Tag: 221215

News & Notes 22/12/15

Mental health help

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is working with Aspire365 to create a new mental health program for New Hampshire residents age 12 and older as part of an ongoing effort to expand behavioral health care for teens and adults statewide. According to a press release, the program would include in-home and virtual mental health care treatment that is in-network for New Hampshire Anthem members. Aspire365 is currently the only health care provider in the state offering in-home treatment for teens and adults for both complex mental health illnesses — including psychotic disorders, mood disorders, anxiety, personality disorders and neurocognitive disorders — and substance use disorders, as well as co-occurring disorders. “Mental health is health,” Maria Proulx, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire, said in the release. “In New Hampshire, we’ve seen the need for a greater variety of treatment options and access so individuals can work with their health care provider to find a program that provides access in a manner that best works for them to get on the path to recovery and good health.” Aspire365’s treatment model incorporates psychiatry, psychotherapy, in-home nursing, family and peer support and group therapy, based on each patient’s individual needs.

Winter tourism

The New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism is anticipating an estimated 2.9 million travelers to visit New Hampshire this winter, with travel-related spending expected to reach $1.3 billion. According to a press release, the Department’s winter campaign will highlight the variety of winter activities that visitors can experience in New Hampshire, including skiing and snowboarding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, skating, dining and sales-tax-free shopping. “We are coming off a record-breaking winter in New Hampshire, where spending reached $1.2 billion, and while there are signs the rebound from the pandemic recovery is slowing, we expect to see continued growth this season in spending,” Department director Lori Harnois said in the release.

New director

The City of Manchester has a new director of homelessness initiatives, Adrienne Beloin. According to a press release, Beloin, who grew up in New Hampshire, has more than two decades of experience working with homelessness in the Boston area. Most recently, she was overseeing the largest day shelter and wraparound services for homeless individuals in Massachusetts. She has also worked as a direct service clinician and senior leader focused on rehabilitation of homeless adults in the areas of behavioral health, income and housing, and she has worked on City initiatives to implement innovative resources and solutions for chronic homelessness, substance use disorders and encampments. “I have had a warm welcome returning to New Hampshire and my impression is that there is a tremendous amount of compassion and dedication we can leverage here in Manchester coming from the concerned community, the local service providers, and the City departments,” Beloin said in the release.

Downtown improvements

Intown Concord has presented Berat Holdings of 64 N. Main St. with the final Façade Grant of 2022 in the amount of $10,000. According to a press release, Intown Concord’s Façade Grant Program was created to improve the appearance of downtown Concord by providing financial assistance to local building owners and tenants to be utilized for building renovations and beautification projects. Berat Holdings has had plans to upgrade the building since 2019, when they replaced their entrance doors, but the project was put on hold due to the Covid pandemic. The grant will allow the company to move forward with its renovations. “With increased building costs and inflation, property owners are facing many challenges when it comes to building improvements right now,” Jessica Martin, executive director of Intown Concord, said in the release. “It is an absolute joy to be able to give back to our community in this way and make it a little easier for these owners to improve their buildings and ultimately the look of our downtown.”

New commissioner

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has a new commissioner, William J. Cass. According to a press release, Cass will complete the term of former commissioner Victoria Sheehan, who has accepted a new position at the Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C. Cass has more than 35 years of experience working with NHDOT, most recently serving as assistant commissioner. Prior to that, he held a number of supervisory and management positions and was a project manager for NHDOT’s largest project ever, the 20-mile, $800 million-reconstruction and widening of Interstate 93 from Salem to Manchester.

Joanne M. Conroy, President and CEO of Dartmouth Health, based in Lebanon, was named one of 2022’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare, ranking No. 18 on the publication’s annual list, according to a press release.

Gilford Community Church (19 Potter Hill Road; gilfordcommunitychurch.org) will host a “Sermonless” Sunday on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m., featuring a choir performance of The Christmas Alleluias, a Christmas Cantata with music by Kim André Arnesen and lyrics by Euan Tate, according to a press release. GCC Pastor Michael Graham said the special service is “an open invitation to the community,” welcoming visitors of all ages and all faiths.

Mr. Mac’s Macaroni and Cheese in Manchester has donated $2,000 raised during its annual “Mac Gives Back” fundraising event held in October to two local children’s charities. According to a press release, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Manchester and the Manchester Police Athletic League received $1,000 each on Dec. 5.

How we see others

As more than one observer has noted, most Americans behave with respect to political campaigns and elections as they do toward sports teams and competitions. They have their favorites and then generally sit back and watch. True, some go out and stump for their candidate (or put out lawn signs), but generally most of us just follow the contest by way of cable news or local TV channels. And what those bring us these days, especially in the closing hours before Election Day, is a constant stream of strident messaging that caricatures opposing candidates as irresponsible, incompetent, or perhaps even dangerous. What is especially common is the format of these ads, whether on TV or in other forms of the media. They typically feature an especially unfavorable black and white photo of the opponent, probably snapped at an off moment along the campaign trail, while the favored candidate, featured smiling and in a color-rich setting, is portrayed as trustworthy, honest and friendly.

By extension — and probably without our adverting to the fact — this caricaturing of political candidates can easily lead us to include in our opinion those who support candidates we oppose. In short — and how many times have we all heard this? — they simply become “those people.” It’s a short step, for example, from portraying a candidate who favors a woman’s right to free choice to viewing that candidate’s supporters as “baby killers.” The political ads are replete with such exaggerations; indeed, that is what gives them the desired impact.

In his book Faces of the Enemy: Reflection of the Hostile Imagination, the philosopher and social observer Sam Keen documents the many ways, over time, we tend to conceptualize those who are our opponents as less than ourselves. In the extreme cases of warfare, the dehumanized enemy is portrayed as just that, less than human, and therefore easier to destroy.

But even in the political sphere such characterization can lead to condescension, disregard or even disdain. The higher the moral stakes, the greater the danger of regarding “the others” as unworthy or dangerous. The polarization in our society today, with its attendant imaging, makes the point.

Can we, will we break through this barrier of prejudice and start to engage in civil conversation with those who hold views opposite to ours? We cannot change everything, but we can start by reaching out and seeking not to convince others but to understand how they take the positions they do. The danger of not trying is to further harden difference, and that makes working toward a common good impossible.

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