EAST News and Events

Multi-family groups are happening in Salem, McMinnville and Albany. See our brochure or talk to your counselor for more information.

EAST offers a library for young people, families, friends and professionals working with the program. The library is housed at Mid-Valley Behavioral Care Network office located at 1660 Oak St. SE, Suite 230, in Salem. Click below for the list of materials and for more information:

EAST is offering a free video called "Psychosis: It's About Balance" to high school health teachers in the five-county region. The video can be viewed on the Robert Wood Johnson Local Initiative website at: http://www.lifp.org/html/spotlight/stories.html
        Thanks to Brian Heater and Wild World Productions for producing this video. Thanks also to Moe Armstrong, Scott Snedecor, and the EAST staff and young people who shared their perspectives. 
        For more information or to order the videotape, contact EAST by using the email form at the "Contact EAST" link at the top of this page.

Thank you to The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its program office located at the Portland Identification and Referral program located in Portland, Maine, for including us in the national Early Detection and Intervention for the Prevention of Psychosis Program (EDIPPP). This study is a tremendous opportunity at many levels: first, giving us experience guided by experts in intervention at a very early stage of illness; second, establishing a research infrastructure and wealth of data which will help us learn and improve; and third, being part of a network of national research organizations focused on our areas of interest.

 

Also, thank you to the following Foundations which have provided a huge amount of support to our program and to which we are deeply grateful:

Dr. Patrick McGorry, the international researcher whose work helped form the basis for the EAST program, returned to Oregon the week of April 7. Dr. McGorry wears many hats:  Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne in Australia, Executive Director of ORYGEN Research Centre (formerly the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Center), Director of Clinical Services ORYGEN Youth Health, and editor of Early Intervention in Psychiatry. Dr. McGorry is author of more than 300 books and articles, and former President and current board member of the International Early Psychosis Association.

 

Dr. McGorry was here for a two-day training sponsored by Portland State University as part of their continuing education series in evidence-based practices. While in town, Dr. McGorry visited with legislators, including the House Human Services Committee, met with leadership from the Department of Human Services Office of Addictions and Mental Health, and spent an afternoon with clinicians from the Early Assessment and Support Alliance teams.  As part of the visit, Dr. McGorry also met with a reporter from the Salem Statesman Journal, resulting in a very nice article.

 

The visit by Dr. McGorry was particularly significant because it marks a new phase in the evolution of Oregon’s collaboration with the Australian program.  The last time Dr. McGorry came to Oregon was in 2001 when the program had just started. Since that time EAST has evolved significantly and the model is now available to 60% of Oregonians.

 

Dr. McGorry emphasized several key points during his time in Oregon:

We look forward to many future exchanges (staff, research, knowledge, etc.) with our Australian friends!

 

The Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Services is considering the Department of Human Services - Addictions and Mental Health budget for the state. In 2007, the Oregon Legislature allocated $4.3 million for the biennium (July 2007- June 2009) to begin the process of making early psychosis intervention available in every community throughout the state. This statewide effort is being referred to as "EASA", the Early Assessment and Support Alliance. As a result, 60% of Oregonians, in 16 counties, now have access to early psychosis intervention. The early results from the new programs mirror EAST's results: immediate reductions in hospitalization, the majority maintaining their school and work situations, strong family involvement and support, and lots of powerful stories of people continuing on with their lives. Services are being provided in Mid-Valley Behavioral Care Network (Linn, Marion, Polk, Yamhill and Tillamook), Clatsop County (Project Intercept), Columbia County, Washington County (LifeWorks Northwest), Multnomah County (Verity), Hood, Wasco and Sherman Counties (Mid-Columbia Center for Living), Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook Counties (Deschutes County Mental Health), and Union County (Center for Human Development).

The funding for these programs has been blended into the ongoing state mental health budget, and so is not explicitly listed in the state budget being considered. However, the program is being featured in testimony about the impact of prior investments. The Governor's budget cut 90% from outpatient adult services for uninsured, which is the line item where EASA was found in the last biennium. The Ways and Means Committee will create its own budget.

Thank you to Salem Foundation - Henry and Vera Compton Memorial Fund for providing $1500 toward the new transitional apartments for young people involved with EAST. Folks are moving in, and these funds along with the other generous donations we have received are providing the basics: sheets, microwaves, plates and forks, etc. Because of this support, the folks moving in are getting the clear message: the community cares!

EAST Place housewarming is a success!
We have raised $2400 in household items and cash to help the first group of young people moving into EAST Place.

    About EAST Place. Thanks to Polk County and Polk Community Development Corporation, a new 5-unit apartment building will soon be available to provide transitional housing for members and graduates of the EAST Program. Things are moving along quickly and we expect the first group of residents to move in in December.

    You can help! Since most people moving into these apartments will be moving out on their own for the first time or coming from unstable living situations, we are going to help them get set up with basic household items.

    If you would like to contribute, please make a check out to MVBCN-EAST Place and mail it to MVBCN-EAST at 1660 Oak St. SE, Suite 230, Salem, OR 97301. 
    To purchase household items, you can go to any Target or WalMart retail store and use their in-store registry system to look up EAST Housewarming (first name = EAST, last name = Housewarming) and then purchase registry items in person.

    Or you can use the Internet to view the stores' registries and puchase items online or print a copy to bring with you to the retail store. Go to TargetLists or WalMart Wish Lists and then look up EAST Housewarming (first name = EAST, last name = Housewarming).

EAST Article in "Statesman Journal"
Read the article about EAST that appeared in the Statesman Journal newspaper on April 23, 2007. The article profiles two young adults who have benefited from EAST services and discusses the grant recently awarded to EAST by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Download Statesman Journal Article (PDF)