A Flaire for - Unity House of Cayuga County, Inc.

1 34 WRIGHT AVENUE AUBURN, NEW YORK 13021 Unity House s Wellness Committee hosted its first health fair last fall. In keeping with the agency s efforts to promote wellness and healthy lifestyles, the goal of Health Flaire was to connect local citizens with health care providers, provide networking opportunities for these constituents, and build awareness of the services and resources that are available in Cayuga Flaire took place on October 22 at the Auburn Holiday Inn. A sold-out number of presenters and vendors were on hand to share health and wellness information.

2 The free open House event featured healthy refreshments, a Zumba class, several break-out sessions, and more than 30 vendor booths. The Wellness Committee was pleased by the turnout at its first Health Flaire , an awareness raising event for the entire community, said event coordinator Melissa Schwartz. Health Flaire introduced attendees to many of the services that are available to assist local resi-dents in their daily lives. Topics included nutrition, exercise and movement, health care options, essential oils, therapy and counseling, and Oriental medicine; we even focused on financial wellness too.

3 Because wellness isn t one-dimensional and many factors can impact a person s health, the planning committee focused on a wide range of health-related topics at Health Flaire . More than 175 individuals showed up to learn more, collect free giveaways, and enter for prize drawings. 2014 was a great year in terms of wellness for our agency, continued Melissa. Unity House hosted a successful agency-wide weight loss program, won an award from the American Heart Association, and put on its 3rd annual Unity House Challenge, an activity for employees that encourages exercise and camaraderie among staff.

4 We believe that each employee s health and wellness is an essential component to providing our consumers with the best possible ser-vice, and we wanted to share our belief and knowledge with the greater community through Health Flaire . A Flaire for HEALTHY LIVINGMany thanks to our Health Flaire sponsors: Their financial support helped make Health Flaire a success!LIZ SMITH - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR2 Unity House of Cayuga County Inc. winter 2015 Executive Director sPERSPECTIVEU nity House continually strives to remain nimble and current in its operations, while providing the best possible resources and services to its consumers.

5 Those resources and services are con-tinually Andrew Cuomo has recently implemented a number of initiatives that directly impact Unity House and the people we serve. One of those initiatives is a movement towards self-direc-tion and integration in keeping with the Olmstead Act. Part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Supreme Court s 1999 Olmstead decision basically stated that putting people with disabilities in institutions, when they can benefit from community integration, perpetuates the notion that these individuals are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life.

6 The ruling also declared that confinement in an institu-tion severely diminishes everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrich-ment. Unity House has long held the vision that all individuals are respected and lead lives of personal fulfillment and acceptance within our community. Since 2009, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has launched an aggressive effort to enforce a similar vision across the is a big shift from the way the state and some private agencies have been operating.

7 To be successful with this transition, we all must work with the people we serve and their families, teaching them how to advocate for themselves so that they may get their desires and needs House has already established a consumer-led self-advocacy group called We-ACT in conjunction with SANYS, the Self Advocacy Association of New York State. Together, they help ensure that our services are consumer-driven and individuals receive what they need in the most integrated setting possible. I m excited because there are more opportunities out there for folks with intellectual disabilities than ever before.

8 I always believed we had overbuilt the system, almost enabling these individu-als to become too reliant on us. Now we are stepping back and really looking at their personal skills and abilities and what they can do for themselves, encouraging them to be as independent as support from the state is more consumer-centered than ever. More and more, the process is being driven by the consumers themselves instead of the agencies that serve them, so self-advocacy is critical. We need to give them the education and resources they need so that their voices are re On Did you know that Unity House has a Facebook page?

9 This social media outlet allows the agency to share news and increase awareness of its services and activities in the community. You re invited to check it out and Like our page: If you feel so inclined, please also share our page with your Facebook friends. Let us know what you think! Like Us!Spirit is published three timesa year by Unity Houseof Cayuga County, Wright Avenue, Suite CAuburn, NY D. BuckDirector of Marketing& x be added to the Spirit e-mail list or to opt-out, please call x 313 or Learn more about Unity House s services and how you can support Unity House DIRECTORE lizabeth SmithCHIEF OPERATING OFFICERPaul JoslynBoard of DirectorsPRESIDENTC indy WilcoxSouthern Cayuga Instant AidVICE PRESIDENTB etsy SterlingAttorney at LawSECRETARYK enneth KnightCayuga Health Assoc.

10 , retiredTREASURERB radley ChapmanOswego Health ServicesMembers-At-LargeAndrew CuddyElane DalyTerry KuppCynthia MottJohn O ConnorChristopher RyanChristopher SweetJames Vivenzio3 Unity House of Cayuga County Inc. winter 2015 PEOPLEA mazingSherrie Flowers, residence counselor at Sheffield Road IRA, was one of five outstanding Tompkins County employees to receive the Ithaca Rotary Club s 17th annual Pride of Workmanship Award in October. The award recognizes area employees whose outstanding work performance in their organization is above and beyond the call of duty and is instrumental in the achievement of the organization s performance goals.