One recent idea is taking hold thorough out America and is called”Green House. ” No it is not about building within the environmental green model.  It is about taking the large 100-200 patient Nursing Homes and caring for people in smaller settings.  The setting has the look and feel of a private home or apartment.  The house unit is built so that seven to ten seniors has his or her own room. The common living space of the house consists of a shared living room, dining room, kitchen facilities and a  common room.  It almost sounds like aspects of a commune or a kibbutz. Remember the phase “It takes a village to raise a child. ” Why not “It takes a village to care for our elders”.

For more information on the Green House concept for elder care or the physically/medically disabled check out the web link below.

http://www.ncbcapitalimpact.org/default.aspx?id=146

The Massachusetts Safe Schools Movement is a great example of a successful campaign to bring about change.  The success was due to a focus not in based on gender but on safety.  The message was presented as a public health problem that needed to be addressed. Thereby, changing the discussion from a political one to a public health policy discussion base on statistics.

The Bay Windows had a great summary which describes the twenty year movement and lessons learned.  Nonprofits can learn from it on how to turn political lobbying into program advocacy.

If a nine and six year old can understand ways to help individuals, why is it so hard for the government to grasp it.  I think it is because a child thinks of one action at a time and government overwhelms itself to solve it all at once.

Deinstitutionalization was hail in its day as the greatest achievement of providing mental health individuals with equal rights. Has the achievement of this new found liberation improved individual treatment or allowed government a means to lower their costs to the mentally ill? What government has learned since the closing of many mental health institutions is that without community resources that provide services to track outpatient access, regular medication treatment and resources for involuntary commitments when an individual is unable to control ones behavioral, there will be failure.

The evolution of the governments requirement for health insurance plans to include mental health services on parity with other services  should begin to show measurable outcomes in the coming years on whether such an act was sufficient.  The next evolution in treatment will be to what degree does treatment have to be available equally.

I would suggest that the key to success will be providing families the ability to choose their clinical service providers whom are most convenient to their lives and met the service plan needs. Our choice as consumers goes a long way towards accepting the outcomes each of us may experience in regards to our choices.  Life is not perfect and neither are human beings. If things do fail, blaming another persons for those directed for an individual does not solve the current problem. Therefore, a team approach which includes an individuals primary medical professional provides for ownership as a group.

Massachusetts recently was mandated to offer children mental health services in their community and not institutional care. How will a persons geographic location effect the outcome?  Since children mental health services are being pushed to be more in the community I would suggest learning from the past of how adults are now service in the community.

One point of view can be found in the book “The Insanity Offense” by E. Fuller Torrey.

When not in school keeping busy keeps me out of trouble. When I am bored things just happen. When I have plans it helps me wait. When I have no plans I get in trouble. My parents have signed me up for stuff. Most of the time I like the stuff. Not all my friends parents at school know about signing up for this stuff. I tell them to call my parents. Oh, I just told Papa they might get calls.

From Papa: So far we have been lucky its only been parents in the school yard where we have been asked to share information. Thanks Chris for promoting your parents to summer programming coordinator.

The use of summer interns is a very easy inexpensive way to run summer and school vacation programs. It also provides to a nonprofit organization a way to identify in advance potential employees to recruit, promote the brand and communicate to the community the nonprofit.

Have the space to put in at least one classroom to have childcare on site?  What a great recruiting tool.  What a great way to ensure that there is a place for employees to obtain childcare, work and not have to worry as much about getting to the child care center on time.  Traffic can be such an unpredictable problem.  How many times have you heard, got to run to pick up my child at child care.  I have make sure I have two hours to make sure traffic does not interfere with getting there.

How about running a school vacation and summer program?

These options bring in revenues, increase productivity, lower costs of recruitment, staff turnover, and allow you to pay lower wages due to the on sight benefits.    You can competitive with benefits other employers do not offer.

Access to child care, access to adult care, access to coordinating care, access to after school programs, access to higher education, access learning environments and the list goes on.  In your community have you conducted a needs assessment of the services needed, what assets of the nonprofit are underutilized and how you can offer a service at price that private and publicly funded individuals would pay.

For-profits are building more child care capacity, more companies are opening adult care services, new schools are being created at all levels,  and many after school and summer programs require early enrollment.

Success does not come to those whom wait for it to happen.  Success takes time and vision.  Success takes energy and effort.  Nonprofits have strengths that most individuals do not realize can make them very competitive.   The strengths of a nonprofit organization just need to be identified and used strategically to tap into positive cash flow ventures.

Does your nonprofit board or leadership feel tired and frustrated? Have you found the government has grown tired of supporting your efforts. Does your organization feel it has strength to continue to carry the burden of government shortages, failures or inaction? For a nonprofit to carry its mission it is important for the organization to be clear and consistent in its mission?

It is OK for a nonprofit to be revolution in its ideas on how to accomplish its mission, its goals and objectives. In promoting change and a message remember that symbols can have a different meaning to individuals than you intended. When symbols carry too much of a distraction, it is best to adjust.

Whether it is youth, children, environment, elderly, arts, families, animals, education or any other focus; the outcome will measure whether the means was worth it. Leading in a different direction than those who lead before you does not mean that your a radical leader. Not accepting past practices as the only way to accomplish the organizations goals does not mean that your nonprofit organization is wrong. Being the first nonprofit to accept a new practice or state a new means to accomplish a goal does not mean your organization is advocating throwing out all past practices. It is OK to take risks. It is OK to be first. Invention and evolution comes with revolutionary ideas. An individual or nonprofit organization should expect to become a leader whom will be able to stand the time when their country or community or a group needs that extra effort to hold them together during a time of change. Asking for help is not admitting defeat. It takes a wise leader to know when to ask for help. One great example is the The Mozilla Foundation which can be found at mozilla.org. You might have heard of Mozilla Firefox, the open source browser.

Are many of us prevented from truly helping a child because society has stuck children in societies bubble. Has parental rights and government policy shackled children to a life of methodical control where they have no rights. Time after time we read and hear of actions that seem more based on property rights or the dollar then whats best for a child.

To unshackled children from the restricted boundaries of society and increase opportunities for maximizing children to succeed I would advocate giving children a true voice. Set into regulation where parental rights are terminated the automatic appointment of a court appointed advocate for child under 13. Those 13 and above should be part of a Service Team and be given the opportunity to be part of the planning and decision making of their treatment plan.

There should be a child advocate who ’s only responsibility is what is in the best interest of the child.

My papa allowed my brother and I to build our own a camp fire. Snow was still on the ground. I put it out with the snow when it got dark. We wanted smores but our parents said no one bought the stuff to make it. That is alright I know my Aunts will bring stuff for the smores and banana boats. Camp fires are times for me to play, hunt for wood, and eat treats. Some nights we go to other camp fires. We take turns.

From Papa: “Camping is an opportunity for children with or with out their families to experience many outdoor options. Exposure to the environment provides an education for everyone. The more a person understands their relationship to nature the more likely the person will work to have a lesser impact on the environment.”

Frisbee golf works any where.  You make the course yourself.  You decide how hard to make it.  What par to make it.  Does anyone know if Tigger Woods can play it?  I wish every kid could have a Frisbee like me.  I can play anywhere with it.