Green Exercise Boosts Self-Esteem and Moods

An apple a day isn’t the only thing that might keep the doctor away. Try spending five minutes of exercise outside to boost your self-esteem and mental health. In a United Kingdom study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, evidence showed that green exercise, which is activity in the presence of nature, leads to positive short and long-term health outcomes. The study also indicated that exercise in the presence of water generated greater effects. More so, self-esteem improvements were greatest in children and emotionally challenged individuals.

We understand the importance that Mother Nature has on our children. From boosting self-esteem to lifting behavioral moods, our children and youth receive serendipitous benefits during their summer camp experience. Outdoor activities also help children burn off frustration or anxiety.  The outdoors soothes them and they return to the Hillsides campus more relaxed. 

Camping has always been a much anticipated summer outing. Our recreation department schedules several outdoor activities: swimming, archery, wall climbing, hiking, canoeing and fishing. Rotating hour-long activities provides them with the structure and the support they need.  Meal times are consistent with those on our campus, which helps the children maintain the comfort of their routines.

For many of our children Hillsides’ summer camp is the first time they will have enjoyed the great outdoors. With support from several organizations and volunteer groups, we have been able to take residents camping for nearly three decades.  Campers have stayed at various sites over the years, such as Laguna, Dinky Creek, Silverwood, Big Bear, Wrightwood and most recently, Teresita Pines.  

One thing is certain—as Mother Nature plays an important role in providing mental health benefits, our Hillsides friends also play a key role in continuing this longstanding tradition of exploring the outdoors and creating keepsake memories.

Stonewalling?

On August 7 on the editorial page of the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors were accused of stonewalling because of their refusal to comply with an investigation by the Bureau of State Audits into the deaths of children in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services within the past four years. There are more than enough good reasons for the Board of Supervisors to be cautious and reluctant to comply with this investigation, but at the end of the day what statement does this make to the families of children who have been placed in the care of DCFS? Even for the dysfunctional family where addiction and disability has threatened the safety of children, the removal of a child from the home is traumatic for all involved. How much more so if those who remove and place the child, posture themselves as beyond scrutiny?

Embedded in the editorial was a reminder of an often forgotten fact: in spite of the challenges and risks that many of DCFS involved families confront, studies indicate that the majority of children in these families do better when they remain within their family system. More often than not a relative can be found to support the child in the midst of turmoil in the home. In so many ways it is a far better to provide families with support and to remove children only as a last resort. I am reminded of this each time I run into one of our eight-year-old residents who inevitably asks me to get him home.

No one is advocating that it is acceptable to risk the safety of a child. For the parents of a child who has been removed from the home presumably because it was not safe, to then find them at risk in an underfunded, poorly monitored and mismanaged foster care system is intolerable. Certainly these families deserve some assurances; more importantly, these children must be assured. Somehow DCFS and the Board of Supervisors need to provide those assurances.

Audits are an everyday experience in the world of publicly funded services. As onerous as they may be, audits offer a level of accountability and provide some transparency. To refer to the Board of Supervisors as intransigent is unfair; they are attempting to balance a number of issues that hopefully will not only safeguard their interests, but more importantly serve the best interests of the children and families in the care of DCFS. The task is daunting and it is easy to point fingers, but the situation is urgent and the risks enormous so their prompt action is required.

Chaplaincy Restored

For many years Hillsides has benefited from the availability of a chaplain, but funding constraints limited the chaplaincy to an occasional volunteer position. However, through a generous grant from the Angell Foundation, we are happy to announce the re-establishment of a chaplaincy program.  As of this week, the Reverend Pat Hendrickson, an ordained Episcopal deacon, will be available on a part-time basis to serve as our chaplain.

As an organization rooted in the Episcopal Church, there has always been an element of our care for children that values the spiritual aspects of life. The chaplaincy is a way to provide an opportunity for clients and staff alike to have a resource to address this. The role of the chaplain is not associated with any particular sectarian agenda, but rather is directed toward providing pastoral care, an approach that is very common in a clinical or hospital setting.

More than organizing or directing worship, the chaplain serves as a type of ombudsmen whose presence is woven into the fabric of the services that are offered, being present to children, families and staff to respond to their needs, as appropriate, in the midst of challenges and joys.

I am so pleased that, once again, we are able to provide this service. Years of experience in this field has convinced me of the invaluable support that is derived from a good pastoral care program. Often it is the presence of the chaplain that provides a level of support and comfort that can significantly assist a child and family to address a very painful issue in a healing way.

This past year we have enjoyed the service of Kerri Backer, who served as a part-time chaplain, supported by a grant from PRISM, an Episcopal ministry working mostly with the incarcerated. Kerri did a great job and helped us to begin to reintroduce the chaplaincy. Once we had received the support of the Angell Foundation, we then sought to identify a more permanent chaplain and are happy to have found Rev. Hendrickson, who comes to us with extensive experience not only in pastoral care in a school setting, but also knowledgeable in special education and recreational services.

My hope is that this will be the start of a fully developed pastoral care program at Hillsides that will be integrated into treatment services and provide a unique component of care within the child welfare field.

Without the support of the Angell Foundation this would not be possible and indeed this program will be always be dependent on support from our donor community. Any assistance in further developing this service is greatly appreciated.

Storytelling and More...

The ability to tell your story can be cathartic and that is exactly the experience a number of our students had recently at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Through the generous support of one of our board members, Lyn Spector, we have had access to a group of storytellers who have helped some of our students and residents express their stories and then see them performed by a cadre of professional actors. The recent event in downtown Los Angeles was different in that over several days the students were actually assisted to tell their stories themselves. The event was made possible through the efforts of The Moth and Participant Media in conjunction with the release of the film, “The Help.”

All the stories had the same theme--standing up, as in standing up for yourself. This theme is very consistent with the story portrayed in “The Help,” when a number of domestic workers come together to tell their stories of service in a still segregated South.

One of our residents recounted his poignant story of struggle, relating the improvement he has achieved and how he reached the difficult decision recently to move on from Hillsides, return home and accept the challenges this move presents. He ended his story by saying, “choices come with costs.” How true! Such an important lesson to learn, this one will serve him well throughout his life.

It is a story of self knowledge, courage, conviction and purpose and it points to one of the greatest gifts we offer our residents--to leave Hillsides enabled to stand up for themselves and understand the personal “costs” that must be calculated with  each decision.

I was inspired by their poise and ability to articulate what is a difficult story to share, but I could see in their faces the sense of accomplishment and freedom to claim their stories as milestones along their journeys.

Aside from the support that this project received from The Moth and The Young Storytellers Foundation, this would not be possible without the vision and determination of two of our finest staff members: Rebecca Ruswick, one of our teachers at the Hillsides Education Center, and Sherri Ginsberg, our librarian, who along with the residential staff supported these residents throughout the week and were there with me to applaud their accomplishment.

These are challenging time for those of us committed to serving such vulnerable youth, but it is worth the effort when the “return” is so great and we are able to see them stand up for themselves.

Decisions Postponed

As I prepare this blog I have received word that the President has signed the legislation that extends the debt limit. My immediate reaction is relief--not that we increased our debt ceiling, but that finally the barrage of vitriol inundating the air waves for the last month will perhaps end soon. I am afraid, though, what we have experienced is just a dress rehearsal for the next round of elections. Meanwhile, what some say was a fabricated crisis to advance a particular agenda has kept us as a nation from addressing the needs of the most vulnerable among us, who are truly victims of what was unquestionably the excesses of the last decade.

I will leave to others more versed in these issues to analyze how we got into this situation. We can blame it on the polices of former administrations, the financial meltdown in 2008 or the increased costs of entitlements, but it would seem to me that the balancing of our budget at both the State and Federal level on the backs of the most vulnerable without soliciting  the support of those most able to assist is the most un-American thing I can imagine.  

Some have described the “deal” reached in Washington on the debt limit as a compromise. I suggest that it is rather a tactic in a strategy to build the political momentum that either side needs to address not just the pressing issue of debt reduction, but also entitlements.

Entitlements are the safety net that supports education, services to the needy, and access to health care. How can we consider cutting these crucial services and asking the most vulnerable to sacrifice without soliciting the support and sacrifice of those far less vulnerable? How fair is that in such a great nation?

Let there be no doubt the impact of potential cuts would be significant for the children, youth and families we serve. Further cuts at the federal level to education funding would only make it more difficult for local school districts to provide for children with special learning challenges. Cuts to services for foster care will only further jeopardize children and youth who are already very vulnerable. Reductions in health care would continue to limit access and ironically drive up the costs of providing care.

You don’t have to be an economist to know the solution to this problem. Several examples from our own history demonstrate how we can successfully reduce our national debt while maintaining our commitment to the needy. The solution requires not only prudence and discipline with regard to spending, but also requires fair access to resources to maintain the safety net and invigorate the economy. The sacrifices can not be borne just by some; they must be taken up by all.