It wouldn’t be hard to peek; the sides are off the Jeep and today the top is coming off too. You would see a basketball, CDs, sunglasses, camera, change for tolls, first aid kit, and a few tools. - Aaron Pry Besides some dust and dirt, a CD case, a pen on the sun visor and a book of matches. Any coins in there are definitely kept out of sight! - Trish Hopkins This time of the year is a busy one for me and the kids. It’s baseball season, so you will probably find baseball gloves, bats, cleats, sneakers, four chairs and a big sports umbrella. - Johanna Aponte My truck is currently filled with the following: two sets of window curtains, 20 oz bottles of pop, a garbage bag, a roll of paper towels, a pillow, a blanket, a pair of sneakers and a pair of plain boots, a bag of clothes (to donate, which I’ve been known to do lately), Tupperware containers, and Cepacol lozenges (a co-worker asked and I jokingly checked. To my surprise, I had some.) When in need, check with me. I just might have what you’re looking
for. - Jackie Dixon You would see absolutely nothing. I never keep stuff in my car in fear that someone will break in; it has happened to me a few times. - Shannon Bryant Garbage, Garbage, and more Garbage (unfortunately) - Mindi Mietlicki You would find old Tupperware containers that my mom has been hounding me for for months!! (eeewwww, I know!) - Kaitlyn Cieri My gym bag, reusable shopping bags, an umbrella and probably a couple of empty water bottles. - Ashlee Rudolph Drumsticks, dance gear, sneakers, condom pack inserts, loose change, lotions, bottled water - Maisha Drayton You would find CDs, my son’s blanket, and my garage remote. - Magali Maldonado A yoga mat, an embarrassing CD collection, empty Dunkin Donuts cups, a jade Buddha, two tires without tread, Pride Center swag and a book I wrote in elementary school entitled “The Mystic Bog.” - Siobohn Fitzgerald Cushing If you peeked in my car you would see a mess!!! - Tiffany Macauley
Carrie, Kyle and Helene model Evergreen Medical Group’s brand new green scrubs!
WE ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON Have you ever thought you were talking to Ka e, but you were actually talking to Sally? Has Ka e given you a puzzled look when you asked her about a program of the Pride Center? Confused? Don’t feel bad, you are not alone in your experience. We have come to realize that there is a humorous and perplexing phenomena occurring at the Evergreen Associa on, in which folks frequently confuse the two of us. - Sally Heron & Katie Diebold, LMSWs
Ka e: There was this one me following staff lunch, right a er Sally had given her presenta on about the Trans Health Ini a ve, and someone who will remain nameless* stopped me on the first floor and said, ‘Great presenta on!’ I had no idea what they were talking about. Sally: One coworker confused us thinking I was his neighbor. Another didn’t believe me when I introduced myself to her for the first me. She was like, ‘Are you serious? We’ve already met.’ Many clients seem to be puzzled, as well. The first me it happened to me I was in the tunnel at ECMC. Someone I didn’t know came up to me and started telling me about their viral load. ‘I just found out I’m undetectable!’ I had no idea what they were talking about. Ka e: Actually, it’s not even unique to the Evergreen Associa on. It has happened all over Buffalo! We happen to be best friends, and apparently, we are also each other’s doppelgangers! Sally: This one me a stranger came up to me and asked, ‘You work out at the JCC, right? You’re the person with the toe shoes!’ ‘I think you think I’m somebody else,’ I said. Ka e: It’s
happened several mes that people have stopped us on the street to ask if we’re sisters. One me we were in Ithaca, shopping, and the proprietor of the store asked if we were related. I think it’s the nose. Sally: People have asked so many mes that we just started saying ‘YES!’ Do people even ask this to real sisters? I mean, who cares? Ka e: The employees at Spot Coffee think we’re sisters, and we just go with it. Both (Editor’s Note: oh great, now I’m confused too): Being that we look similar, we have some ps to help y’all tell us apart and avoid further confusion. First we’d like to tell you a bit about our friendship. We met in 2009 in our first semester of the UB School of Social Work Master’s Program. We took several classes together and worked closely on mul ple projects. Aside from our common interest in social jus ce, we share a love of aliens, Emma Goldman, and outrage over police surveillance cameras. We also get our hair cut by the same guy. (Authors’ Note: the events described in this story are true. Names have been withheld so we don’t embarrass you. You know who you are.)
So How Do You Tell Ka e and Sally Apart? If she says ‘pop’, it’s Katie. Sally says ‘soda’. • If she’s talking about owls, it’s Katie. If she’s talking about hockey, it’s Sally. • If she’s tall (5’6”), it’s Katie. • If she’s short (5’), it’s Sally. Sally’s not short, she’s just got a bad altitude. • We both have piercings on our noses! If it’s on the nostril, it’s Katie. If you see a septum ring, it’s Sally. If you can put your finger through her ear lobe, it’s Katie. Roy Golia uses the terms “hoops” and “gauges” to tell us apart. • We both have numerous tattoos and plan on getting matching alien tattoos just to make this even more confusing. • Sally works in the Pride Center; Katie works in Care Coordination. Call Sally if you need help linking transgender clients to services. Katie is who you call if you need help with a crisis intervention or to make a mental health referral. We hope this article has been helpful, and that you are not more confused now than you were before. Now that you have these tools, we hope you will be empowered to make lasting changes in the way that you tell us apart! Turn the page to take a quiz and put your new knowledge and skills to the test.
CAN YOU SPOT THE DIFFER
RENCES IN THESE PHOTOS?
O 5
randomfacts ONE IS A LIE! C A N YO U T E L L T H E D I F F E R E N C E?
1
(see back cover for answer)
Walt Disney was a high school dropout, and was fired from a job at a newspaper because his editor said he “lacked imagina on and had no good ideas”.
2 A prison in Brazil allows inmates to pedal on specially modified exercise bikes which generate electricity for a nearby town in exchange for reduced sentences.
3 Cats spend 85% of their lives asleep. 4 Delete browser cookies before shopping for airline ckets online. Prices go up when you’ve visited a website several mes.
5 Residents of Churchill, Canada leave their cars unlocked to offer escape to pedestrians who encounter polar bears on town streets.
S U B M I T T E D
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May Birthdays Jim Rautenstrauch – 5/1 Kenny Lewis – 5/3 Jerome Robinson – 5/3 Heather Kollatz – 5/4 Aaron Pry – 5/13 Rosalind Townsend – 5/13 Angela Penzo – 5/17 Michele Ogden – 5/19 Patrick Butler – 5/26 Helene Cacciato – 5/31
May Anniversaries Theresa Woehrel – 1 year Gloria Kornowski – 2 years Corinne Henderson – 3 years Susan Williams – 3 years Toni Hernandez – 6 years Damian Mar nez – 6 years Cornelia Meredith – 7 years Terri Shankland – 7 years
Your Con nued Dedica on and Hard Work Are No ced and Appreciated!
connections M AY 2013
PUBLISHER/LAYOUT John Carocci EDITOR Kimberly Harding CONTRIBUTORS Katie Diebold, Maisha Drayton, Sally Heron, Sheila Marcheson, Tayrin Torres, Talor Struckmann
I am the founder of Dear Tayrin, a Buffalo-based campaign raising awareness of and providing support on sexual abuse while empowering those victimized. I’ve always had the dream of starting an organization that would make a change in the community, but I had no idea what my platform would be. In May of 2012, I decided it was time to tell my story; of how I was molested at the age of five by my aunt’s husband. I submitted my story to the Team True Beauty (TTB) campaign in Los Angeles to be printed in their newsletter with the hope of touching at least one life. Little did I know that the result would be Dear Tayrin. Since then, I have created a blog and conducted a six-week session at an after-school program with 15 young girls to teach them how to identify sexual abuse, how to prevent it, along with basics of self-defense. During this program, I reached out to current Miss America (formerly Miss New York) Mallory Hytes-Hagan, who is a strong advocate against child sexual abuse. Mallory sent autographed photos with words of encouragement to all the girls in the program. In August of 2012, Dear Tayrin hosted its first annual awareness event called “Voicing Our Stories.” The event was a success with 50 attendees, five musical
performances and three sponsors. Myself and two other survivors of sexual abuse, including Mr. Gay Buffalo 2012 “Blessed Caliz”, shared our stories for the first time in front of a public audience. In December of 2012, Miss America Mallory Hytes-Hagan and I worked together to launch the first Dear Tayrin Tweet Chat. Following that initial launch there have been a few tweet chats including one with male survivor, Mr. Gay Buffalo 2012. Most recently, in April of 2013, I was invited to a celebrity panel event hosted by Team True Beauty called “Empowering from Within.” The panel included such celebrities as Katie Lowes (Scandal), Alisa Reyes (All That) and Kirsten Vangness (Criminal Minds). I was able to tell my story, not only to the panel, but also to an audience. Dear Tayrin now has over 600 followers between Twitter and Facebook, including 17 local and national celebrity supporters. Dear Tayrin is currently forming a support group for victims, as well as expanding its education, social media presence and planning its 2nd annual awareness event to be held on Saturday, August 3, 2013. For 27 years after I was sexually abused, I was a victim, but since voicing and confronting what happened to me, I am no longer a victim, I am survivor. C
For More Information on the Dear Tayrin Project... www.deartayrin.wordpress.com www.facebook.com/deartayrin www.twitter.com/dear_tayrin deartayrin@gmail.com Tayrin at the First Dear Tayrin Event: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHeVhpRcl44 Tayrin at the Team True Beauty Celebrity Panel Event: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4nGamoAlCM
“ I A M N O L O N G E R A V I C T I M , I A M A S U R V I V O R ” TAY R I N T O R R E S
This summer I am a ending a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park on the 4th of July along with POP Goes The 4th which is an annual 4th of July Celebra on in Boston, Massachuse s. – Kaitlyn Cieri Dave Ma hews at Darien Lake in July. – Tiffany Macauley I haven’t done the Allentown Fes val in a while, nor the Taste of Buffalo, so I will probably a end both. – Trish Hopkins I plan on a ending the Italian Fes val and Puerto Rican Parade. – Magali Maldonado Italian Fest, Taste of Buffalo, Elmwood Arts Fest, Allentown Arts Fest, Juneteenth, Fireworks at the Marina — Maisha Drayton For me, summer is the season of outdoor music. With ckets to a 4-day outdoor fes val in Pennsylvania in August, 4 concerts in July, and 2 camping trips so far, I’m really hoping for maximum sunshine this year! – Patrick Butler Last year, I went to the Allentown Art Fes val for the first me. I am looking forward to it again this year. – Johanna Aponte July 13 - August 2 I will be at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin for our WAREX (war me exercise) working with the NAVY and AIRFORCE on a joint mission to prepare our combat support hospital for a future deployment. Then a er returning to EMG for a week, I will be depar ng for my Carnival Cruise out of New Orleans!!!!! Will be a super busy and exci ng 5 weeks. – Aaron Pry I plan on a ending all the events affiliated with Evergreen Health Services. - Jackie Dixon Concerts and my housewarming!!! – Mindi Mietlicki My husband and I are going to Toronto in August for Fan Expo. It’s a gigan c comic-con with tons of comic book vendors and ar sts, video game and movie a rac ons, shopping and celebri es. I met a lot of cool ar sts/authors and James Marsters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer last year, so I’m looking forward to mee ng some other cool people this year! I can’t wait! – Ashlee Rudolph I will be going to my two best friends’ wedding to each other! Wahoo!!!! – Siobahn Fitzgerald-Cushing
I’d most likely buy a couple of toys and bones for my dog Eboney! – Trish Hopkins As many Mighty Tacos that $25 can buy! – Patrick Butler I would treat myself and my kids to some Cold Stone Ice Cream (since we’ve never had it!) – Johanna Aponte I would put the gi card towards a nice date with my girlfriend, since we don’t get out all that much. – Siobahn Fitzgerald-Cushing I would put it towards my dry cleaning bill. However, this answer will probably change from day to day. – Shannon Bryant Art and cra s supplies (Hey! It relaxes me!) – Maisha Drayton Gas! – Mindi Mietlicki I would give it to my son, Ayden, and let him pick out some things (his birthday is April 25th) – Aaron Pry I’d probably put it towards groceries, because I’m boring and frugal. – Ashlee Rudolph I would go get another pedicure. – Magali Maldonado I would go to Starbucks and buy concentrated CHAI LATTE mix – Tiffany Macauley
Staff Who Served as DOFL Ambassadors Amajaraya Hunter Ashley Roberts Carly Kane Carolee Corbitt Corinne Henderson Courtney Rhines Diane Porebski Elisa Luciano James DeGarmo James Rautenstrauch Jennifer DeMarsh Jerome Robinson John Carocci – 2 nights Johnny Mora Julie Vaughan Justin Azzarella Kate Gallivan Kenny Lewis Kimberly Harding Kimberly Lombard Laurie Matson Lavine Corp Lindsey Soroka Lisa Schult Matthew John Pasquarella Melissa LaCount Nicole Coonley Nicole Frank Patrick Butler Roy Golia Sally Burns Sheila Marcheson Kathleen Oczek Sheila Stephens Siobhan Moley Stephanie Bielecki Sue Fiedler Susan Malyszka Susan Williams Talor Struckmann Theresa Woehrel Tom Place Victoria Deleon
k n a h t you
TheConnectionsEssay
CRYSTAL WHITE There are many staff in our organization who do their jobs without fanfare or acknowledgment. Connections is taking advantage of this forum to spotlight individuals who perform their jobs day-in and day-out… and whom we rely on every day. This month’s spotlight is on Crystal White. How did you get your start at Evergreen? How long have you been here? I started off as a volunteer receptionist in the Victorian. After about two weeks I asked for more volunteer work and I was introduced to Sheila Stephens. I began to assist her with some billing that was long past due. Needless to say, she was caught up and back on track in no time. At that point, there was a billing position available; I applied and was brought on board to the finance team. I have been here five years and two months… and I love it. What do you do in the Finance Department? My job requires a lot of data entry— primary care and health home billing and posting, maintaining secure patient information, filing and faxing, as well as other
office-related duties. I help with accounting issues sometimes, or wherever I am needed. Tell us a bit about yourself. I am a mother of three children: 1 daughter and 2 sons; I also have 1 granddaughter. I have four sisters and one brother. I am engaged to be married but haven’t set a date as of yet. I am also an online student of Kaplan University where I am working toward my degree in Criminal Justice. So far, I have maintained a 4.0. How do you unwind and have fun? To unwind and have fun I am in a Lifestyle Club called the Ruff Ryders. Our goal is to be family-oriented and serve our community. We have done all sorts of charity events such as Feed the Homeless, participated as our own AIDS WALK team the last two years, participated in the Walk for Breast Cancer, and cleaned up parks. We also work with the Stop the Violence Coalition, MADD DADS, and the Peace Prints Coalition of Buffalo in the hope to take back our streets and make our neighborhoods safer for our youth. We are considered worldwide because we have chapters all over the U.S. and Puerto Rico, France, Canada, and Germany—the
list goes on. The lifestyle has many different divisions such as riding motorcycles, dog breeders, car and truck club, rollerblade team, fitness and street team, a water unit that rides jet skies, a model division and entertainment, etc. There are over 10,000 members worldwide all with one goal—to give back to our communities. We travel all over to visit each other and have a great time together where ever we are. I also love tattoos and piercings. I have 14 tattoos and 9 piercings thus far. There have been a lot of changes lately in regard to how we do billing. Has this affected the way you work? Have you had to learn any new skills? Actually no, it has not affected me or my work habits—it has been a smooth transition and now I have more of a variety of things to do. I learn new things daily. It helps to be a fast learner in this ever-changing society. What have you seen as the biggest change(s) within the agency over the years? The biggest change has just been the overall look of the building. It is much brighter and more homey and comfortable. C
Fun Fact Answer: Number 3 is a LIE Cats actually spend about 70% of their lives sleeping.
by Seth Girod