President Helen Oloroso led us in “Why We Are Rotarians.” Kathy Tate-Bradish followed with the Thought for the Day: “Live as though you will die tomorrow; learn as though you will live forever,” by Mahatma Gandhi.
Announcements
Helen announced the first order of business to vote on the proposed slate of officers to take office on July 1, 2020:
Continuing:
Barb Miles, Club Treasurer
Susan Prout, Community Service Chair
Steve Steiber, Fundraising Chair
Kathy Tate-Bradish, Membership Chair
Jackie Mack, Program Chair
Gary Peterson, Foundation Chair
Nick Powers, Sergeant-at-Arms
Marv Edelstein, Technology Chair
Charlotta Koppanyi, Vocational Service Chair
Jackie Mack, Youth Exchange officer (with Neil Gambow)
New positions for:
Katherine Peterson, Club Service Chair
Miguel Hernandez, Club Foundation Chair
Patrick Mbullo Owour, International Service Chair
Sue Bova, Secretary
Kassandre McGovern, Young Leaders Chair
Malu Simon, Public Image
Linda Gerber, President elect 2021/2022
The slate was approved unanimously.
Helen reminded us of the District Conference on April 24-25, 2020. Details will follow.
Our Rotary Exchange student, Potter Supapsuntorn, shared with us that he likes to go out and see museums, plays, and concerts. He has a notebook where he writes about everything he does, and also lists all new vocabulary. He likes to help people and to meditate. He especially likes to sing, and is very pleased at how much better his English has gotten. Please contact Linc and Myra Janus at (847) 866-8465 if you would like Potter to join you in an activity over the holidays, or any time.
Lesley Peters explained that the oranges on the table were a free sample from our new citrus suppliers. Because of the currently incurable citrus virus, our citrus team was reluctant to order oranges this year, and wants our input about the samples. Please email Lesley with your opinion
lesley.peters@gmail.com.
Charlotta Koppanyi and Marisa Naujokas will bring any leftover oranges to the men at the YMCA.
Ann Searles told member Ira Graham about our Honor Flight speaker. He told her how moved he was when he attended the honor flight himself, how important it was, and how moved he was by the letters that club members wrote.
Linda Gerber explained that the International Service Committee will have a half-day retreat on Jan. 18, and appreciates all club members filling out the survey sent out by Kate Collinson to give input.
Kathy Tate-Bradish reminded us to write down any announcements, roasts, or boasts, and give them to her at the end of the meeting. This is for all scribes, every week, to make their job easier.
Kathy also has two Trish McEvoy brand pencils from the Holiday Party. If they’re not yours, please ask your significant other if it belongs to them.
Bryant Wallace appreciated the hams that our club is donating to the Chessmen for their holiday food drive. It helped them serve a record number of families, more than 400. Even more, he appreciates the dialogue that we opened, and the synergies between our two clubs which help us to be even more effective in our community.
Helen made an appeal for individual members to consider donating to an Evanston-based Girl Scout troop that has 16 members whose families can’t afford to buy the girls’ uniforms, etc. It comes to about $50/girl. They would be happy to come and talk to us about their troop.
If you would like to donate, please write a check to ELRC Foundation with “Girls Scouts” on the memo line and the donation will be sent to the Evanston troop in January. This pass-through to our club foundation will act as a 501c3 charitable donation. Mail your check to Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Club, P.O. Box 445, Evanston, IL 60204-0445
Bruce Baumberger is eager to talk to our guest and prospective member Dilnesa Eshete – Bruce lived in Ethiopia as a teenager, and Dilnesa moved to the U.S. from Ethiopia at age 16. Bruce also announced that we are wrapping up our Holiday Sale, which went well – about $25,000 net profit to be donated to our projects! There are some extra products – please purchase them today at a reduced rate.
Kate asked us to check our products – we are short two bags of unsalted pecans and one bag of honey pecans.
Marisa Naujokas reported that working with Tom Clesen for the floral/nursery products was great. Shopify worked well. Some 60 club members participated by buying and/or selling our holiday sale items.
Sergeant-at-Arms Nick Powers reminded us to put our dollars in the Club Foundation tins every week, even when we don’t have roasts or boasts.
Program
Topic: Innovation and Recovery in Mental Health in Israel
Speaker: Liron David (LL.M, BSW)
Program Chair Jackie Mack introduced Liron David, an Israeli lawyer and social worker. She serves as the director of international relations and development in Enosh, the Israeli Mental Health Association.
Previously, Liron served as legal advisor to Enosh, where she established the policy, advocacy, and legislation department. Liron’s professional career began at the Israeli Supreme Court, where she served as a law clerk and as legal advisor at the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Today in Chicago, Liron is developing connections with local organizations working in mental health and disability, and expanding the activity of Enosh to the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and regional organizations.
Liron began by connecting the dots with Rotary service – the last time she visited our club the program was about housing, which is so important in the field of mental health, and told us that most of the Enosh board members are Rotarians in Israel.
“Enosh” means human being or humanity, and was the name of a grandson of Adam and Eve’s in the Bible. In order to take the stigma away and emphasize the humanity of all of us, Enosh (the organization) prefers to refer to people with a mental illness as people with a psychosocial disability. She stressed that in the psychosocial disability field, it’s important to remember to follow the guideline “Nothing about us without us.”
Enosh’s goal is to help people with psychosocial disabilities live independently in the community. She reminds us that in Israel, as in the U.S., 40 years ago most of those people lived in psychiatric hospitals or “mental institutions.” A group of mothers of children with psychosocial disabilities started Enosh, and it has become increasingly more professional ever since. The movement was to get people out of the hospital and to create community-based services. Thanks to Israel’s Community Mental Health Act, people with psychosocial disabilities get supportive care. The question is how does society help copers (rather than “sufferers” or “victims”) with psychosocial disabilities live their best lives? The attention needs to be on the human being and not on their “disease.”
In Israel there is a “basket of services” depending on the level of need – someone might come to your home five times a week. This also helps families, who play an important role in the lives of their family members coping with psychosocial disabilities. There are also community gardens, “speed dating” – which had led to at least one marriage and child, with wrap-around support, free counseling, group activities . . . All services are free via universal health care, and paid for by income taxes.
Enosh offers person-centered services, and has shared apartments for women coping with mental health and sexual violence. Liron explained that 50-90% of women coping with psychosocial disabilities experienced sexual violence in the past. The intake protocols have been changed to be more trauma informed, for this and other reasons.
Enosh specializes in listening to and helping marginalized communities. For example, when they tried to open a family center in an Orthodox area and scheduled workshops for women at 6 p.m., very few women came. After consulting with community members, they moved workshops to 10 p.m. when women are done with their family responsibilities, and the women stay until 2 a.m.
Guests and Milestones
Visiting Rotarian
Margaretta Swigert Gacheru, Rotary Club of Nairobi
Other Guests
Liron David, speaker, from Israel
Dilnesa Eshete, Quartet Digital, originally from Ethiopia
Potter Supapsuntorn, our Rotary exchange student from Thailand
Birthdays
Kerstin Alischoewski, Dec. 17
Myra Janus, Dec. 23
Club Anniversary
Marcia Kazurinsky, 3 years
