Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children
Jeffrey Fetzko, ACSW, LSW, CFRE
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 13, 2005
The executive director news is published specifically for the employees of the Somerset Home. This issue and past issues of this newsletter are available on our web site at http://www.somersethome.org/main/pages/employee_newsletter.htm.
My Place I and II
We have received our final fire inspection for My Place I and have finished sheet rock and insulation in the garage. The operations budget should be in place in the next couple of weeks and we will start interviewing clients for admission next month. We are eagerly anticipating our grand opening.
As soon as we open My Place I we will begin the development of My Place II.
Employee Benefit
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers has extended a special 20% discount rate to all Somerset Home employees. Simply apply online for a corporate card at corporatecard@jos-a-bank.com or call 800-285-2265 or just apply when you stop in to one of the stores. Our corporate company number is 71564 and our tax id number is 237061564.
EXCERPT FROM GOVERNOR CODEY'S 'STATE OF THE STATE' MESSAGE - JANUARY 11, 2005
"One in every five New Jersey residents will suffer from a mental illness in their lifetime.
There are some who have said that mental health is my personal agenda.
Let me make it clear. I couldn't be prouder of the dignity and courage my wife has shown through her struggles and her advocacy.
But this isn't my agenda -- it's everyone's agenda.
And if it's not ... it should be!
Individuals with mental illness are our brothers and our sisters ... our mothers and our fathers.
They are our sons and daughters ... our neighbors and colleagues.
And, yes, our husbands and our wives.
And they all deserve better.
To begin with, their basic need for decent housing is not being met.
There are 8,000 chronically homeless people in New Jersey, the vast majority of whom suffer from mental illness.
50% of adults with severe mental illness live at home with their aging parents.
And the wait for housing for an individual in the state system can be five years!
The housing shortage destroys their quality of life.
It puts unnecessary and extraordinary costs on the citizens of this State.
And it makes their recovery from mental illness even harder.
Meeting this crisis has been a top priority of the Governor's Task Force on Mental Health.
And so today, I am proposing a $200 million dollar housing trust fund for individuals with mental illness and other disabilities.
This will help create 10,000 affordable places to live over the next 10 years.
It will bring decency to the lives of individuals with mental illness.
It will bring relief to their families who have cared for them.
And it will let New Jersey ... begin to do better.
Our mental health facilities are facing a personnel crisis.
These jobs are difficult and salaries start as low as $25,000 dollars per year.
On average, 38% of recent college graduates in community-based provider agencies will leave their job after one year.
If we can't retain quality people then we can't provide quality care.
So today I am proposing a new incentive to attract and retain mental health workers.
The state will forgive up to $20,000 dollars in student loans ...
for any college graduate who works in a state, county, or non-profit mental health or social service agency.
These are only two initial recommendations from the Mental Health Task Force, and I look forward to their full report in March."
As always, thank you all for your continued hard work on behalf of our youth.
