February Highlight Continues: Young Adult Services at Marrakech

The Young Adult Services program at Marrakech gives us "Lesson Number Three" for those working or living with Young Adults: Have a toolkit of skills for working with young adults, and practice them.

If you don’t have these skills --- get them!!!

Here are some of the skills needed in your toolkit:

Gentleness/Kindness
Patience
Generosity
Faith
Forgiveness
Be Creative
Be Prepared for the Unexpected


(Lessons for Lifeguards, M. Carrera, M.D.)


“Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness Here is the answer to your search for peace. Here is the key to meaning in a world that seems to make no sense. Here is the way to safety in apparent dangers that appear to threaten you at every turn, and bring uncertainty to all your hopes of ever finding quietness and peace. Here are all questions answered; Here the end of uncertainty ensured at last.” Workbook for Students, A Course in Miracles

Young Adult Services at Marrakech!

Walking past the Village Café on Whalley Avenue in New Haven on a random Wednesday evening, you may wonder what all the activity and music are about!  If you are a young adult and stopped in, you would even have a chance to be a part of all that action, and you might just get a glimpse of a rising star! What is this hoppin’ happening?  It’s just one of the activities Marrakech’s Young Adult Services offers: “Open Mic Night”.  It’s held every second Wednesday of the month from 5p-7p! It’s a place where young adults in the community can come together to sing, dance, or recite poetry in a supportive, accepting atmosphere.

Young Adults Services at Marrakech provides residential services to young adults with behavioral health service needs at two different sites located in New Haven as well as some young adults living on their own in the community. While the two sites fulfill slightly different service needs, they are similar in that they are apartment-style homes, have 24/7 staff onsite and provide support and instruction aimed at increasing the residents' abilities to manage symptoms and live more independently in the community.  Residents of all locations are provided with clinical services through the West Haven Connecticut Mental Health Center's Young Adult Services team.  The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services also contracts with WAGE to provide employment services to the young adults.

We will be featuring this program on Marrakech’s Facebook page over the next few weeks, so make sure to “like” the Facebook page and go back often to check out more information about their program, as well as “Ten Lessons for Those Working With Young Adults and Teens”.  I bet there is something we can all learn in each lesson that we can use in our lives!

Wrapping Up Our 10 Ways in 10 Days Challenge!

Well, our 10 ways in 10 Days Challenge has come to an end and we think it was a great success!  We kicked off our campaign on Tuesday, December 3^rd, #GivingTuesday, the new official start of the Giving season by posting several of our employees holding signs about why they give – called “UNselfies”.  This was a fun project and seemed to spark quite a bit of interest from our Facebook community. 

If you missed any of our 10 Ways in 10 Days campaign, here is a summary of the challenges we presented to our community of friends and supporters:

• Marrakech’s Village Café cooks up more than fresh food.  The restaurant also serves as a training site for adults who want to enter the culinary field.  Stop by for breakfast or lunch and support their education.  Better yet, ask the Cafe to cater your next event!  The Village Café is located at 520 Whalley Avenue in New Haven. (203) 389-1102
• Stock the shelves of Marrakech’s food closet during “10 Ways in 10 Days!”  Drop off donations of brown rice, tuna fish, oatmeal, canned fruit in juice, nuts, raisins, peanut butter, whole wheat pasta, tomato sauce, and canned or dried beans to our offices at Six Lunar Drive, Woodbridge, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and help our consumers in need.
• Give Marrakech a high-five!  Ask 5 of your friends to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to learn about our programs and services, celebrate our consumers, meet our staff, and support our work in the community. Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarrakechincCT; Twitter: www.twitter.com/MarrakechincCT
• Want to feel like a million bucks?  Donate to Marrakech’s Annual Fund during the “10 Ways in 10 Days” campaign. Your gift, in any amount, will contribute directly to improving the quality of life for our consumers.  Learn more about our mission at www.marrakechinc.org   
• Don’t say goodbye after “10 Ways in 10 Days”- stay in touch by joining Marrakech’s contact list.  Sign up for emails or our mailed newsletter from Marrakech at www.marrakechinc.org or call (203) 389-2970, ext. 1030. 
• Share a gift from the heart during “10 Ways in 10 Days.” Bring a home-cooked meal to Marrakech’s Taking Initiative Center (TIC), a warm, safe place for those who are homeless.  Breakfast and lunch are served seven days a week, as caring staff help connect people to the services they need.  E-mail Mike at mmorgan@marrakechinc.org or call him at 203-389-2970 ext. 1340 to cook up a plan.
• Marrakech needs reliable and qualified staff for our various programs.  Support “10 Ways in 10 Days” by referring someone looking for a job in the human services field to Marrakech.  Candidates can view our job openings and submit applications online at http://www.marrakechinc.org/employment.html, or interview at our monthly open houses.    
• Take 10 minutes for “10 Ways in 10 Days” and watch the story of Marrakech, Inc. at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dEQ8CFgecw.  Share the video with your friends and help our agency continue to grow.
• Make a clean sweep during “10 Ways in 10 Days” and donate gently used office furniture or equipment, home furniture, or other household items to Marrakech for use in our consumers’ homes and program sites.  Items must be in good condition.  Contact Kashti at kwalters@marrakechinc.org or 203-389-2970 ext. 1005 to arrange a donation.

Thank you to everyone who participated in some way this year. Our campaign brought us several new Facebook friends, additional donations and an increased awareness about Marrakech, the people we serve and the work we do.

If you didn’t have a chance to participate during the challenge, but would still like to get involved, the ideas above are really open opportunities and are not restricted to just the 10-day challenge. As always, we really appreciate your support of our mission.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

#GivingTuesday and Marrakech's 2013 10 Ways in 10 Days Campaign!

Marrakech has joined #GivingTuesday, a first of its kind effort to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Coinciding with the kick off the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday is meant to inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support, and help create a better world.

On #GivingTuesday, December 3^rd, Marrakech will kick off our 10 Ways in 10 Days Challenge, which provides 10 different ways you can support Marrakech over the course of 10 business days (December 3^rd – December 16^th).  There is at least one thing everyone can do in the challenge in order to participate and we really hope you do!  Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to see each day’s challenge and to get involved.

Either way, we are pretty sure the 10 Ways in 10 Days Challenge along with our #GivingTuesday activities will continue to help you get to know us a little better as an organization.   

From our Marrakech family to yours, we wish you the happiest of holiday seasons and a joyful New Year!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarrakechIncCT

Twitter: www.twitter.com/MarrakechIncCT