at 410-822-1018 or visit ForAllSeasonsInc.org.

In observance of Mental Health Awareness Month, For All Seasons, in partnership with the Talbot County Public Schools, collaborated with Matt Lawrence, former NFL player and founder of 32Sports, to host assemblies focused on mental health, wellness, and resilience at St. Michaels Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. Through personal stories, candid discussions, and messages of hope, Lawrence inspired students to navigate life’s challenges with strength, fostering a supportive community culture that champions mental well-being for all. With the knowledge that 1 in 5 youth face mental health challenges, For All Seasons is eager to spread messages of hope, and help youth build resiliency through programs like 32Sports.

Lawrence shared that his parents were role models and always in service to help the next person. When he finished playing for the Ravens due to a career- and life-changing concussion, he decided to stay in Baltimore to help address the needs of children there. “I always said we can use our platform as athletes for a purpose. Our mission is bridging pro athletes to sports and the kids soak it in,” Lawrence reflected.

Lawrence introduced the presentation’s theme to the first group of students, in second through fifth grades, stating, “The theme for today is we want to see the sunshine through the clouds. Everybody has clouds in their life. Everybody has things that they don’t necessarily like that are distracting them from what they need to be doing.”

“When I was your age, I was not the super-duper NFL Baltimore Raven. So, step by step, we walk and talk to get to where we want to be. We have dreams, but we need to do homework and things we may not like to do to get to our dreams. We have to look through the clouds and look at the sunshine.”

Throughout the presentation, Lawrence repeatedly asked kids to repeat the phrase, “I can do hard things.”

The students played a game where they had to throw the tennis balls into the buckets and the first group to get 10 tennis balls in their bucket won. The audience made a lot of noise while they were playing the game as a distraction. Afterwards, he shared with the kids, “When we try hard things sometimes there’s a lot of noise in the background. There’s a lot of clouds in the background. And we can’t focus on what we’re trying to do.”

The next game with the tennis balls focused on how to use the community (Lawrence’s helpers) to accomplish the same task of getting the balls in the bucket. He added, “So when we have big problems – when we have big clouds in our life, we still have community. Community can’t see the clouds in our life and the clouds can’t see your community.”

“Sometimes we try to do everything by ourselves and we can get exhausted. So, when you get exhausted, you call your community and they will come to your rescue.”

He reminded students that they have options – to use the help of their community could mean asking their parents, counselors, or the staff at For All Seasons for help.

In a question-and-answer period, one of the questions was about his struggles as a football player. He shared, “The biggest struggle came when I was your age, and people didn’t think I was good at football yet. So, the struggle was I wanted to quit because I wasn’t good enough. My parents said, ‘You can’t quit, you have to see it through. You can’t quit because you can do hard things. We know it’s hard for you, but it will get easier.’”

He concluded, “The best thing about playing professional sports is being able to come to schools like this and help you guys out every single day. I’ve learned a lot of things and now I can help you guys learn them sooner rather than later.”

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For All Seasons, Inc. is the only behavioral health and rape crisis center in Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Talbot, and Dorchester Counties – nearly a quarter of the state’s geographic area. For All Seasons is a critical safety net for Marylanders. Last year, the agency served 3,000 people with over 50,000 life-saving therapy, psychiatry, and sexual assault victim support services. Its trauma-certified mental health services include individual and group therapy; general, child and adolescent therapy; marriage and couples’ counseling; grief counseling; school-based mental health therapy; rape crisis response and support; 24-Hour English and Spanish

Join Kent County EMS as we proudly unveil the installation of a public access Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in anticipation of the 2024 recreation season at the Betterton Bath House. The Kent County Commissioners, in collaboration with the Office of Emergency Services, Department of Parks & Recreation, and Public Works, are dedicated to ensuring AEDs are readily available in public areas.

In addition to the Betterton Bath House, AEDs will be placed at Worton Park and Rock Hall Bulkhead Pool House.

A new recovery blend coffee that supports people affected by substance use launched this week from Night Kitchen Coffee in partnership with Grace Street in Easton.

Sales of the coffee, which will be available as whole bean and cold brew, support Grace Street, which is the area’s first recovery community organization (RCO). Grace Street is dedicated to saving lives and fostering healing for anyone affected by substance use disorder via an assortment of non-clinical, community-centered, and peer-led supports, including peer recovery support; harm reduction resources; street outreach; workforce training and development; youth programming; overdose prevention activities and resources; and support groups.

Night Kitchen Coffee Roasters owner John Rutkowski carefully selected beans for the recovery blend, from Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, and Brazil. The coffee has tasting notes of praline, jasmine, and a delicate fruit sweetness.

The blend lends itself to whole beans for retail and cold brew, both of which will be available for purchase at Grace Street, 8262 Ocean Gateway in Easton; Craft Bakery at 12 S. 3^rd St. in Denton; and online at nightkitchencoffee.com/coffee. Local businesses interested in supporting Grace Street by carrying the blend should contact Rutkowski at [email protected].

“Night Kitchen is excited to partner with Grace Street,” said Rutkowski. “This partnership gives us a chance to help with a cause that is very important to us and our community. By supporting Grace Street and those that struggle with addiction, we are able to nurture hope and foster recovery where it is needed most.”

Recovery Community Organizations are a nationally recognized model that helps bridge the gap between professional treatment and successful life in long-term recovery through enhanced support and services.

Grace Street opened on Aug. 1, 2023, and has since directly connected 110 people to detox/treatment; distributed 270 doses of Narcan and 400+ drug test strips; had more than 600 people visit the center and facilitated job training for 24 people, including Certified Peer Recovery Specialists.

Grace Street serves people across the Mid-Shore. Referrals are not necessary, and services are free. The center is open weekdays and Sundays, 4 – 9 pm., and Saturdays, 2 – 7 p.m. Daytime hours vary. Anyone interested in volunteering or partnering can contact Kate Dulin, program director, at 410-690-7353 or visit GraceStreetRecovery.org. Supporters may donate directly online at GraceStreetRecovery.org.

Chesapeake Charities, a community foundation based in Stevensville, received a one-year grant from Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response to establish the Grace Street RCO.

This project is supported by the Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response. The views presented here are those of the grantee organization and not necessarily those of the MOOR, its Executive Director, or its staff.