Rob Anderson

Pittsburgh, PA—State Representative Dan Miller (D-42) will host the annual Disability & Mental Health Summit on Tuesday, March 3 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The Summit is free and open to the public. This year’s Summit is particularly special because 2020 marks the 30th Anniversary of passage of the Americans with Disability Act. This will be the seventh year Rep. Miller has hosted the Summit, which provides individuals, families, and professionals with access to the largest collection of disability and mental health resources in western Pennsylvania at any one time. The Summit will feature educational sessions, speakers, resource fair, a bipartisan legislative panel, and continuing education classes.

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This article was originally published in the Observer-Reporter.
Observer-Reporter

They’re not exactly of the same generation, but Betty Copeland and Bethany Hallam have something in common that most of us never will experience.

Both are elected officials, with Copeland serving as Bridgeville Borough’s mayor and Hallam, half a century her junior, representing Allegheny County Council at large.

They joined a group including state legislators, school board directors and municipal leaders for a “Women in Politics” event hosted recently by South West Communities Chamber of Commerce as part of its ongoing Impactful Women program.

“Every time that we do an Impactful Women event, we pick a different topic that is a good topic for women: something you can learn from, something in which you might get to know people you would not in real life,” chamber executive director Mandi Pryor said. “Tonight, in the election year, I thought it would be great to kind of intermingle people from different areas, and our elected officials to get to know what’s going on in the region, get to know each other and maybe just figure out who’s on your ballot, because sometimes you just don’t know.”

Held at Bella Sera in Cecil Township, the event featured networking opportunities and what ostensibly was a 50/50 raffle. But those in attendance agreed that all the proceeds should go to Wesley Family Services, the beneficiary selected for the evening.

Heidi Buckley, Wesley’s senior manager for community engagement, provided some background about the nonprofit, which has locations in Washington and South Fayette Township, and operates the former Johnston School in Upper St. Clair.

“Wesley Spectrum and Family Services joined together about two years ago to be Wesley Family Services, which means that our growth has enabled us to help 30,000 clients,” she said. “We have 1,200 employees doing wonderful work in behavioral health and other areas.”

Those include aging services, justice and child welfare, community empowerment programs, foster care and adoption, and programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“We are the largest provider of autism services in the Western Pennsylvania area,” Buckley noted, “and very proud of that work that we do.”

Another nonprofit represented at the chamber event was She Deserves, with founder Susan Miller on hand to provide information about the organization’s efforts on behalf of survivors of domestic abuse.

“We help identify what their strengths are and help them build entrepreneurial skills based on their strengths, so that they can become financially self-sustainable,” she said. “What we see most common with all of these women is they give up control, and they have trouble gaining that control back. Once they get out that situation, they have to learn how to take control of their lives again.”

Launched in 2018, She Deserves offers four areas of programming focusing on empowerment, peer support, business development and business grants.

“We don’t give them money, but if they need a website of laptops, we can get that taken care of for them,” Miller said about the grant program, which operates through strategic partnerships with area businesses.

She Deserves serves women from the startup level to seasoned entrepreneurs.

“The most common that I’m seeing coming through the programs are women who already have businesses, but they’re struggling with their businesses because they have to go through the healing. They have to become empowered again. And so their businesses are suffering as a side effect of the trauma they’re going through,” Miller said.

“I’ve talked to women 35 years later who are still dealing with the trauma that they’ve gone through, and it continues to impair their lives and their businesses because they haven’t worked through those issues.”

For more information, visit Wesley Family Services at wfspa.org, She Deserves at shedeserves.yolasite.com and South West Communities Chamber of Commerce at southwestcommunitieschamber.org.

This article was originally published in the Tribune Review.
By Kevin Smith
Tribune Review

Herb Hughes of New Kensington sees the positives of working on the Pioneer Apartments project in New Kensington.

It’s close to Hughes’ home, and the project by Wesley Family Services aims to inject life into the city’s business district.

The $18.2 million apartment building is being built on the site of a former parking lot, between 10th and 11th streets and Fourth Avenue and Cherry Alley. Mistick Construction is handling construction, and the apartments are on target for an Aug. 1 opening.

Stephen Christian-Michaels, chief strategy officer of Wesley Family Services, said the building will house 36 two- and three-bedroom apartments, with rent ranging from $200 to $800 a month, and nine apartments will be equipped for people with disabilities who qualify for federal Section 8 housing.

Wesley has received 185 applications for the regular apartments and 25 for the handicapped-accessible ones, according to Christian-Michaels.

Wesley Family Services also will move all of its staff from its New Kensington and Tarentum offices into the building. That will mean the move of between 80 and 100 employees to start. The plan is to expand that to 125 in the next seven years.

At Pioneer Apartments, Wesley Family Services will offer programs and services to the building’s residents and local residents.

Pioneer Apartments is funded largely through two tax credit programs — new market tax credits from the nonprofit Corporation for Supportive Housing and low-income housing tax credits through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority. It also received grant funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, as well as a no-interest loan from the housing finance authority.

Christian-Michaels said area workers were guaranteed jobs when the project was announced.

There are now more than five workers with ties to the Alle-Kiski Valley on site each day, according to Christian-Michaels.

“It’s beneficial to the project and having these local workers here is beneficial to the community,’’ Christian-Michaels said. “Mistick has done a great job getting all these people hired.

“We started this on May 26. It was a rainy June, but we have had perfect weather this winter and we should be right on target.’’

The effort to hire local workers and improve New Kensington has not gone unnoticed by Hughes.

“It’s long overdue to see a project like this in New Kensington,’’ he said.

Tuesday was Hughes’ third day on the job. He recently graduated from Triangle Tech, where he was trained in general contracting, drywall, plumbing and electrical work.

Another recent Triangle Tech graduate, Adrian Bell, grew up in New Kensington until ninth grade. He graduated from Kiski Area High School and now lives just past the Lincoln Beach neighborhood of Upper Burrell.

“It’s just five or 10 minutes away,’’ Bell said. “Having the ability to get a job here will help my career.’’

Wendell Green, also of New Kensington, is working with the plumbing crew.

“It’s a nice opportunity for us,’’ Green said. “You can get out, and it’s close by and easy to get to.’’

New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said this is what was envisioned when the project came together. He said the addition of jobs was critical and fits in with the work being done by the Penn State New Kensington “Corridor of Innovation,’’ Knead Community Café and the Voodoo Brewery.

“It’s important to employ people here in New Kensington,’’ Guzzo said. “And it’s important to hire people from not only New Kensington, but from throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley.”

This article was originally published in the Tribune Review.
By Tony LaRussa
Tribune Review

The North Hills School District will host a Town Hall meeting March 19 that will focus on the dangers teenagers face from vaping.

The program, which runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the North Hills Middle School auditorium, will feature a panel of experts from law enforcement and the medical community.

The schedule includes presentations from the Ross and West View police departments, District Judge Richard Opiela and other experts.

Allegheny Health Network pulmonologists Dr. Briana DiSilvio and Dr. Meilin Young will discuss the dangers of vaping and how it pertains to lung health.

Maggie Conrad of Wesley Family Services will do a presentation titled “A Stash Room Experience” that explores the places teens typically hide vaping devices and paraphernalia.

This is the third year the district has convened a town meeting to discuss issues of importance to the community. The first two town halls in 2018 and 2019 focused on the opioid epidemic.

The middle school is located at 55 Rochester Road in Ross Township.

This article was originally published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
By Kate Giammarise
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With the topic of employment for people with disabilities high on the agenda, 2,000 people are expected to convene next week at an annual disability and mental health summit in Downtown.

The gathering March 3 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is organized by state Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon; this is the summit’s seventh year and it is expected to be much larger than previous gatherings.

“Each year, the needs and issues continue to grow,” Mr. Miller said.

Many sessions will focus on the topic of employment for individuals with disabilities. But the more than 40 discussions will also include state human service officials giving information and updates on mental health resources, sessions for caregivers, sessions on understanding the intersection of mental health and addiction, and information about navigating the state’s Medicaid program.

There will also be a focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act, which this year marks its 30th anniversary.

“There are many, many people who don’t know that history … it’s important that people realize and remember that the ADA is one of the most important pieces of disability legislation ever passed in this country,” said Nancy Murray, president and chief executive officer of The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh/ACHIEVA, who has been involved in planning for this and prior conferences.

A bipartisan panel of state lawmakers will also be discussing policies on disability and mental health.

“This is not about politics,” said Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Upper St. Clair, who will co-chair the legislative panel. “This is about the people of Pennsylvania, and certainly some of our most vulnerable citizens.”

Ms. Mihalek was speaking at a news conference last week about the event.

“I think it is a great one-stop shop for people getting lots of different kinds of information,” said Mary Anderson Hartley, project director for Western Pennsylvania Disability and Action Consortium, who will be speaking on a panel about housing.

The event is “community-driven,” with programs that aim to give the information people are seeking, she said.

The event is free for attendees. Sponsors include Highmark, Gateway Health, The Staunton Farm Foundation, Community Care Behavioral Health Organization, FISA Foundation and PNC Financial Services Group.

The summit has taken place in prior years at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills in Scott, but it has outgrown that space, Mr. Miller said.

The planning and content development of the event is run through Mr. Miller’s office, but the fundraising is not, he said. The Jewish Healthcare Foundation serves as a fiscal agent.

State legislators often host gatherings for their constituents — meet-and-greets, paper shredding events, concealed carry permit events, or senior or veteran-focused resource fairs.

But the scale of this event is much greater.

“There’s nothing else like it,” said Bill Patton, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Frank Dermody and the House Democratic Caucus.

Mr. Miller has invited all of his House and Senate colleagues to attend, and the event has inspired another disability-focused event in the eastern part of the state, Mr. Patton said.

“He’s been careful to do it the right way. It’s very policy-focused. It’s not a tool for political promotion. He’s well-connected with advocates and experts and able to leverage that into getting everyone together at one time,” Mr. Patton said.

More information is available at http://www.disabilitysummit.com/

This article was originally published in the Pittsburgh Patch.
By Eric Heyl
Pittsburgh Patch

ROSS TOWNSHIP, PA – North Hills School District will host a town hall on the dangers of vaping next month. The event will occur March 19 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the North Hills Middle School auditorium.

District families and members of the community are invited to join school district officials, Ross and West View police and District Judge Richard Opiela for an evening of education about vaping and health-related concerns associated with younger populations.

Allegheny Health Network pulmonologists Dr. Briana DiSilvio and Dr. Meilin Young will discuss the dangers of vaping and how it pertains to lung health during their presentation “Vaping and Lung Health.” Maggie Conrad from Wesley Family Services will explore and discuss the places teens typically hide vaping devices and paraphernalia in her presentation “A Stash Room Experience.”

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. to allow attendees to visit with vendors including emergency response services, drug and alcohol recovery services, counseling and therapy services and behavioral health services. The presentations will begin at 7 p.m.

This is the third year North Hills is hosting a town hall. The first two events in 2018 and 2019 focused on the opioid epidemic.