It’s easy to forget your Psychologist is a real person, too. They have put in countless years of schooling, sometimes obtaining a PsyD, and they’ve been studying their whole life for the 60 minutes your warm body graces the adjacent chair each week. Today, I met one such dedicated and kind individual, Dr. Teresa Young, for a shadowing experience at her practice, Generations Psychological & Consultation Services.

Pop Quiz

Q. True of false- Therapeutic rapport with the client is among the most important predictors of favorable outcomes in therapy?

A. True! That’s why I brought Dr. Teresa a piping hot cup of coffee from one of my favorite watering holes, Cup O Joe.

Teresa specializes in chronic pain, grief and loss, and life transitions.  She studied at Tennessee State University, an HBCU, and did so purposely to learn as much as she could focus on learning her specialty areas of interest, African Americans and social justice. Her treatment approaches include the gold standard of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), as well as many other trusted modalities like Motivational Interviewing (MI), Mindfulness-Based (MBCT), and Culturally Sensitive.

Teresa and I discussed her LPC/PsyD track and my current LSW track, as well as some of the benefits and challenges of each. She currently enjoys the opportunity and responsibility to mentor student interns from Old Dominion University. Teresa still visits her mentor at Illinois State when she goes back to visit her Redbird scholars. The importance of a mentor cannot be understated, as they help serve as a professional mirror and resource along your journey. I sure miss my mentor, Dwight O. Hodgin. I think of him often and with compassion and pride. In 1999, Mr. Hodgin brought in a PsyD to speak to our Peer Assistant Listeners (PALs) class about the profession. I was so thrilled, because not only was she in a line of work I fancied, she also was a gay woman. At Mr. Hodgin’s funeral, the co-instructor of my PALs class shared that he brought the speaker in specifically for me and another queer student to show us we would be successful and it would get better.  I specifically remember one classmate having his parents sign a form so he “didn’t have to listen to a lesbian.” Thank goodness we are moving further away from this homophobia and pathology mindset. Thank you, Mr. Hodgin!

Teresa and I each shared a bit about our professional experiences within corporate workplaces and academia (not all of which were favorable, and all of which helped us to believe in ourselves and strengthen our resilience). We also shared a few non-school novels that we are reading that the other might enjoy. Finally, Teresa took time to encourage me along in my studies. “Keep trusting your intuition. It’s done well to have gotten you this far!” I left feeling warm, affirmed, and encouraged to continue developing my passion in social work, my raison d’être.

If you would like to learn more about Teresa’s practice or see if you might be good fit as a client at her practice, please reach out to her at (380) 207-1267.

Here’s to continued growth and learning for us all. Thank you, Teresa!

Tonight, I had the immense pleasure of attending my first Columbus City Council Meeting in the City Hall Chambers. They are spectacular and beautiful and a sight to behold. Anyone can attend a City Council Meeting. Bring your government issued ID (be sure it’s not expired), empty your pockets for the security of all, get a sticker name tag with your credentials and photo, and feel free to explore the grand facility before the meeting begins at 5:30 PM for citizen business. Housed within the City Hall are the offices of our elected city representatives including the Mayor, Auditor, and City Attorney. Each office door is heavy, tall, and narrow, appearing to be plated and grommeted in gold! It’s like a step back into time.

Pop Quiz:

Q. What amendment gives Women the right to vote?

A. The 19th Amendment, ratified on August 18, 1920, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Did you know it is the 100 year anniversary of Women gaining the right to vote? THANK YOU, SUFFRAGETTES! We always have policies to improve and districts to redraw, and only with my participation can those things happen. The sure fire way to make no changes is to not show up with your voice- one vote per person. Have at it!

(Side note: Have 2 hours to use wisely? Consider watching Iron Jawed Angels, a 2004 film featuring Hilary Swank and her fellow suffragettes, scrapping, advocating, and leading a revolutionary campaign with various tactics and strategies that won ME the right to vote. It has a rocking soundtrack, yet I digress…)

I attended the meeting to celebrate a resolution where Council Members Mitchell J. Brown, Rob Dorans, and Emmanuel Remy contributed $8,000 via the Veterans and Older Adult Affairs Committee to The Greater Columbus Network of Villages to help with exterior maintenance needs of older adults in our community. My supervisor at Ville in the Ville, Christine Happel, and our AmeriCorps VISTA, Phoebe Allenbach, were also in attendence. Read on for the Speaker notes as read during the City Council Meeting.

Can’t wait to go back and inform them what we were able to accomplish with these generous funds!

“Thank you Council President Hardin and Members of Columbus City Council. AFCFC, a program of OSU CSW, gathers information from older adults and individuals of varying abilities across Central Ohio in effort to understand challenges in mobility, housing, employment, and beyond.  Through robust community-based participatory research and planning, we collect and analyze data, secure funding, implement pilot projects, and evaluate the impact. With each new challenge, comes an opportunity for engaging elders and making community improvements that benefit individuals of all ages and abilities. 

We pride ourselves on creating people-led innovations through community-based partnerships. One such partnership is with the Greater Columbus Network of Villages. Through a strong collaboration, we have launched multiple pilot project with the villages over the last 4.5 years. In the last year we have helped grow the number of villages, launched free neighborhood circulators, designed and implemented a program with Lyft, and created a standardized evaluation and reporting system for measuring the impact of villages.  

It is my pleasure to stand next to the Network Director, Christine Happel, this evening, to celebrate yet another pilot program and to thank Columbus City Council for your continued support and innovative leadership in aging.”

 –Age-Friendly Columbus and Franklin County Director, Katie M. White

___

“Thank you Council President Hardin and members of City Council for having us here today. I am Christine Happel, Director of Village in the Ville and The Greater Columbus Network of Villages. Home maintenance poses a challenge for older adults aging in community. According to Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s 2017 Age Friendly Columbus report, 30% of surveyed older adults indicated “no” or “I’m not sure” when asked if they agreed that they are able to maintain the outside of their home. Outdoor repairs and maintenance may extend beyond an older adult’s fixed income and jeopardize an individual’s ability to remain at home. 

Village services and supports are targeted to generate lasting economic stability, so older adults are able to age in community as they wish. Outdoor home maintenance services are completed by volunteers, Village Directors, and when capable volunteers are not available, vetted service providers. The ability to maintain a safe, secure, and well-cared for home determines one’s ability to remain at home as they age. 

In 2019, Vill on the Hill provided volunteer outdoor home maintenance services such as leaf raking, mowing and hedge trimming. One member had been cited by city code enforcement because her bushes had grown together to cover access to her front door. Volunteers were able to clear a path to the door so that the older adult could avoid further citations. After several failed attempts with contractors an At Home By High member, who lives in Milo Grogan, utilized a referral to replace the entirety of her home siding, preventing further costly damage to her home.

We want Columbus to be a model for the country to show the impact collaborative, neighborhood-based services can have in keeping older adults in the homes and neighborhoods they love. We look forward to continued conversations to determine ways to serve older residents. We are thankful for the ongoing support of Age Friendly Columbus and Franklin County, the Franklin County Office on Aging, Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, our members, volunteers, community partners, and certainly the City of Columbus. It really does take a Village

 For more information on the network or a specific Village: I, Christine Happel, may be reached at the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center our phone number is 614-268-3539

Thank you.”

Katie M. White and Christine Happel

Me and my Director at Age-Friendly Columbus, Katie M. White

Drop the mic!

Author note: I am a paid member of Yay Bikes! and have been a ride leader, volunteer, and joyful member since 2016.

POP QUIZ

Q. When the temperature is 12 degrees in February in Columbus, Ohio, how does Catherine Girves best travel?

A. By the speed of bike! Talk about being in her element.

Meet Catherine, Executive Director and skirt-wearing rider extraordinaire of Yay Bikes!, a non-profit advocacy organization that works to influence the conditions that help people safely and comfortably ride bicycles for transportation. Along with Jason Poindexter, Business Manager, and Shyra Allen, Trainer/Ambassador, YayBikes! supports an amazing community of avid bicyclers of all ages and abilities looking to get out and share the city by the speed of bike.

According to Ohio Revised Code 4511, a “Bicycle” means every device, other than a device that is designed solely for use as a play vehicle by a child, that is propelled solely by human power upon which a person may ride, and that has two or more wheels, any of which is more than fourteen inches in diameter.

Pop Quiz

Q. Can you ride on a sidewalk in Ohio?

A. Unless you want your blood wiped off the concrete, don’t do it. Although ORC 4511.711 does not explicitly prohibit adults on a sidewalk on a bike, each intersection, curb cut, and driveway are a potential collision site. Kids up to age 14 may ride on the sidewalk, however, teaching safe road riding early is advisable. Remember the street signs put up in Columbus a couple years ago with a picture of a bike that say MAY USE FULL LANE? Do it! A bicyclist is safer in the street, going with the flow of traffic, as far to the right as practicable based upon your next turn. YOU are the determiner of whether or not to take the whole lane (I do) or to use the bike lane (if there is no debris and you have a safe cushion/buffer so as not to get hit by a car door opening). Sharrows can be helpful for determining a suggested lane position. Where the arrows point is where your bike tire should line up for best possible visibility for a driver to see you.

Still confused by the multiple “rules of the road” by the speed of bicycle? One excellent resource is provided here by the Ohio Bicycle Federation for your perusal and comment. Traffic laws are all contained in ORC 4511. Read up on them and know your rights and importantly, your responsibilities.

Today, I spent time learning from Catherine’s on-road teaching, building confidence for safer travel, as I participated in the How We Roll series, where distance traveled and high speeds are of no matter (sigh of relief for this 12 mph rider). My bike, Delores, purchased from roll.Bexely in 2016, was SO HAPPY to have her tires on the road and hang out with Catherine’s bike. It’s kind of like getting your kids or dogs together for a play date. Look how happy they are here, waiting for the sun to warm them as it comes over the top of the amazingly delicious and friendly Upper Cup Coffee, owned by Eritrean born Micael Habte, who hosted our post-drink ride debrief.

A few points of interest to note in this photo and with regard to bicycling, in general:

• Excellent quality bike locks. Bike theft in Columbus is real. Consider which part of your bike you would least like to replace and ensure that part is locked. I prefer the frame and back wheel set to be locked to the bike rack. Catherine gave me a hack of carrying a set of handcuffs to lock the front wheel to the frame from there, should I only carry one bike lock. (Note: universal key for handcuffs may be a risk, though bike thieves generally carry wcrecutters over the handcuff key).
• Bike lights #becausevisibility. Lumens are important to ensure visibility. If a car has on its lights, you should also have on yours. You are a motor vehicle as a bicyclist in Ohio. Follow the rules of the road as though you were driving a car. Bikes ARE Motor Vehicles. This includes proactive signaling, stopping at all stop signs/red lights, and having visible lights on your bicycle (white on the front, red on the back).
• Do I have to wear spandex? Catherine suggests that looking like a regular person can help decrease hostility from automobiles. She wears often wears a skirt with wind pants underneath. Color is helpful to provide visibility
• Do I have to wear a helmet? Yes, and no. In Ohio, helmets are deemed by self-determination. As Catherine and I have both suffered concussions, we ALWAYS wear helmets. This is also Yay Bikes! stance to ensure practicable safety.
• Why yes! That IS a thermos of hot tea on Catherine’s bike. She insulates the metal from clanking against the bike cage with a beer koozie. A smidgeon of caffeine is good for the muscles when biking.
• Are your toes frozen? Fingers, too? Purchase any pair of wool glove liners and wool socks, often found cheaply at discount stores or at REI Co-op, one of Yay Bikes! partners. To protect your toesies, place a plastic grocery bag in between the sock and your shoe. Voila! A warm, cheap barrier from the elements.

The most important takeaway from today’s session with Catherine: BE A PREDICTABLE BIKER.

For more information on Yay Bikes!, please attend our film festival this weekend at Studio 35, Filmed By Bike. I’ll be at the information table and signing you up for membership. Come say hi and let’s chat about how to continue making Columbus a bicycle-friendly community. The event is Sunday, March 1st with doors opening at 12:30 PM and a 1:30 PM film start time. Johnny Velo is a major supporter of making this festival a reality.

From PDX to CMH, life is better by the speed of bike! Find out how to ride to the theatre for the event with this handy dandy Bike Clintonville map.

About 10 years ago, I giggled when the AARP (the American Association of Retired Persons) sent me a welcome letter and membership card in my late 20’s. Now, given my recent interest in Aging (so cool, everyone’s doing it),  I wish I’d taken them up on some of the great perks they have to offer. Luckily, my aging expert Mom has been highlighting hers and sending them my way to learn from and enjoy!

What better way to spend President’s Day (no school or required internship) than catching up on the articles? I read about what cool tech to look for in new cars to keep drivers safe. Then, moving on to how craft beer clubs are becoming an older adult meet up group scene to combat social isolation and promote new learning. The special section was on Michigan’s craft beer scene gave me a sense of hometown pride (you know I’m down for some Saugatuck Brewing Company Neapolitan Milk Stout, now in Kalamazoo)! I read about how certain Age-Friendly cities, just like Columbus, are working on innovative and sustainable ideas for public transit, better housing choices, and meet up groups in their cities that pertain to the interests and needs of their older adult citizens. The magazine is overwhelmingly positive, informative, and seems to be non-partisan in its content, a welcome refresh given the 2020 election year.

Thank you Mom and the AARP for giving me knowledge to crochet and drink my coffee by on a grey February Ohio morning!

Village in the Ville enjoyed a lovely meal together following a few volunteer hours at the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center food pantry on Saturday. While Christine helped coordinate reorganizing the men’s and women’s apparel with the amazing Key Club Students (Kiwanis Club for High School),  I helped teach 5 eager Circle K Members (Kiwanis Club for College Students) from Bowling Green, John Carroll, and Muskingum College how to use the Japanense system of 5-S (Sort, Set in Order, Standardize, Shine, Sustain) with our messy bookcases. They completely reorganized them into a masterpiece of usefulness and ease for our food pantry customers and after school kids clubbers to enjoy!

• Sort- Eliminate whatever is not needed by separating needed tools, parts, and instructions from unneeded materials. Students removed garbage, loose papers, outdated files, and 2019 calendars from the bookshelf and placed them into a shopping cart.
• Set in order- Organize whatever remains by neatly arranging and identifying parts and tools for ease of use. Students creatively used our food pantry bins to divide up the remaining useful books into groups: child, young adult, adult fiction, adult non-fiction, and media (Audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, VHS).
• Shine- Clean the work area by conducting a cleanup campaign. Once the bookshelves were clean and the non-useful items in the shopping cart were placed in the recycling, Circle K redressed the bookshelf in a logical order for the patrons, placing children’s books closest to the bottom for browsing. Adult books were placed on top for ease of not bending over. They were so proud of their work!
• Standardize- Schedule regular cleaning and maintenance. Fingers crossed that the CRC team can tidy as needed, given this was a quick service opportunity.
• Sustain- Make 5S a way of life by forming the habit of always following the first four S’s. It can feel really good to know the contents of your belongings and see them clearly in a well-organized manner. Kitchen cabinets, next?

After their hard work, our Village members came to enjoy a Valentine’s Day brunch with the students. Delicious food, good company, and a morning of time together well-spent.

According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), an older adult dies of a fall every 19 minutes in the United States. What doesn’t kill you doesn’t “make you stronger” (nice try, Kelly Clarkson). Falls lead to decreased quality of life and can wipe out bank accounts due to medical financial woes.  NCOA anticipates the financial toll for older adult falls to reach $67.7 billion by this year!

Context and empathy note: you can fall regardless of age. No one is immune. Still skeptical? This 10-minute TED Talk showcases OSU’s very own Dr. Carmen Quatman speaking on how to harness community paramedicine to help older adults age safely in their own homes.

Rather than sit around and wait for something to happen, one local community is striving to get ahead of the falls with preventative medicine, despite the inability to submit to most insurance companies for reimbursement of services. The payoff in patient satisfaction and improved preventative health has been measurable in the best ways.

The Upper Arlington Fire Division (UAFD) decreased their 9-1-1 calls due to falls by 67% in the last 2 years thanks to this novel approach of providing proactive paramedic services for the 35,000 residents they serve. In tandem with UAFD, UA CARES (Upper Arlington Community Assistance, Referrals and Education Services) has averted ER transport from 9-1-1 calls by 29% per month since 2018.

Who are these magical care angels? They are UA CARES! Comprised of firefighter-paramedics and service coordinators, UA CARES provides intervention, care coordination, home safety assessments, health system navigation, and patient advocacy free of charge to all residents. The goal of the program is conduct home safety assessments in a non-emergency setting and moment to keep residents safely in their own homes, as well as to reduce the need for future EMS services. UA CARES partners with local healthcare providers to create a continuum of care

I spent today on a ride in Medic73, which is also utilized for CARES visits, with FF Matt Jividin and FF Patrick Arnett. These firefighter/paramedic teams are trained to perform CARES intake assessments, which was performed via an multidisciplinary team approach with an Occupational Therapy Ohio State intern. I also met a Community Health Worker in the office as well as shadowed with the incredibly inspiring and talented Christine Leyshon, UA CARES Manager and Service Coordinator.

Take aways from today:

• What a unique and valuable position to see the home environment and how the patient functions within it. We need more paramedicine programs in the United States and especially in our city!
• Trust was granted nearly immediately from the patient to these paramedicine teams. By showing up in uniform to serve, not just in times of crisis but also in times of calm, clearly afforded a readiness for change and immediate steps toward toward safety.
• The ability to spend 2 hours with a patient providing services is unheard of in the medical profession. It truly allowed for a person-in-environment approach!

For more information about UA CARES, call them at 614-583-5352 or visit the City of Upper Arlington.

I recently attended an evening session of Social Workers Count: Engaging with the 2020 Census, a free training at the Main Branch one of my very favorite places to visit in Columbus- my local library. I learned that social workers can and should play a critical role in ensuring equitable representation and funding for the next decade by promoting a complete and accurate census. Here are some resources that were provided, though I encourage you to seek your own additional information from many sources:

• Census– It will be largely ONLINE this year. Schools, churches and community organizations are encouraged to work with Census workers to bring in electronic kiosks to ensure they are counted where internet access is not possible. Phone and mail will still be an option for completion as well.
•  Ohio Census Advocacy Coalition- Erin Davies represented a group of partnering non-profit organizations and statewide associations, promoting Census Day as April 1st, 2020. The census starts March 12 and runs through July/August. Did you know the census determines the number of representatives each state can send to the House of Representatives? Ohio has 16 currently, and will likely lose 1 in the next election cycle due to inaccurate counts of our population.
• Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio– Highlighted the effects of undercounting Hard-To-Count (HTC) populations like poverty stricken neighborhoods, complex large households, and nontraditional family structures. Ohio has the 19th highest number of young children (106,217 or 15%) living in HTC census tracts. If these kids are not counted, they won’t be accounted for potentially for 10 years until the next census. This affects federal funding and shortchanges communities in need. Equal representation is not provided and communities lose their voice in decision making.
• Equitas Health– Unveiled a #countworthy hashtag to ensure members of the LGBT+ community are counted in the election. Once again, frustratingly, there is no way for individuals to identify their sexual orientation or gender identity (only on The American Community Survey (ACS). As exciting as it is, I will not be able to report as a same-sex household, which is a new improvement for many to this years census, because I live independently of my significant other.

Today Age-Friendly Columbus and Franklin County hosted a photo shoot and media day for Older Adults representing a diverse set of populations (race, sexuality, ability, religion, neighborhoods, to name just a few). Each participant was well fed and caffeinated prior to sharing their personal lens on Age quotes, trying on the new Age-Friendly sunglasses swag, and hopping on the COTA bus for a photo shoot of multiple generations.

Stay tuned for the big photo reveal.  HINT: It will be BIG and coming to a local billboard near you!

I was able to spend some time today at our Positive Aging photo shoot getting to know University District neighbor, Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano, who Chaired Age-Friendly Columbus. Michael and his right hand, LaTina, shared promotional materials (and fabulous chapstick swag) about homestead credits, pet licensing, and other age-related issues our Older Adults may face. In addition to his busy social and speech schedule, Michael’s main job as Auditor is to maintain accurate records of all monies received by or paid out of the City Treasury account. He is a graduate of Mortiz College of Law, former City Council President and Member, and current Adjunct Professor at OSU.

The more we chatted, the more we realized 1) we are huge dog lovers, 2) his pink polka dot tie is a total winner, and 3) we have lots of amazing favorite humans in common (D’Lyn, his sister and my SoHud neighbor, and Katherine Harrison, Agritourism Farmer Extraordinaire).

My clinical social work professor, Dr. Bob Ahern, told our Saturday class section that he keeps a bag of confetti in his desk to celebrate the small wins of his clients. He also bakes them homemade cookies

In a world where practitioners have grown increasingly afraid to build rapport for fear of crossing personal boundaries, be creative. Be a Bob!