Ventura County Behavioral Health
Older Adults & Benefits Programs
Peter Shreiner is a Clinic Administrator. His program, the Older Adults & Benefits Programs, aids adults aged 60+ that have mental health problems that are often poor and have medical issues. Peter and his staff make sure that their patients are properly accommodated, as they do house calls, and will drive them to their doctor appointments and other places they need to be. This is because at this point in their patients' lives, they can't always make it to their appointments, and will therefore start missing treatments and proper care. The program will also provide social situations for their patients to participate in to improve their quality of lives. In result of the program's care, these patients will not go to the ER (emergency room) or public hospitals as much. Many of the program's patients were homeless, and Peter and his staff will take care of them on the front side, meaning that they don't expect any kind of payment before they help them. A lot of Peter's past patients become contributing members to society after they have recovered thanks to the program's help.
I think being an upstander means you work towards solving a problem you see in the world. Being an upstander means your putting forth something that benefits the community. Though upstanders throughout history (like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or Rosa Parks) are more renown, this does not mean you cannot be an upstander unless you make huge impacts. Being an upstander could be simply telling your classmate to stop teasing your friend. When being an upstander, people might not always recognize it. Some might think what you are doing is not benefiting anyone, but if you are helping people towards some type of solution, you are being an upstander. For example, you might not have had books to read when you were younger and want to help today’s youth always have a selection of stories to pick from. Someone else might not think you are being an upstander, but if you are working towards some goal that helps people, you are as much an upstander as Nelson Mandela.
(Below is a video explaining my exhibit)
(Below is a video going more in-depth about the process of the project)
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