Greetings from Ashley Tuomi, Executive Director...

July 2015 -

September 2015

Inside this issue:

Lead Poisoning 2

Advisory Council 3

Cancellation Policy 3

Healthy Start 4

Breastfeeding Week 5

Dream Seekers 6

Sacred Bundle Suicide

Prevention 7

Clinic 8

Upcoming Events 9

Agency Wants & Needs 9

Other Services 10

Łaxayam,

Summer is an exciting time of year for everyone at American Indian Health and Family

Services. You can see and participate in many of these events with us. The garden is in

full swing and you can attend our garden workdays every Friday to help us with the

upkeep. We also have a group of youth, staff, and community members attending the

28th annual Michigan Indian Family Olympics in Shepard Michigan.

As many of you know, we ended up with damages from the flooding last fall and have

not opened up our Thurman Bear Basement. We are in the process of looking at the

possibility of moving to a new location due to this experience and the fact that we

continue to grow in the number of our staff and programs. As a part of this effort to

find a new location, we will be getting input through needs assessments and interviews

from our staff, clients, and community members. We have a great Intern Luke Higgins

who is a part of the Detroit Community-Based Research Program this summer who will

be heading up these efforts. Be on the lookout for these opportunities to participate.

Ashley Tuomi

Executive Director

Aanii from

AIHFS!

In June we began harvesting from our garden. Here are 3 types of lettuce: Bibb, Romaine, and Red Leaf Boston. Lettuce is a great source of vitamin A, which is essential for bone growth and healthy vision.

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Lead Poisoning by Scott Bowden

Lead poisoning occurs when lead builds up in the body, often over a period of months or years. Even

small amounts of lead can cause serious health problems. Children under the age of 6 are especially

vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can severely affect mental and physical development. At very high

levels, lead poisoning can be fatal.

Lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust in older buildings are the most common sources of lead poisoning in

children. Other sources include contaminated air, water and soil. Adults who work with batteries, do home renovations

or work in auto repair shops also may be exposed to lead.

While treatment is available for lead poisoning, taking some simple precautions can help protect yourself and your family.

Lead poisoning symptoms in children

The signs and symptoms of lead poisoning in children may

include:

Developmental delay

Learning difficulties

Irritability

Loss of appetite

Weight loss

Sluggishness and fatigue

Abdominal pain

Vomiting

Constipation

Hearing loss

Lead poisoning symptoms in newborns

Babies who are exposed to lead before birth

may experience:

Learning difficulties

Slowed growth

Lead poisoning symptoms in adults

Although children are primarily at risk, lead poisoning is also

dangerous for adults. Signs and symptoms in adults may

include:

High blood pressure

Abdominal pain

Constipation

Joint pains

Muscle pain

Declines in mental functioning

Pain, numbness or tingling of the

extremities

Headache

Memory loss

Mood disorders

Reduced sperm count, abnormal sperm

Miscarriage or premature birth in pregnant women

Prevention You can take some simple measures to help protect you and your family from lead poisoning. These may include:

Wash hands and toys. To help reduce hand-to-mouth transfer of contaminated dust or soil, wash your children's hands after outdoor play, before eating and at bedtime. And wash their toys regularly.

Clean dusty surfaces. Clean your floors with a wet mop and wipe furniture, windowsills and other dusty surfaces with a damp cloth.

Run cold water. If you have older plumbing containing lead pipes or fittings, run your cold water for at least a minute before using. Don't use hot tap water to make baby formula or for cooking.

Prevent children from playing on soil. Provide them with a sandbox that's covered when not in use. Plant grass or cover bare soil with mulch.

Eat a healthy diet. Regular meals and good nutrition may help lower lead absorption. Children especially need enough calcium and iron in their diets.

Source: The Mayo Clinic

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Community Advisory Council (CAC) by John Marcus

Hello, I hope this edition finds you enjoying the sun!

In February’s CAC meeting, Rosebud Schneider came and presented on the

food Rx program and the fresh food share program. She played a video

featuring AIHFS’ food share program. The video is very good and I recommend

checking it out when you get a chance, even though the food Rx program

mentioned in the video is no longer happening, the rest of the information is

applicable. Here is the link (“copy & paste” into any browser) to that video if

you want to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qbEWcoxCM0

At the Community Advisory council in March we did a community readiness assessment. As part of our Sacred Bundle

Project we conduct annual community readiness assessments. We use an adapted version of the Community

Readiness Assessment (Edwards, Jumper-Thurman, Plested, Oetting, & Swanson, 2000) model to conduct focus

groups with Key Informants. During these focus groups we gather data from the community regarding our suicide

gatekeeper trainings, educational sessions and suicide screenings.

Finally, at April’s CAC meeting we reviewed two drafts of videos being made. One is from AIHFS outreach at the Ann

Arbor powwow and the other is from a March is National nutrition month event we had here. Recommendations

included graphics were not displayed long enough, labels that could be included and music suggestions. All input is

very much appreciated and helpful.

Have a great summer, everyone!

John Marcus, ph 313-846-6030 x1403, email: jmarcus@aihfs.org

Do you think of yourself as someone who sticks to their word? Then don’t cancel unless it is absolutely necessary. Failure to attend and late cancellations can be such a headache. With every cancellation and no-show we receive takes away from providing services to clients that are in need of our services. When a client misses an appointment they are not receiving the care recommended by their doctor or nurse. This could result in more illness and requiring additional treatment, there is also the risk of infecting others. All of this holds a risk of missing work and deadlines. Missing an appointment can also mean missing vital treatment, diagnosis or monitoring which may lead to long term health problems. Doctors play a big role in keeping us fit and healthy! Please make every effort to arrive on time. We try to allocate enough time for each person so that no one is rushed and we try to keep on time. A delay of just five minutes can cause every appointment to run late for the remainder of the morning or afternoon. We allow a 15 minute grace period so if you are running behind we will see you if it doesn’t interfere on someone else’s time. Because of the delay the appointment maybe shortened or rescheduled. We do sometimes have a genuine emergency or unexpected circumstances so if this should occur please call to cancel

your appointment. Calling to cancel allows us to fill that unused time slot for someone in need of services. Our clients

are very important to us, so help us by simply calling to cancel 24hrs before your appointment. The quality of client care

is essential and we strive to achieve a high degree of client satisfaction.

No-Shows are No-No’s by Casey L. Brant

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Healthy Start/Family Spirit—it’s not just for moms!

by Nina Eusani

On May 29 of this year, AIHFS hosted a Father’s Day Drum Social and Round Dance. It was a great evening of celebrating dads, uncles, grandpas, and all of the men who make such an important difference in the lives of children. But, we don’t just want to celebrate you guys once a year! We know that being a dad is a fulltime, year-round job, and Healthy Start/Family Spirit is here to help all the time. Many people don’t know that our program enrolls dads as well as moms and kids. Dads are welcome and encouraged to be part of home and office visits; we’re happy to work with your family to accommodate your schedule. Also, even if you’re not a program client, we love to have dads attend playgroups, childbirth classes, and all of our other program events. In addition, we’re planning more events for this coming year that are specifically focused on dads and other male caregivers. What events, you ask? Well, that’s where we need your advice! We want to know what kinds of activities dads would like to participate in —activities for dads and kids together, whole family events, and/or gatherings just for men to share their experiences, challenges, and successes in raising their little ones. If you haven’t already, please like our agency’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/aihfs), and comment on our posts where we’ll be asking dads for their input. Or, feel free to contact the Healthy Start/Family Spirit team and let us know what you’d like us to do next!

Maajtaag Mnobmaadzid

Native Healthy Start

Get Your Kids School-Ready with Pre-School U! by Aimee Cisler

Getting your children prepared to enter school can seem like really hard work. But did you know that even the little, everyday things you do with your kids can help prepare them for success in kindergarten and beyond?

This October, AIHFS will be teaming up with Detroit Public Television to bring you “Pre-School U,” a 3-week series designed to give parents and caregiver’s information, strategies, and skills to support the development of infants and toddlers before they enter kindergarten. “Pre-School-U” offers parents and caregivers simple ways to promote early learning and literacy in children under the age of five.

This event is guaranteed to be fun, informational, and FREE and is open to all caregivers of small children. If you’re

interested in participating on October 9th, 16th, and 23rd, please contact Healthy Start for more information. We hope

to see you there!

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National Breastfeeding Week by Rosebud Schneider

Healthy Start, WIC and AIHFS as a whole, supports, promotes and educates the public about breastfeeding. August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). Every year a campaign is chosen for WBW, as an opportunity for groups worldwide to take specific actions that will raise public awareness about breastfeeding and reap support for it. The first campaign was focused on the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding. The BFHI promotes, protects, and supports breastfeeding through the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding for Hospitals, as outlined by UNICEF/WHO. We are proud to learn and announce that St. John Hospital in Detroit is now officially a Baby-Friendly Hospital. In addition, St. John Macomb, St. Joseph Mercy-Pontiac, Beaumont Hospital-Grosse Pointe and Henry Ford Hospital-West Bloomfield are all Baby-Friendly as well. In 2012, there was only one hospital in the Detroit area that was baby-friendly. This is a big accomplishment for Detroit and for all the champions, like WIC and Healthy Start, who are passionate about this initiative and the families they serve. If you would like to learn more about how to get involved in World Breastfeeding Week initiatives please visit www.worldbreastfeedingweek.net or www.babyfriendlyusa.org. Breastfeeding is the most natural way to feed your baby. There are numerous advantages not just for baby but

for mom as well. We at AIHFS work very hard to support our families with their breastfeeding goals and have

witnessed wonderful accomplishments. If you are pregnant or a nursing mom and would like support in

achieving your goals, please contact the Healthy Start team. Rosa, Nina and Rosebud are Certified Lactation

Counselors. Healthy Start will be hosting a Breastfeeding Brunch on August 14, 11-1:30 to honor National

Breastfeeding Awareness Month. Whether you are currently breastfeeding or have in the past, this invitation is

for you! This event is to celebrate the ultimate labor of love, breastfeeding. Bring your nurslings and join us for a

lovely event in honor of you.

CONGRATULATIONS to Sandra Momper (Bad River Ojibwe) for receiving the

2015 Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award.

Thank you for all your amazing research and advocacy

for the American Indian community.

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What’s Growing in Our Garden?

Summer Notes from the Dream Seekers Youth Program

by Joe Reilly

Last spring our youth group members worked with staff and volunteers to prepare the soil and plant the gardens here at AIHFS, celebrating our connections with Mother Earth and with one another

while providing a service to our entire community. Before planting, as a way to help them reflect on the emotional and spiritual growth that they experienced during the school year, the youth answered the question “What is growing in your garden?” Many youth shared profound answers of what they were cultivating; including love, happiness, courage, and hope. Our longtime volunteer and elder Michaelyn Mclain lead the youth and staff in a traditional Lakota pipe ceremony and helped us pray for our Mother Earth and for the gardens, humbly asking the Great Spirit to help the harvest support the health and well-being of our community. The boys and young men worked together with male staff and volunteers to plant our ceremonial Semaa (tobacco). The girls and young women worked together with female staff and volunteers to plant the 3 Sisters: corn, beans, and squash. These gardens are a great gift to our whole community and help remind us all that we depend upon Mother Earth for our food, medicines, and overall wellness. The next time you visit AIHFS, spend a few moments in the gardens and see what our youth

helped plant. In addition to the 3 Sisters you will find many other fruits and vegetables including tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, lettuce, greens, raspberries, and strawberries. You will also find many native plants and medicines like cedar, sage, choke cherry, milkweed, primrose, mint, mullein, and Jerusalem artichoke. Just as the youth did, you may like to take the opportunity to consider what you have growing in your “garden” as well. Contact Joe for more info at 313-846-6030, ext. 1203 or jreilly@aihfs.org

Congratulations to K’won Weaver, 2015 graduate from River Rouge High School and from the Dream Seekers Youth Program at AIHFS. K’won has served as a positive role model and strong leader in our community since he started as a Dream Seeker 10 years ago. He will continue his education at Wayne State University in the fall and we hope that he will stay involved with our community as he pursues his dreams.

We love you K’won and we are so

proud of you!

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Manidookewigashkibjigan Sacred Bundle Program

by Christy Bieber

A special congratulations to Karen Marshall for becoming a Master Trainer in ASIST!

Miigwetch, Karen, for your great work! We are happy to have Karen on our team as the Training & Outreach Coordinator for Sacred Bundle. She has now given 10 ASIST workshops and presented every piece of the training. Give her a call to get more information on trainings. Through Sacred Bundle we offer the following trainings: ASIST [Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training] - A 2 day intensive suicide

intervention workshop that works through feelings of a caregiver and how to help a person at risk.

safeTALK [Tell, Ask, Listen, Keep safe] - A 3 hour training that prepares helpers to identify persons with thoughts of suicide a& connect them to suicide first aid resources.

suicideTALK - An awareness exploration reducing stigma where participants can learn the many ways of preventing suicide in our community.

Check in with Karen on how to get involved! Kmarshall@aihfs.org | 313-846-6030 Also check out this new app from Livingworks education, the group that developed the trainings we use! It is for those that are trained in safeTALK as an interactive guide summarizing all of the tools that they learned in training. You can get it free through Google Play store and it will be coming soon to the Apple app store.

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Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease by Dr. Josette French

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease. If you have diabetes or hypertension, then the four tests described here are important for checking your kidney health. Blood pressure — The most important thing you can do to slow down CKD is keep your blood pressure below 130/80. This can delay or prevent kidney failure. GFR — The GFR tells you how well your kidneys are filtering blood. You can’t raise your GFR. The goal is to keep your GFR from going down to prevent or delay kidney failure. See the dial picture below. Urine albumin — Albumin is a protein in your blood that can pass into the urine when kidneys are damaged. You can’t undo kidney damage, but you may be able to lower the amount of albumin in your urine with treatment. Lowering your urine albumin is good for your kidneys.

AIC — AIC test is a lab test that shows your average blood glucose level over the last 3 months. The goal is less than 7 for most people with diabetes. Lowering your AIC can help you to stay healthy. (For people with diabetes only.)

Want to learn more about what’s going on at AIHFS? Follow us on the web!

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aihfsmich @AIHFS_Detroit facebook.com/aihfs

Upcoming Community Events

Agency Needs & Wants Support AIHFS by helping with the following:

Donations for office supplies (pens, notebooks, etc.), projector, commercial kitchen stove/oven, hygiene items, youth incentives (sports ball, socks, electronics, etc.), infant car seats and booster seats, push toys for toddlers, sand/water table for Healthy Start

program playgroups, toddler-sized tables and chairs, child friendly rug for playgroup story time, and traditional medicines to share with community members.

Chi-Miigwetch (Many Thanks) for your support!

Super-Fun: Dream Seekers

Youth Summer Program

Begins July 7th!

All Native American youth ages 8-17

are encouraged to participate in this

fun culturally-based prevention

program. We will meet on Tuesdays

and Thursdays throughout July from

10am-3pm and create digital stories,

play games, and travel on special trips

including a tour of the Michigan

Football Stadium in Ann Arbor and a

High Ropes Course in Walled Lake.

Lunches and snacks are provided. We

can offer limited transportation for

youth. Contact Martha and Joe to

register, 313-846-6030, ext. 1401.

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Artistic Crepes by Neetha Mony Artistic crepes (or pancakes) are a fun activity for community events or family breakfast. Mix your crepe or pancake batter, making sure the batter isn’t too thick. Next divide your batter into smaller bowls and stir in food coloring to create your color palette. Then put your colors in separate squeeze containers and you’re ready to go! The squeeze bottles make it easy for younger children to participate and older youth enjoy exploring their creativity.

Here are some pictures from a Mother’s Day event at Hotmamahot, a community organization in North Amsterdam. Hotmamahot empowers youth from low-income families by facilitating youth-requested activities.

Instructions: Choose your colors. Make the shape of your crepe. Fill it in!

A Note from Crystal Dial Not only do I help clients and families with Health insurance, or MI Bridges benefits, I took a training at United Way and I can now offer a lot of services to our families here at AIHFS that need the extra help. Some of the services are: The most popular program we have clients coming in and signing up for is the DTE LSP program. The Low Income Self-Sufficiency Plan (LSP) has many benefits. - Affordable fixed monthly payments based on income and energy usage - Outstanding payments are frozen at the time of enrollment and will reduced if regular monthly pay-

ments are made - Self-Sufficiency training - Protection from shut off while on the plan - Elimination of late payment charges

There are federal and state eligibility criteria that needs to be met to be able to apply for the program. For more information on the LSP program or any services please call our Health Benefits Coordinator, Crystal Dial, 313-846-6030 x 1104

-Food -Transportation -Housing and Utility resources -Rent payment assistance

-Managing your budget -Credit Counseling -Housing and temporary shelter - Job search/placement

-School related programs -Mortgage foreclosure assistance - And many more……

For the creative geniuses, try imitating art!

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How to Support AIHFS!

Only with your support can AIHFS continue to try to meet the physical, spiritual, emotional and mental well being needs of Native American families and other underserved populations in Southeastern Michigan.

Additionally, as a 501(c)(3), your generous support is tax-deductable.

Won't you make a donation today to help us get closer to meeting these needs?

To donate by check or money order, please send payable to:

American Indian Health & Family Services P.O. Box 810, Dearborn, MI 48121-0810

To donate online: www.aihfs.org/donate.html

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Cut here.

This Issue’s Native Quote:

“We are part of everything that is beneath us, above us, and around us. Our past is our present, our present is our future, and our future is seven generations past and present.” – Haudenosaunee teaching

American Indian Health & Family Services, Inc

P.O. Box 810 Dearborn, MI 48121

Clinic Hours: Monday 8:30 - 5:30 p.m. Tuesday 8:30 - 5:30 p.m. Wednesday 11:30 - 8:30 p.m. Thursday 8:30 - 5:30 p.m. Friday 8:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Clinic: 313-846-6030

Services Provided at AIHFS

Medical Services Women's Care Maternal Health Diabetes Health & Education Substance Abuse Counseling Behavioral Health Counseling Dream Seekers Youth Program Tobacco Cessation Native Healthy Start Insurance Enrollments

Health Education & Outreach Immunizations & Flu Shots HIV/AIDS Testing & Referrals Sweat Lodge Community Garden Cooking Classes Annual Events Fitness Classes Visit us at: www.aihfs.org

Here at

American Indian Health we offer great care & services

for your health care needs.

If there is anything we can be more helpful with, please let us know!

Return Service Requested

Seeking Board Members! The AIHFS Board of Directors is looking for new members! If you have a passion for the Native Community, Wellness program and services,

Accounting, Finance, Development or Fundraising, please consider applying!

In order to be considered please submit letter of intent and resume to:

American Indian Health and Family Services, ATTN: Nickole Fox

PO Box 810, Dearborn, MI 48121 and/or email: nfox@aihfs.org