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April 2014 Voices of Choices
April 2014
Bright new horizons…
Spring has “sprung” in the Bay Area — and at CHOICES Learning Center! Part-
ners, coaches and other Learning Center staff are enjoying the warmer tempera-
tures (and even the long-awaited rain) and feeling inspired!
Last year, a group of Choices partners participated in a
special workshop called Photo Voice. Partners learned
about the art of photography, and chose a theme for their
works: Gifts, Inspiration, Resilience. Group members took
photographs of people, objects, or places that symbolized
these themes for them and told some of their recovery
story. This March, the framed photographic artwork that
resulted from that workshop was hung throughout the
Learning Center. Take some time to appreciate the images and read the accom-
panying captions (which are the partners’ own words regarding their work.) What
images could represent your recovery—your gifts, inspiration and resilience?
Volume 3, Issue 2
Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services
CHOICES for Community Living Program
Choices Learning Center
Voices of Choices HOPE CHOICE EMPOWERMENT MEANING&PURPOSE RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT
Downtown Oakland skyline
April 2014 2 Voices of Choices
Jimmy H. poses proudly with the list of
strengths he identified in himself and
chose to communicate through his own
personal “billboard.”
Recovery Coach Michael M. and Recovery Educator
Joanna A. facilitate a group activity called “Human
Billboards” at the Learning Center. Each person
wrote a list of strengths or personal characteristics on
a giant, wearable sheet of paper in order to
“advertise” themselves to the rest of the group—a
hands-on and creative way to get to know each other
better!
Welcome
back,
Donna!
In March, our Support Services Admin-
istrator, Donna R., returned from her
medical leave. We’re lucky to have her
back—things are about to get more or-
ganized at the Learning Center. Be
sure to stop and say “hi” when you are
near the front desk!
← Donna jumps
into action on her
first day back!
What’s Happening?
April 2014 3 Voices of Choices
RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT HOPE CHOICE EMPOWERMENT MEANING&PURPOSE
What’s Happening in April?
We all know that wellness and recovery in-
volve effort and hard work. But, we at
Choices Learning Center also believe we can
have fun and enjoy our lives in recovery. And
really, isn’t that the point?
With that in mind, here are some events that
we will be hosting in April.
Events coming up at
Choices Learning Cen-
ter:
Thursday, April 17th:
Black Men Speak, Inc.
A panel of speakers, all men of color, who share their stories of lived experience and recovery through song and spoken word.
10:30am to 12:20pm
Friday, April 18th:
A Community
Wellness Celebration! 9:30AM – 3PM
Join the Family Education & Re-source Center and the Alameda County 10x10 Wellness Cam-paign as we celebrate and bring wellness activities to families and consumers to promote over-all health and relaxation. Learn about ways to stay healthy in your mind, body and spirit. Par-ticipate in movement, creativity projects and experience tech-niques for stress reduction. Ex-perience ways to communicate compassionately with those you love.
Some of the Photovocie works on display ...
April 2014 4 Voices of Choices
April 24th:
Author Collette Winlock, who is also the Executive Direc-
tor of the Health and Human Resource Education Center,
will present her novel Undoing Crazy.
Friday, April 25th:
Birthdays and achievements breakfast celebration!
Traditionally, the Learning Center has celebrated each month’s birthdays and achievements with cake. This April, we are trying a different approach: a breakfast celebration with partners and staff!
10:30am
*Please RSVP with Linda or Desiree if you plan to attend!*
Happy birthday!
April 2014 5 Voices of Choices
HOPE CHOICE EMPOWERMENT MEANING&PURPOSE RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT
Saturday Night Online takes interactive radio to a new level!
Are you looking for a way to fight Saturday night boredom and to make new buddies at the same time?
Then you should check out a wonderful radio show.
Saturday Night Online Live with Romeo is not your average radio show. It’s high-energy, highly inter-
active radio show, which is aired on over 120 Top 40 music stations nationwide. The show lets listeners
interact with each other and also with pop music’s hottest stars through its various social media plat-
forms such as USTREAM, Facebook, Twitter and Skype and also the show’s text and request lines.
Whether a listener is asking a question for a special guest, requesting a favorite song of theirs, or want-
ing to give a shout-out, Saturday Night Online is the perfect place for them to be every week. They can
meet thousands of fans just like them who are interacting on their social platforms and chat room. They
have gotten to know hundreds of their regular fans who keep coming back for more. It’s like a huge fam-
ily reunion that goes on every week.
Romeo, has had a long term relationship with America’s youth since his early days as music director at
New York CHR station WHTZ, known to its listeners as Z100. His on-air popularity grew into feature
articles in magazines, such as Rolling Stone, People and the radio industry trade publication Friday
Morning Quarterback. His cast members include, Maxwell, who is also the late night host for Z100, and
producers Coleen, Tracy, Anthony, Tony and Ben
This show has grown to be a perfect place for artists to launch a new project with an established digital
fan base. Some of the artists what have world premiered their music on the show include, Swedish
House Mafia, Austin Mahone and Fifth Harmony. These world premieres have given the show some of
its highest streaming and digital numbers ever. Host Romeo has
been lucky to establish incredible relationships and friendships on
the label side over the years and have had enlightening discussions
with all of them on digital integration and breaking artists.
Their Web Celeb of the Week feature, which highlights new artists
they frequently discover through YouTube, always gets tons of lis-
tener feedback. Some of the artists that were discovered on the
show include: Karmin, Megan Nicole, Timeflies, Conor Maynard
and Megan & Liz, who have become a weekly fixture on the show
called “The Next In The Biz.” After they exposed Megan & Liz as
Web Celebs, they went on to win the Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising
Star contest. They give back to the online music community every
week by announcing who will be that week’s next big music super-
star.
Yes, this show has mini mix segments called “The Twitta Mix”
with DJ Spinbad and DJ Jay-Mac, which all of the requests come
from their Twitter followers. To find out more about this show,
please visit their website at : http://www.saturdaynightonline.com
This story was researched and contributed by Choices partner Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” O. Henry has years of experience working in radio, and keeps on top of all the latest trends in the radio
business as he prepares for his own radio comeback!
April 2014 6 Voices of Choices
Getting to Know You
Each issue, someone at Choices Learning Center answers Four Questions. Question #1:
When is your birthday?
Answer: December 11th
Question #2:
Where were you born?
Question #3:
What are your interests?
Answer: Jacksonville, Florida
Answer:
Fishing
Riding bike
Walking
Watching wrestling
...I love sitcoms and drinking my
orange pop!
Question #4: Who, what or where do you want to be after Choices?
Answer(s):
1. A better person as a whole
2. Working side-by-side with Choices partners
3. Working out of my own apartment
4. Helping someone else benefit from the program I participated in
and succeeding in it.
Choices Partner,
Ed R.
Ed. R. enrolled in CHOICES this Decem-
ber. We appreciate his authenticity and
directness… and his skills as a chef!
RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT HOPE CHOICE EMPOWERMENT MEANING&PURPOSE
April 2014 7 Voices of Choices
Creative Expressions
RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT HOPE CHOICE EMPOWERMENT MEANING&PURPOSE
UNTITLED…
I just can’t get it right - I try and I try
But it’s just not right
If only I can make it - Then it’d be all right
But I just can’t seem to manage
Then something stirs - From the depths of my soul
Don’t let the vision die - Don’t give up the fight
I remember when nothing could stop me
When it didn’t matter what people said
When determination was my middle name
And every obstacle became my launching pad
I won’t let the vision die
I won’t be hard on myself when I don’t get it right
I’m gonna keep on tryin’ and not give up the fight
Now the vision is so clear
So, I choose this day - I’m goin’ on
‘Cause life is worth livin’ - No matter how hard it gets
So, I’m gonna do this thing called life
One step at a time - One day at a time
I will make it if I try
I won't let the vision die
BY: Choices partner, Alicia D.
Original art by Choices partner Jimmy H.
Original art by Choices partner Walter T.
April 2014 8 Voices of Choices
Closing Thoughts... The Voices of Choices is a place for every member of the Choices
community to connect and share. If you have an idea for a feature or
story, or anything you’d like to publish in the newsletter and share
with your Choices community... tell us!
Place it in the suggestions box... hand it to a Learning Center staff
member... or send it by email to
Newsletter Staff
Michelle Fiorenzo - Editor-in-Chief
Rosemary Lum-Levine - Executive Editor
Megan Maley - Production Consultant
Patricia Neal - Staff Interviewer
Gary Williams - Fashion Commentator
Linda Washington - Recipe Consultant
Robert Medeiros - Staff Interviewer
Natalie Stone - Community Resource Contributor
Michael McKeever - Photographer
1211 Embarcadero East
Suite 300
Oakland, CA, 94606
C H O I C E S L E A R N I N G C E N T E R
Phone: 510-535-1409
Fax: 510-535-1414
E-mail: [email protected]
“Recovery is remembering who you are and using your
strengths to become all you were meant to be.”
RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT HOPE CHOICE EMPOWERMENT MEANING&PURPOSE
The Last Laugh
...It’s only funny if you’ve finished
your morning coffee already.