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October 2018
In this month's edition:

  • Making a difference in the lives of seniors
  • New VISTA helps to support initiatives around substance use disorders
  • Donations from local sports teams keep youth active
  • DHS NAMI Walk team raises funds to fight mental health stigma
  • New speaker series educates staff, family members
  • Photo: AmeriCorps service project
  • Kudos: Dr. Latika Davis-Jones
  • Kudos: Loretta Brown, Jean Goodnack, and Richard Mudd (September 2018 One Good Apple Award recipients)
  • Kudos: Shannon Evans and emergency behavioral health team
  • This month's Neighborland question
  • Research and reports

News articles are uploaded to the DHS website as soon as they become available. For the most up-to-date news, visit  DHS News online.  
Making a difference in the lives of seniors

DHS's Senior Companion program has recently begun piloting “Choose Home,” a federally-funded home visiting program for homebound or isolated seniors who are veterans .
New VISTA helps to support initiatives around substance use disorders

The Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services has recently welcomed Denija DuCasse, an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America), to the team .
Donations from local sports teams keep youth active

Thanks to generous donations from the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, local youth will soon be receiving new sports equipment and clothing .
DHS NAMI Walk team raises funds to fight mental health stigma

This year, Team Allegheny County DHS raised more than $4,000 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in support of the NAMI Walk .
New speaker series educates staff, family members

This month, DHS held the first sessions of a two-month speaker series designed to educate behavioral health and child welfare workers, as well as family members, on various aspects of trauma and trauma-informed care .
Photo: AmeriCorps service project

Members of  Keys Service Corps AmeriCorps  re cently participated in a service project where they brushed, painted, sanded and lacquered 90 civil war veterans’ grave marker medallions until they shined like new. While sprucing up the medallions, members were treated to a presentation by Tim Neff, VP/director of museum and education at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, on the role that Pittsburgh and Allegheny County played in the Civil War.
Kudos: Dr. Latika Davis-Jones

On October 12, Dr. Latika Davis-Jones, assistant deputy director in the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services, was recognized as a Pittsburgh Courier Woman of Excellence .
Kudos: Loretta Brown, Jean Goodnack, and Richard Mudd (September 2018 One Good Apple Award recipients)

Loretta Brown, Jean Goodnack, and Richard Mudd were selected as the September 2018 One Good Apple Award winners
Kudos: Shannon Evans and emergency behavioral health team

A resident impacted by the Route 30 landslide in East Pittsburgh gave a glowing report about the help they received from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services and offered a special recognition to Shannon Evans, emergency/risk coordinator .
This month's Neighborland question

DHS has recently launched a website, built on a software platform called Neighborland, to gather community input in order to improve programs and services. This month we would like to know:

As a landlord, what would it take for you to rent your property to a person or family in an Allegheny County housing program?


We welcome your story ideas, employee news and comments. If you’ve got news you’d like to see in DHS News, please contact Mark Bertolet at mark.bertolet@alleghenycounty.us or 412-350-3439.