A big thank-you to everyone who helped make the event a phenomenal success!

Here are some photos from the evening:

Are you sad that summer’s over? Because we are! But, let’s not let the autumn blues get the best of us… come out and have a few drinks with your friends from Thresholds Associates Board (TAB).

TAB is hosting a fundraiser at Mad River from 7-10 PM on Thursday, Nov. 5th All proceeds will support Thresholds programs that serve young adults with mental illness.

Tickets are $25 for 3 hours of domestic drafts, mixed well drinks, and a pizza and pasta buffet. Desserts will be donated by The Yoho Bakery.

Plus, as an extra thrill… some of your favorite TAB members, Board members, and Thresholds employees will be “guest bartending” for the event, and tips will be donated to Thresholds!

RSVP and get the details on our event’s page: http://event.pingg.com/TABfundraiser

Thresholds and TAB had a great time today at the mental health rally sponsored by Mental Health Summit, NAMI of Greater Chicago, and Mental Health America of Illinois. The rally coincided with Mental Illness Awareness Week, which is being held this year from October 4 to October 10.

We heard inspiring stories from Thresholds members and other people fighting mental illness, as well as calls to action from Illinois legislators such as Representative Deborah Graham and State Senator Heather Steans. We were also reminded of USC Law professor and mental-health policy advocate Elyn Saks, who has suffered from severe mental illness during her life but has gone on to become a leading scholar in her field and a 2009 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient. Hearing stories like hers and like so many Thresholds members inspired us to take action and demand adequate health care funding from Springfield.

We’ll be asking legislators to pass a tax increase and adequately fund mental health services. The rally will be at the Thompson Center (100 W. Randolph).

Here is the flyer with all of the information you’ll need.

See you there!

We’ve been invited to join the Thresholds Bike Club on their Forest Preserve ride on Saturday, October 3rd at 10:30am!

The full ride will be about 40 miles round-trip on the beautiful Forest Preserve North Branch Trail. If you’d like to make it shorter, you’re welcome to head back at any point.

We’ll start at Milwaukee and Devon and ride north to the Botanic Gardens. A trail map is available here.  The ride should take approximately 4 hours. Details are available under the Volunteer Opportunities sidebar on the right or here.

Please RSVP to me at swainer83@gmail.com before September 30. Additionally, we’ll need you to fax (773-537-3422) or bring a copy of Thresholds waiver, available here.

This ride is a fantastic way to get involved with Thresholds’ members, staff, and Associate Board members. I hope everyone gets the opportunity to join us!

-Seth

Special thanks to Luke Sundheim for organizing the event.

Check out photos from the event below.

Members of TAB are already serving on and working with the Real Estate Committee, the Young at Heart Committee, and the Finance Committee. They’re having a fantastic time, using their professional skills, networking and getting to know the Board.

Right now, the following committees are looking for members of TAB to come on board. If you’re interested, drop us a line at associatesboard@thresholds.org, and we’ll connect you with the committee chair.

• Child and Adolescent: Monitors the Young Adult Program and Mothers’ Project. Acts as the Board of Education for YAP.
• Development: Oversees Thresholds’ fundraising.
• Finance: Reviews the budget. Makes long-term projections. Oversees the endowment. Evaluates insurance.

If you have questions about what it’s like to serve on a committee, Tammy Randa, Olibia Stamatoglou and Dan Klaff already do, and they can tell you more.

Hello Everyone,

TAB has 25 tickets to the Sept 2 Cubs game against the Houston Astros! We’ll gather beforehand at Mullen’s on Clark starting at 12pm (map) for brewskis and snacks.

Email me (lukesundheim@gmail.com) to reserve your spot by August 26. Space is very limited so don’t wait! After you’ve RSVP’ed, you can purchase your ticket by giving $10 to Thresholds online and writing “TAB Cubs Outing” in the comment field.

-Luke

I just wanted to follow-up to what many of you may have already been hearing in the news (and some emails) regarding the State’s Doomsday Budget / Crisis, and to ask for your help.

We can’t stress how critical this is to Thresholds and the State’s many social services.  Budgets will be severely slashed as soon as July 1, and according to figures releases by the Governor’s office 175,000 people will lose community mental health services (dramatically increasing homelessness, institutionalization and incarceration rates).  Plus, an additional, 65,000 people with alcohol and substance addictions will lose treatment.  The outcome of these executive branch directives and “doomsday” budget are literally a matter of life and death for many.   It is also very short-sided and will end up costing the State more money, since every dollar spent on mental heath services actually saves the State $5.

Thresholds is not alone!  DCFS and many adoption agencies will be hit hard as well.  The Chicago Sun Times over the weekend carried the following link detailing program/contract reductions by agency name: http://media.suntimes.com/images/cds/pdf/budgetcutsnumbers.pdf.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Due to the time constraint we are under, the most effective thing we can do right now is call or fax a letter (template here) to our local representatives (see attached letter that you can use as a template) and let them know that “Cuts to Mental Health services are unacceptable”.  Also please reach out to all of your friends/family/contacts and have them do the same.

To find your representative, go to: http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx?NavLink=1

To follow the latest news, go to: www.thresholdsbrighfutures.wordpress.com or www.twitter.com/thresholdsctrs.

Tony Zipple, Thresholds’ CEO, as been doing a great job working with the media, local / state representatives, lobbyists, etc.; plus Threshold staff has been communicating our message via Email, Twitter, Facebook, GChat, plus … but we need YOUR HELP to keep the ball rolling.

Thank you in advance for all of your help and support.

Tammy
Thresholds, Board of Directors
Thresholds Associate Board, Board Liaison

Two things you can do:

• Call your state representative today and tell them that cuts to social services and services for people with mental illness must NOT go through. Find your representatives and their contact info here.
  
• Spread the word to your friends, family and colleagues to call their state representatives.
  

At Thresholds these cuts will mean: All our teen moms and kids are on the street when the Mothers’ Project has to turn them away; thousands of members across the agency lose services: housing, employment and community support; hundreds of staff get laid off; many locations close.

According to Gov. Quinn, these cuts will mean: A statewide reduction in services for 175,000 people with mental illness; foster parents get 50% cut in funds to help their foster kids; 65,000 people lose treatment for alcohol and substance abuse, 72% cut for childcare.

We’re all a part of TAB because we want to make a difference. Right now, this is the most important thing you can do for Thresholds and every nonprofit in Illinois. The legislature meets early next week, so calls this week are critical.

We’ll be posting updates on Twitter and Facebook throughout the day. For more information, check out Thresholds’ latest press release here.