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Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-News September 2017

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Items appearing in the HNA E-News are deemed to be of general interest to neighbors but do not necessarily reflect the views of Halcyon Neighborhood Association (HNA), its Steering Committee, or the Editor. The Editor’s introductory comments express her personal viewpoint.

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Contents

1. Halcyon Thrive Project Launch!

2. Disaster Preparedness Update from the HNA CERT Group

3. Update on HNA Co-Chair John Steere

Editor’s Introductory Note:

This is a good time to join our Halcyon Thrive community of neighbors (see item 1), as the pilot project officially launches with three upcoming events. In addition, our neighborhood disaster preparedness team continues to move forward after having put on an amazing event on August 26 (see item 2).

Finally, I know many of you will join me in sending well wishes for a complete recovery to HNA Co-Chair John Steere, who experienced a severe illness with strokelike effects in August (see item 3). When John returns home, I hope we’ll continue to show him the neighborly support he so richly deserves after twenty-five years of generously donating his time, energy, and loving care to stewardship of the Halcyon neighborhood.

Yours in community,

—Nancy Carleton, HNA Co-Chair and E-News Editor, halcyon92@gmail.com

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1. Halcyon Thrive Project Launch!

Editor’s note: If you’ve been intrigued by the idea of Halcyon Thrive or are just now learning about it, don’t delay in signing up to be part of our one-year pilot project, or you’ll miss out on a chance to participate in the first three of our Halcyon Thrive events. These events are intended to help nurture the just-launched Halcyon Thrive community, whose members will be first in line for signups (hosts may occasionally list events on the HNA Facebook page as well if spaces are still available closer to a particular event). Email HalcyonThrive@gmail.com with your address, phone, and email, and we’ll add you to our Halcyon Thrive Google group, a place where any member can suggest shared activities, either on a one-time basis, or as an ongoing project. All activities are opt-in (no obligation), and a digest option from the Google group means you can keep emails to no more than one a day. Join us!

HALCYON THRIVE!

A pilot project of Halcyon Neighborhood Association for Halcyon neighbors willing to take the next step in mutual support . . .

The goal of this one-year pilot project is to explore ways to offer some of the beneficial services and resources of a multigenerational Ashby Village–type program on an opt-in, voluntary basis without monetary exchange. At an initial Planning Circle for Halcyon Thrive, neighbors brainstormed possibilities for shared activities and ways of offering support to one another. Upcoming events connected with the first three active “spokes” of what we’re envisioning as the Halcyon Thrive circle or wheel include:

* A monthly “conversations” program at neighbors’ homes sharing areas of interest and knowledge while getting to know one another better. Envisioned as an occasional, planned event hosted in the home of a Halcyon neighborhood resident, “conversations” will have its first gathering on Tuesday, September 26th in the early evening (7-8:30 p.m.) and will feature a talk about and display of Indonesian art and textiles. This initial event is designed to promote an exchange among participants requiring nothing but an interest in the topic. Other “conversations” are being planned throughout the Fall and will include gatherings focused on ecological education, and issues concerning private and public resources and responsibility. Due to space limitations, reservations are required.

* The “Art in Community” spoke of Halcyon Thrive will hold its first get-together on Sunday, October 15, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. We’re looking for a few folks, ages 10 and older, who would enjoy making art together while getting to know their neighbors. The first get-together will be a one-shot project, no cost, and no supplies or experience needed. If you’re interested in having creative fun while meeting your neighbors on a Sunday morning, join Halcyon Thrive and stay tuned for the project details. 

* A kickoff social gathering for all Halcyon Thrive members who wish to attend will take place on Sunday, October 1, at a late-afternoon deck and yard party with appetizers and desserts catered by a Halcyon Thrive member who’s a chef. Join Halcyon Thrive to receive an invitation!

* A Halcyon Thrive Caring Circle providing opportunities for participating neighbors to ask for and offer support to one another by listing needs and signing up to meet them so we can better “thrive-in-place” (committee work in progress, likely to be hosted on the Lotsa Helping Hands site by the beginning of October).

If you live in the Halcyon neighborhood (Telegraph to Adeline, Ashby to Woolsey, in South Berkeley) and want to be part of the Halcyon Thrive pilot project, including the Halcyon Thrive Caring Circle, please email your name, address, phone, and email to HalcyonThrive@gmail.com.

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2. Disaster Preparedness Update from the HNA CERT Group

Editor’s note: Here’s an update from Bill Swartz with the HNA CERT group.

The HNA CERT group’s annual neighborhood disaster preparedness event held this year on Saturday, August 26 was a great success. The theme of the event was Applicability and Education, and the focus was on giving attendees skills and tools they could apply use in the event of an emergency with as much hands-on learning as possible. Classes, followed by practice sessions, included a tutorial on using tourniquets and pressure bandages to stop life-threatening bleeding and pet CPR. Our stations included Off the Grid, a chance to learn how and when to shut off the gas, Home Readiness, Family Alert Planning, and Incident Command, an introduction to CERT. With the generosity of CBCB, we were also able to give out a large number of trauma kits and gas shut-off wrenches. Please see https://hnacert.wordpress.com/disaster-be-ready-event-report/ for pictures and details. Many thanks to all the volunteers and presenters who made this event possible, as well as to Whole Foods Market, CBCB, and Starbucks for their generous donations.

But successful though the event was, we aren’t immune from the kind of disaster Houston is just starting to recover from and Hurricane Irma brought to other parts of the country. We need your help. Seriously. You don’t need special skills, just an interest in helping and a willingness to learn. The next CERT meeting is planned for 9/28 (details to follow). Please come, and learn how you can join us. For more information see https://hnacert.wordpress.com/ or write us at hnacert@gmail.com. And if you live in the Halcyon neighborhood (Telegraph to Adeline, Ashby to Woolsey in South Berkeley), also register yourself and your household at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSctg2bGtto3DQXtiiTnb8AwzZO2xrhbdaYeAXo1WyyXKf5ocg/viewform so in the event of a disaster we know where to find you and of any special needs. 

Finally, if you received a trauma kit at the 8/26 event, we’re upgrading the tourniquets. Please come to the 9/28 meeting to get your new tourniquet or ping hnacert@gmail.com. Depending on the level of interest, we may distribute the upgrades on a Saturday in Halcyon Commons, or work something else out.

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3. Update on HNA Co-Chair John Steere

Editor’s note: Many neighbors have already heard about HNA Co-Chair John Steere’s sudden illness. For those of you who haven’t, while visiting with his wife Michelle in Mt. Shasta, on his way to view the total eclipse in Oregon, John was rushed to the ER with a fever of 104. Speedy administration of antibiotics saved his life, but he experienced strokelike effects from what was diagnosed as meningo-encephalitis of unknown cause. When he wasn’t getting better at the small rural hospital, he was medevacked to Alta Bates Medical Center, where he spent a couple of weeks in critical care. When his illness continued to stump the medical team there, they recommended a transfer to Stanford Hospital, where a team including infectious disease experts continued to run tests to try to figure out what was going on. While they still haven’t been able to track down the cause (it’s a bit of a medical mystery at this point), the good news is that the triple antibiotic IV John’s been receiving for the past month have had a positive effect and the infection is clearing up. Almost a week ago, Stanford released John into the care of his nurse practitioner sister in Martinez, who is kindly housing him and Michelle during the next phase of John’s recovery, which includes regular rehab appointments of various kinds. Hopefully, by the time he completes the course of IV antibiotics, he’ll be able to move back into his house in the Halcyon neighborhood with Michelle, where he can continue his recovery. John has made tremendous progress in the month since this illness began, and while he has a journey of rehabilitation ahead of him, he is optimistic about full recovery.

Well wishes from neighbors, family, and friends have meant a great deal to John, and we recently presented him with a card/booklet signed by dozens of neighbors. If you’d like to be part of John Steere’s Support Team at Lotsa Helping Hands -- which provides updates on John’s progress, a place to leave well wishes, and, when the need arises, the means to list volunteer needs to help support John and Michelle -- please join us at https://my.lotsahelpinghands.com/community/john-steere-support-team/home

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