#Avon March 2017 Special Offers

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LuLaRoe Offering Refunds for Leggings That ‘Rip Like Wet Toilet Paper’ — But Is That Enough?

Despite its loyal following, everywoman fashion juggernaut LuLaRoe has seen its share of backlash as of late. On Tuesday, the company proved it’s listening. In a show of loyalty to its consumers, the brand announced its new Make Good program, which is offering refunds to anyone who bought defective LuLaRoe leggings between Jan. 1, 2016, and April 24, 2017.

The program has been a few months in the making. The controversy surrounding the four-year-old company’s merchandise stems back to at least February, when a customer filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Western Pennsylvania, “alleging that it has been illegally collecting sales tax in states that don’t have it.” From there, LuLaRoe was indicted in a chorus of complaints for the allegedly poor quality of its wildly popular patterned leggings.

First, customers began lodging complaints against LuLaRoe for selling leggings that are so flimsy, they develop holes after very little wear and even “rip like wet toilet paper.”

At the time, Patrick Winget, LuLaRoe’s head of production, wrote in an email to retailers: “The leggings may get holes, because we weaken the fibers to make them buttery soft,” adding, “We have done all we can to fix them.” Winget said the company uses a special airbrushing effect to achieve the texture.

Women Are Furious Because They Say Their LulaRoe Leggings Rip Like "Wet Toilet Paper" https://t.co/GEtrwe3t9S #leggings #lularoe pic.twitter.com/oW6bWVWrP7

— Rottaa (@ranjaporcelana) April 21, 2017

Winget sent the statement in an email to LuLaRoe’s 80,000 independent retailers, who hawk the fashions through a mulilevel marketing model. Many sellers host pop-up shops and home parties (think Avon in the modern age), and promote products via social media. Consultants, as the company calls them — many of whom claim to make six-figure salaries — also make a profit by recruiting friends to sell the products. The clothes have reached cult status among fans, many of them new moms, who are fanatical about the fit and style of the garments.

But in April, the complaints reemerged in the form of a lawsuit filed by two disgruntled customers in northern California, who accused the company of intentionally selling defective leggings. The women alleged that not only did the company knowingly sell low-quality goods, but also failed to respond to consumers’ complaints.

“Customers have complained that the leggings are of such poor quality that holes, tears, and rips appear before wearing, during the first use or shortly thereafter,” reads the lawsuit, noting the “wet toilet paper” comparison. The suit also alleged that the leggings have “one leg that is substantially larger (or smaller) than the other, and leggings that are supposed to be for adults, but instead would only fit a child.”

According to Consumerist, the women even sought class-action status for their complaints to protect anyone who bought LuLaRoe leggings since March 16, 2016 — and there are many dissatisfied customers. There is even a private Facebook group called ‘LuLaRoe Defective/Ripped/Torn Leggings and Clothes’ where LuLaRoe detractors convene to air their grievances. The closed group has more than 26,000 members.

At the time, LuLaRoe sent Yahoo Style a statement that read, “We categorically reject the fabricated and exaggerated claims of this suit in the strongest terms and believe it is completely without merit. We stand by the quality of our products and are committed to ensuring consumers are fully satisfied. We are confident we will be able to fully refute these allegations.”

Oh damn! #lularoefail #noreally #sorryhadto #istillkeeptheonesilovewithholes #builtinairconditioning #stillcute #lookatthatass #psthatsnotme

A post shared by Amber Nichole (@amber_nichole_09) on Apr 13, 2017 at 9:07pm PDT

However, LuLaRoe appears to be changing its tune. The company is now offering replacements or refunds to unhappy customers. LuLaRoe told Yahoo Style in a statement:

“We developed the Happiness Policy [see below], Make Good Program and Limited Warranty to reinforce our commitment to providing value and enjoyment from our products. We take pride in our clothing and want everyone who wears LuLaRoe to be happy and satisfied with their purchase. These policies represent our wholehearted commitment to stand behind our brand. While Independent Fashion Retailers continue to handle consumer requests directly, the LuLaRoe Consumer Services Team is an added resource for consumers, helping them to find another Independent Retailer if the one they originally purchased from is unavailable to process a return or exchange, or to help the consumer process a claim under the Limited Warranty.”

Under LuLaRoe’s Make Good program, those who file a claim no later than July 31, 2017, are entitled to “a product replacement, a LuLaRoe gift card, or refund for the original purchase price if the product purchased contained a defect in materials or workmanship,” according to the company’s site. The refund/credit option is up to the consumer, and will be issued once the consumer returns the leggings “for inspection” to the independent retailer who sold it to them.

According to the company’s policy, though, “The program does not apply to non-apparel and promotional items, and does not cover damage caused by accident, improper care, negligence, abuse, normal wear and tear, and the natural breakdown of colors and materials that occurs by extended use.”

The company’s mea culpa doesn’t end there, though. The company has also announced a going-forward plan called the Happiness Policy. The plan ensures that customers who are not satisfied with their product during the first 30 days are entitled to full refund, credit, or exchange when they bring the product and receipt to the retailer who sold them the item.

Within 90 days, dissatisfied customers can contact any LuLaRoe seller and receive an exchange or credit by presenting the item and receipt. “We stand behind the quality and craftsmanship of our products and value your happiness!” the site says.

We are super excited to share with you all our Happiness Policy! Click the link in our bio to check it out! ❤️????????????????

A post shared by LuLaRoe (@lularoe) on Apr 25, 2017 at 10:18am PDT

Fans are quite happy about the happiness policy, according to replies to LuLaRoe’s Instagram announcement. One seller wrote, “Thank you! As a retailer, I really appreciate this move. I have always taken care of my customers, but it feels great to be backed up by LLR. Huge confidence boost.” Another expressed what LuLaRoe surely hoped its goodwill policy would sow, writing, “Thank you!! This renews my faith in LLR! Can’t wait to make another purchase.”

Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:

Tiffany Trump and Marla Maples Were Twinning in Leather

Would You Spend $425 on Jeans With Fake Mud?

Topshop’s Clear Plastic Jeans Are Here

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and@YahooBeauty.

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CECP Announces Abercrombie & Fitch Co. CEO Fran Horowitz to Join Board of Directors

As part of its continuing efforts to empower companies to drive long-term business success through positive societal impact, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) announced that Fran Horowitz, CEO, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., (A&F Co.) has joined the organization’s distinguished Board of Directors. As a CEO-led coalition of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies, CECP believes a company’s social strategy – how it engages with key stakeholders including employees, communities, investors, and customers – determines a company’s success.

“As CECP celebrates its 20th anniversary, we’re encouraged by how far the organization and the companies in our CEO-led coalition have come in changing the relationship between business and its critical stakeholders,” said Doug Conant, Founder and CEO, ConantLeadership; former CEO, Campbell Soup Company; former Chairman, Avon Products; and Chairman, CECP. “But we know there will always be more to do and with the addition of Fran’s perspective, leadership, and business intelligence to our Board of Directors, CECP will continue to be the standard-bearer of corporate purpose for another 20 years.”

Founded in 1999 by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and other business leaders, CECP has grown to a movement of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies that represent $6.6 trillion in revenues, $21.2 billion in societal investment, 14 million employees, and $15 trillion in assets under management.

“This year has been pivotal for reinforcing how companies must do business if they are to succeed in the long-term,” said Daryl Brewster, CEO, CECP. “Fran’s dedication to building a culture of purpose at Abercrombie & Fitch makes her a powerful addition to CECP’s Board of Directors. We welcome her talents, insights, and executive expertise to help steward CECP into the future.”

Established in 1892, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. celebrates a rich history of community engagement. The company’s philanthropic focus is on enriching the lives of children and teens though health and wellness programs and contributing to their customers’ communities locally, nationally, and globally.

Since 2016, A&F Co. has donated more than $10 million to SeriousFun Children’s Network, as part of its 5-year, $15 million commitment to the nonprofit that provides specially adapted camp experiences for children with serious illnesses and their families, free of charge.  

As part of its ongoing sustainability efforts, in 2019 the company joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate citizenship and sustainability initiative, and announced its new 2025 sustainability goals, building on the retailer’s existing global social and environmental sustainability programs, many of which were started almost 20 years ago.

 “It is an honor to join the Board of CECP; I’ve found the conversations with peer CEOs at CECP’s gatherings to be refreshingly candid, action-oriented, and well-aligned with our thinking at A&F, namely that a multi-stakeholder approach is necessary for success,” said Fran Horowitz, CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. “As a company, we strive to have an enduring positive impact on the communities we touch around the world, and knowledge-sharing with other business like-minded leaders can only help in that endeavor.”

Fran has served as Chief Executive Officer of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. since February 2017. She joined Abercrombie & Fitch in October 2014 as Hollister Brand President and as of December 2015, Fran held the role of President and Chief Merchandising Officer of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Prior to Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Fran served as Brand President at Ann Taylor Loft. For nearly eight years, she worked at Express, Inc., rising to the position of Executive Vice President of Women's Merchandising and Design. She joined Express, Inc. after 13 years in several merchandising roles at Bloomingdales, prior to which she served in various positions at Bergdorf Goodman, Bonwit Teller and Saks Fifth Avenue. Fran is on the Board of Directors for SeriousFun Children’s Network, and she is also a member of the Columbus Partnership, a non-profit organization of CEOs from Columbus’ leading businesses and institutions, with the goal of improving economic development in the city that is home to A&F Co.

Fran joins the current Board of Directors, which includes:

Douglas R. Conant, Founder and CEO, ConantLeadership; former CEO, Campbell Soup Company; former Chairman, Avon Products; and Chairman, CECP

Patrick J. Burke, President & CEO, HSBC USA Group

Thomas DeRosa, CEO & Director, Welltower

Lynne Doughtie, Chairman & CEO, KPMG LLP

Theodore Dysart, Vice Chairman, Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

Richard Edelman, President & CEO, Edelman

Alex Gorsky, Chairman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson

Alan G. Hassenfeld, Chairman, Executive Committee, Hasbro, Inc.

Shelly Lazarus, Chairman Emeritus, Ogilvy & Mather

Bill McNabb, Former Chairman, Vanguard

Deanna Mulligan, President & CEO, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Stuart Parker, CEO, USAA

Michael I. Roth, Chairman & CEO, Interpublic Group

CECP’s Board of Directors also includes the following Director Emeriti:

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Former Chairman and CEO, Carlson Holdings, Inc.

Kenneth T. Derr, Former Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund

Peter Malkin, Chairman Emeritus, Empire State Realty Trust

Harold McGraw, III, Chairman Emeritus, S&P Global

Paul Newman, Actor and Philanthropist, (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008)

David Rockefeller, Former Chairman & CEO, Chase Manhattan Corporation (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017)

Paul Volcker, Former Chairman, Federal Reserve

Sanford Weill, Chairman Emeritus, Citigroup, Inc.

John C. Whitehead, Former Co-Chair, Goldman, Sachs, & Co., Former Deputy Secretary of State (April 2, 1922 – February 7, 2017)

# # #

ABOUT CHIEF EXECUTIVES FOR CORPORATE PURPOSE (CECP)

Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) is a CEO-led coalition that believes that a company’s social strategy — how it engages with key stakeholders including employees, communities, investors, and customers —determines company success. Founded in 1999 by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and other business leaders to create a better world through business, CECP has grown to a movement of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies that represent $6.6 trillion in revenues, $21.2 billion in societal investment, 14 million employees, and $15 trillion in assets under management. CECP helps companies transform their social strategy by providing customized connections and networking, counsel and support, benchmarking and trends, and awareness building and recognition.

ABOUT ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is a leading, global specialty retailer of apparel and accessories for Men, Women and Kids through three renowned brands. For more than 125 years, the iconic Abercrombie & Fitch brand has outfitted innovators, explorers and entrepreneurs. Today, the brand reflects the updated attitude of the modern customer, while remaining true to its heritage of creating expertly crafted products with an effortless, American style. The Hollister brand epitomizes liberating the carefree spirit of an endless California summer for the teen market. abercrombie kids creates smart, playful apparel for children ages 5-14, celebrating the wide-eyed wonder of childhood.

The brands share a commitment to offering products of enduring quality and exceptional comfort that allow consumers around the world to express their own individuality and style. The company operates over 850 stores under these brands across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as the e-commerce sites www.abercrombie.com and www.hollisterco.com.

source: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/42910-CECP-Announces-Abercrombie-Fitch-Co-CEO-Fran-Horowitz-to-Join-Board-of-Directors?tracking_source=rss

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Libraries across the country are finding new ways to support patrons experiencing mental health challenges—as well as the staff who serve them

For many, public libraries are safe, nonjudgmental spaces to escape into a book, program, or quiet room. For regular visitors, library staff can be reassuring, familiar faces. These perceptions are thrown into sharp relief for users experiencing mental health challenges. Patrons navigating library services while grappling with mental health conditions, looking for resources to better understand their lives, or using the library as a refuge while experiencing homelessness or substance abuse often need additional resources, accommodations, and reserves of compassion.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness—46.6 million as of 2017. More than a quarter of those aged 18-25 report some form of mental illness, which has a higher prevalence among women than men. These issues range from mild to severe, comprising anxiety or sensory disorders, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many more. Some 11.2 million Americans were diagnosable within that year with serious mental illness that resulted in functional impairment.

Given the wide range of individuals served by public libraries, it should come as no surprise that the full spectrum of mental health is reflected among library users. But that doesn’t mean librarians feel prepared to address their needs. “Library staff are realizing that they were not given the training in their curriculum in school to know how to support someone who’s experiencing a mental health issue,” notes Elissa Hardy, community resource manager at the Denver Public Library (DPL).

BEST PRACTICES

Consensus in the field holds that there are a number of best practices for those on the front lines, as laid out in articles such as the University of Colorado Law School Colorado Law Scholarly Commons’ “Mental Illness in the Library: Ten Tips to Better Serve Patrons” or the American Library Association’s (ALA) Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) “People with Mental Health Issues: What You Need To Know.”

Clear and explicit policies, all sources agree, displayed throughout the building and on the library’s website, should be consistently enforced so they can be pointed to when someone exhibits inappropriate behavior—although noise policies, loan periods, and accessibility standards should incorporate enough flexibility to accommodate nondisruptive library users with mental illness (for example, a patron who talks to herself can be reminded that the noise may bother others, and could be offered a study room).

When extending reference help, staff should set limits on the time and resources dedicated to a single person, and be clear that any suggestions are options rather than advice or counsel. In the case of behavioral challenges, focus should be on the behavior, not the patron, who can be offered the choice to modify their actions or leave the library. Colorado Law Scholarly Commonssuggest using firm, assertive, but not aggressive, language, and remaining professional so as not to escalate the encounter. Above all, treat the patron with the same respect and consideration offered to others.

In the case of more threatening behavior, staff need always to be aware of security procedures and support options. A statement like “I need to go check with someone else about that” can offer a way to step away from a difficult situation to find backup. Workers should look out for each other—not only in public-facing situations, but also behind the scenes, when colleagues may need help themselves.

To learn more about mental illness, organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness(NAMI) and Mental Health America provide a wealth of information, resources, reading lists, and infographics. Many state libraries have fact sheets on the mental health for librarians, and ALA publishes a number of online resources.

TO YOUR HEALTH: Risk and Resilience panel discussion at Charlotte Public Library, VT, draws a large crowd; Peer Navigator Jonathan Strauss counseling a patron at Denver Public Library; Rick Fisher, LCSW, speaks at the “Interacting with People with Mental Health Conditions” program at the Avon Free Public Library.Top photo by Cindi Robinson, Charlotte  PL; Bottom left photo by Sherry Spitsnaugle, Denver PL; bottom right photo by Tina Panik, Avon Free Public Library

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID

In the same spirit that physical first aid, CPR or defibrillator, and Naloxone administration training are offered to library workers, many libraries have instituted Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, an eight-hour course developed by the National Council on Behavioral Health. The state libraries of California, New Jersey, and Ohio have secured Library Services and Technology (LSTA) funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support MHFA training for their states’ public libraries, which pay the trainers who provide it.

The State Library of Ohio launched a grant initiative in 2018, inviting libraries throughout the state to request up to $4,999 in federal funds for MHFA, Youth MHFA, or Gatekeeper (suicide prevention) training and materials. “We were thrilled with the interest,” State Library consultant and LSTA coordinator Cindy Boyden tells LJ. “We heard from rural small libraries, we heard from large urban libraries, we were seeing proposals indicating that the trainers themselves were willing to provide the training at no cost.”

The training, which outlines ways to help a person who may be experiencing a mental health–related crisis such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, and addictions, includes strategies for recognizing signs, how to assess the risk of self-harm, how best to reach out, how to de-escalate a situation, and how to connect a person with appropriate resources.

“It helps demystify a lot of misconceptions associated with mental health,” says Boyden. “The information that’s disseminated in the training is digestible—it’s usable every day.” The grants enabled more than 1,200 Ohio library staff and community members at 24 libraries to receive the training beginning in July 2018. Most will have wrapped up this summer, and the State Library is currently collecting final reports assessing their experiences. Boyden hopes to fund another round after the next fiscal year begins in October.

NAVIGATING RESOURCES

Librarians are often asked to help steer patrons through an array of mental health resources and databases to find the assistance they need. “One of the biggest things I hear, especially from public librarians, is that they’ll have someone who just doesn’t know where to get treatment,” says Sarah Miles, National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) South Central Region health professions coordinator. However, many library employees have not received the training necessary to navigate specialized material.

A free course offered by NNLM, “Caring for the Mind: Providing Mental Health Information at Your Library,” helps library staff connect patrons with information and services. Funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the federal National Institutes of Health, the course is offered in versions from a one-hour stand-alone session, either online or in-person at conferences, to a four-hour class that offers continuing education credit for a consumer health information specialization through the Medical Library Association. In addition to useful background information, each class discusses challenges particular to library work: how to conduct a mental health reference interview, or programming around mental wellness.

The use of resources and databases is a strong component of the course, with NLM resources such as PubMed featured “front and center,” says Miles. “They’re free to use and they’re authoritative.” Other resources—also free—from NAMI and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are highlighted, and a resource handout and PowerPoint are available on NNLM’s Caring for the Mind website.

PARTNERING FOR HEALTH IN SAN DIEGO

MHFA has been an important piece of the Mental Health Services program at San Diego Public Library (SDPL), CA. SDPL access services librarian Joseph Meisner, who has been trained to teach MHFA along with some 30 other librarians, reports that about two-thirds of the 36-branch system’s staff have taken the course—funded with a $1 million Mental Health Initiative grant from LSTA— since June 2017; his goal is 100 percent staff completion.

Located on the third floor of SDPL’s Main Branch, the Mental Health Services program is the result of a partnership with the San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency, offering outreach that includes referrals for housing services, addiction counseling, legal assistance, and mental and physical health services, as well as advocacy for Social Security Disability Insurance. Offices currently are open three days a week.

Partnerships, large and small, abound. The library offers training on how staff can better utilize the city’s 211 service, a federal phone help line that offers direct links to social service referrals. SDPL also works with San Diego State University, which offers a Roadmap to Recovery Program—a course for people diagnosed with mental illness that teaches various life skills—on conducting needs assessment for the local population.

In March, the library hosted its second Mental Health Resource Fair. The event brings together more than 20 local health and wellness organizations—a win for city residents, social services, and the library alike. “Folks can come and see all these different services in one spot, but it’s also nice networking for all those different organizations,” says Meisner, and it positions SDPL as part of that community as well. “That’s been pretty powerful for us.”

Meisner would like to see the Mental Health Services Office open seven days a week, and continues to advocate for the necessary funding. “We keep that conversation open when we’re talking to stakeholders, be they philanthropic efforts or political efforts,” he tells LJ. “We let them know that we have the space and we have the need.”

EXPERT HELP

Staff education is invaluable, but often mental health challenges faced by library users require the attention of trained social workers and care professionals. Some 30 libraries nationwide and across Canada have brought on social or outreach workers in paid positions, and many more are looking to do so.

San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) hired the first library social worker, Leah Esguerra, in 2009. She performs clinical assessments in the library and reports back to colleagues who provide case management. She and her team have helped hundreds access job training, housing, counseling, social services, and rehabilitation.

In early 2012 Pima County Public Library (PCPL), AZ, partnered with the Pima County Health Department to become the first library in the nation to hire a public health nurse as permanent staff member. “We could see there was this gap in our service where people needed more of our time than we could [provide] on desk, and we needed an option besides kicking people out for the day or calling the police department,” explains library services and Main Library manager Kate DeMeester.

The program not only brings professional physical and mental health services to patrons, but the nurses are able to manage cases in ways librarians can’t. “From a privacy standpoint, if [library staff] make a referral, when that person comes back and sees us in a week or two, we’re not going to say, ‘Hey, did you go talk to so-and-so?’” says DeMeester. “We don’t want them to feel like they’re being monitored by us, or that their requests are being tracked. But nursing is a different profession, and that kind of follow-up is expected.”

If a visiting nurse can’t handle a person in severe crisis, PCPL can call the local crisis center or Tucson Police Department, which has been conducting its own internal training to better serve community members with mental health issues. The library has seen a major reduction in calls to the police, however, says DeMeester; after the program’s first year, 911 police calls decreased by 38 percent.

REACHING OUT: Pima County Public Library nurse Daniel Lopez, l., talks with David Caldwell, r., at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library.Photo courtesy of Pima County Corrections

LEVERAGING LIVED EXPERIENCE

A number of libraries are engaging another kind of expert—people who have experienced mental health challenges themselves. In 2012, Denver’s Homeless Services Action Committee recommended adding a social worker to the staff, but the scope of the work was overwhelming for one person. When Hardy joined the library in 2015, she instituted DPL’s Community Resource Program (CRP) along with the Peer Navigator Program, which deploys a team of individuals who have experienced homelessness, a mental health diagnosis, recovery from substance abuse, or the criminal justice system. There are no requirements to become a peer navigator other than that lived experience, a high school diploma or GED, and a commitment to helping others. Members of the team receive training at DPL on basic library processes, and a local nonprofit, Colorado Mental Wellness Network, offers peer support specialist training.

“When someone comes in and asks for support, they can meet with someone who’s had a similar experience, has navigated the system, and has some internal knowledge around that,” Hardy tells LJ. “The relationship that they can build with people because of that is amazing. That rapport is established really quickly.” This year DPL has a CRP team of ten, including four social workers and six peer navigators, who cover all 26 branches.

Hardy and her colleagues have received so many questions about social work services in public libraries that last year she helped form the Public Library Association (PLA) Social Work Interest Group. The website offers articles, blog posts, and the opportunity for librarians interested in developing similar programs to ask questions.

WHOLE-COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING

Education, advocacy, and proactive self-care are important parts of the work, and there are many thoughtful ways to start conversations around mental health in the community—particularly for libraries with smaller budgets or fewer resources.

In fall 2018, Tina Panik, reference and adult services manager at the Avon Free Public Library, CT, felt a growing undercurrent of stress at the library. “The texture of our interactions with patrons was changing and our staff was feeling like they were missing things, or they weren’t able to help people as fully as they needed to.” She was seeing more people upset about current events, more “sandwich generation” adults caring for both children and parents, more seniors navigating life challenges.

With funding from NNLM, Panik and Jennifer Bennett, coordinator at the Avon Senior Center, joined forces to produce “Take Care of Yourself,” a yearlong series of community conversations featuring invited speakers on topics including Mental Health 101, depression, memory loss—they have purchased software and training for a virtual reality program that gives users the experience of dementia—hoarding, positive body image, grief, substance abuse, sexuality, PTSD, and the legal aspects of conservatorship. Half of the topics will be offered twice: for the general public and again for town of Avon employees, from the public works department to the town manager’s office and, of course, the library.

“We want both town employees and the public to know that when you’re encountering people, or you’re working with them, there’s a way to have informed compassion,” notes Panik.

Response has been extremely positive so far, and both Panik and Bennett are pleased to see that people are willing to talk about sensitive subjects, and listen. “If they don’t need the information now,” says Panik, “six months from now they might come back to us and say, ‘You had that program on positive body image and my daughter’s struggling. Can you help me find something?’”

Between 1996 and 2016, the suicide rate in Vermont increased by more than 48 percent. In northwest Chittenden County, the Charlotte and Carpenter-Carse libraries teamed up to host a series of conversations on Risk and Resiliency in February, featuring a panel of three local mental health experts and in a separate event, Ron Powers, author of No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America (Hachette).

“Part of the issue is the whole stigma around mental health issues and people being afraid to talk about it. So we were hoping if we just presented it as just a conversation, anybody could come,” says Charlotte Public Library director Margaret Woodruff. “And that’s what ended up happening.”

The panels, made possible with technology and education grants from NNLM, were well-attended, particularly by parents of teens and educators. Both libraries made sure that attendees walked away with plenty of informational printouts, and grants from NNLM also allowed them to augment their mental health print collections and purchase two iPads apiece, loaded with mental health resources that patrons could access in the privacy of the library. A survey following the events showed residents eager to learn more about resilience, for themselves and their children, and the partners are applying for further funding to implement a new series in the fall.

SMALL STEPS MATTER

The push to build out the libraries’ mental health materials was not a secondary decision. Many agencies, state libraries, and local schools and academic institutions can help advise on collection development. Libraries can also encourage the use at home of in-school resources, such as Cameron’s Collection—a set of nearly 40 ebook titles from Gale, a Cengage company, in collaboration with the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation, that provide resources and tools to help teens who are battling with depression and anxiety and that can be shared and accessed privately. ProQuest’s Consumer Health Database contains at least 50 publications covering psychology and mental health. Rosen Publishing Group’s Teen Health & Wellness resources cover a wide range of subjects for middle and high school students.

Libraries across Canada and the United States have added Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) light therapy lamps to their collections for in-house and home checkout. As part of its city’s Mental Health Initiative, Colorado’s Longmont Public Library began circulating Wellbeing Bags, stocked with books, movies, music, and articles designed to spark conversations about mental health. In March, the Hawaii State Public Library at Oahu hosted “Minds Matter: A Teen Mental Health Art Exhibition,” a student-led initiative. Guest speakers from Kapiolani Community College, Mental Health America of Hawaii, the Hawaii chapter of NAMI, and Waikiki Health spoke at the opening reception.

Even libraries without significant state or local funding should look at what resources they have on hand, or local agencies to partner with, and jump in. “Does your system have money that you could spend with a health department or local provider, or are you going to need free services and just be able to offer space?” asks DeMeester. “It’s about first knowing how far you can go, and then finding the partner that fits what you have to offer.”

Any library worker can attend MHFA or the NNLM training, and managers and leaders should support them in doing so. “I don’t think we should assume that librarians have every skill inherently to deal with every possible crisis and change in humanity,” notes Panik. “We’ve got to get training on it.”

“AN ISSUE THAT’S NOT GOING AWAY”

The benefits of initiatives supporting mental health are easy to gauge in terms of individuals helped, programs attended, and materials checked out—yet at the same time often difficult to quantify because of the need for patron privacy. Libraries may also experience some pushback about accommodating customers with mental health challenges.

In addition, employees may also object to being asked to engage with challenges they aren’t prepared for or don’t wish to confront. San Diego’s Meisner agrees that it’s a genuine concern. “I definitely agree that jobs can expand if you’re not careful,” he says. “But it’s an issue that’s not going away, so why not get the tools? We’re going to wake up tomorrow and come back to our libraries and people are still going to be suffering from mental health issues, big and small. If we have that understanding, even if it’s to get them through a minor crisis...better to have that than to just hope everything’s going to be okay.”

MENTAL HEALTH BEHIND THE DESK

Librarians and library staff have worked to make the library space a more welcoming and equitable experience for mentally ill patrons. However, librarians and library workers themselves also sometimes live with mental illness while at the same time providing service and support every day to patrons and colleagues.

Librarianship can be a challenging profession for those of us with a mental illness. Whether public, academic, or school, librarians and library workers engage with and help people on a daily basis. Demands are placed on us by our community and peers. We place demands on ourselves. Without a support system (and sometimes even with one), we may become overwhelmed, anxious, panicky, depressed, and potentially burn out. Even without extra stressors, it can be hard to manage a mental illness or illnesses. Because mental health is so misunderstood, administrators, colleagues, and others may not recognize problematic behaviors of someone with a mental illness for what they are: symptoms. Mental illness is still greatly stigmatized, preventing some from seeking help. Often referred to as an invisible disability, mental illness can further isolate the sufferer and perpetuate the secrecy.

A CRUCIAL CONVERSATION

Breaking that silence, the conversation surrounding mental illness in librarianship is thriving on library Twitter; in blog posts from In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Hack Library School, ACRLblog, Letters to a Young Librarian, individual librarian/library workers/MLIS student blogs; at conferences; and in a growing list of library and information science publications.

LIS Mental Health Week was started by Kelly McElroy, a 2017 LJ Mover & Shaker [M&S], and Cecily Walker in 2016 as an avenue for LIS professionals to discuss, support, and understand what it means to be mentally ill, how it impacts our work, and those we love. These are not easy experiences to share. The silence that surrounds mental illness is a result, in part, of our fear that revealing a mental health struggle may put our jobs at risk; open us up to criticism from administrators, supervisors, and colleagues; or diminish us in the eyes of others. As a result, many who work in libraries stay silent about their mental illness or illnesses. The LIS Mental Health Week Twitter chat includes a bot for sending anonymous tweets, highlighting the strong stigma and fear surrounding disclosure.

Through continued conversations about mental health and library work, librarians and library workers make a statement about changes that must occur in our libraries, MLIS programs, and perhaps the structure of our work life. What has emerged from these discussions is consensus that there is still a lack of understanding about mental illness in the workplace and confusion over what support those with mental health concerns need.

GETTING THE WORDS OUT

Progress in educating and building understanding among the public as a whole, and our profession in particular, has been slow. Still, empathy and compassion are growing. LIS Mental Health Week and the connected LIS Mental Health Zine, Reserve and Renew, are helping boost awareness and move forward a thoughtful and honest conversation about mental health, library work, and support. Issues can be purchased for a $5 donation, which goes to the nonprofit Mental Health First Aid USA. Since its beginning, LIS Mental Health Week combines a LIS Mental Health Twitter chat (#LISMentalHealth), used throughout the year in blog posts, and events and activities to raise awareness led by librarians and library workers whenever they work. The zine, developed by Violet Fox, a 2019 LJ M&S, and Annie Pho, builds on the annual mental health week by bringing together writings, illustrations, and other creative works from within the LIS community, providing an ideal platform for the voices of those who struggle with mental illness. There is hope that through these efforts the library can become a more welcoming and understanding space for all those who work there.

For some suggestions on mental health collection development, see "Collecting Mental Health."

Abigail L. Phillips, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, is always happy to talk mental health and mental illness via Twitter (@abigailleigh)

Lisa Peet is Associate Editor, News for Library Journal.

[londontheatre]

Following the sold-out success of the previous relaxed performances of Matilda The Musical, the Royal Shakespeare Company will present its fourth at the Cambridge Theatre on Sunday 11th June 2017. Building on the programme of relaxed performances that the RSC has been running in Stratford-upon-Avon since 2013, the RSC is proud to have been amongst the first to adopt and promote the concept. This will be the eighth relaxed performance that the Royal Shakespeare Company has staged to date, and the National Autistic Society and Mousetrap Theatre Projects will again work closely with the RSC, offering full access to the theatre for people with autism and learning disabilities and their families.

The performance provides a relaxed environment, with elements of the production adapted to reduce anxiety or stress. Lighting and sound levels are adjusted to soften their impact and there is a different approach to noise and moving around the auditorium during the performance. Designated ‘chill-out’ areas are provided outside the auditorium with soft seating and activities for people to use if they want to take a break from being in the auditorium.

The Royal Shakespeare Company is offering tickets at the reduced rate of £25 and £10 which can be booked through the RSC Ticket Hotline or in person at the Cambridge Theatre box office from Tuesday 21 March 2017. All bookers will be sent a visual story to help them familiarise themselves with the plot, characters and the setting before they arrive at the theatre. Detailed event and transport information will also be available from http://ift.tt/IOGyk7.

Winner of over 75 major international awards, including 15 for Best Musical, Matilda The Musical has been seen by more than 6.5 million people worldwide. Having swept the board at the 2012 Olivier Awards, winning a record-breaking seven awards, Matilda The Musical has now played in 50 cities worldwide and continues to delight audiences in London, Australia and on tour around North America.

After opening to rave reviews and winning a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Musical in 2015, the Australian production played a sold-out season at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre. In July 2016, the production broke the record by winning all 13 Helpmann Awards for which it was nominated. The tour continues in Perth and to Adelaide before premiering in New Zealand at The Civic in Auckland in August 2017 for a strictly limited season.

Matilda The Musical is produced in the West End by the Royal Shakespeare Company with André Ptaszynski and Denise Wood as Executive Producers. The production was developed with the support of Company Dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare and the RSC Literary Department.

Matilda The Musical is written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and direction by Matthew Warchus. The production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and the special effects and illusions are by Paul Kieve.

MATILDA THE MUSICAL Relaxed Performance: Sunday 11 June 3pm http://ift.tt/IOGyk7 Cambridge Theatre, Earlham Street, WC2H 9H

http://ift.tt/2fnwrrd LondonTheatre1.com

[viralhottopics]

Panmela Castro: Brazil’s graffiti queen, delivering justice through the nozzle of a paint can

(CNN)“I was a victim, but that was a very long time ago.”

Panmela Castro casts her mind back to the day she was beaten.

Like her mother, like her aunts, like many of her friends, the Rio de Janeiro native had become a statistic within an epidemic of violence against women.

Castro remembers going to the police, but there was no law to back her up — at the time, domestic abuse was not a crime in Brazil. The incident was a private matter Castro was told, and no charges were filed.

She says psychological attacks had started shortly after she moved in with her partner. At the time she did not identify it as a form of abuse, but Castro claims the single violent incident was the final straw. She walked away, an act of defiance against Brazil’s cultural landscape, where countless women suffer in silence.

She had become a victim, but would not continue as one.

A trained artist educated at the University of Rio de Janeiro, Castro had been tagging walls using the nom de guerre “Anarkia Boladona”, but now she found herself painting more and more.

Castro recalls how her ex-partner would harass her when she left the house, but creating graffiti with fellow artists, who were overwhelmingly male, offered her a level of protection.

Unlike the calligraphy or macho symbols daubed throughout Rio, Castro’s work was feminine. Something of substance. Something empowering.

A relationship had ended but she’d found her voice.

Now Castro is helping a nation of women find theirs.

A global problem

Globally, 35% of women have experience physical and/or sexual violence in their life, according to the World Health Organization — and for 30% it was at the hands of their partner. In Brazil the problem was particularly acute, allowed to metastasize for generations, with no legal recourse for victims.

It took the case of Maria da Penha to shock policymakers into action. Da Penha’s husband had tried to kill her twice. In May 1983, he shot her in her sleep, leaving her paraplegic and hospitalized. A fortnight after his wife’s return home, he tried to electrocute her in the shower.

Tried and found guilty, he twice successfully appealed. Eventually in 2002 de Penha’s husband was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison, but walked free after serving a fraction of his sentence.

A two decade-long legal suit filed by da Penha finally resulted in a landmark ruling, taking the Brazilian government to task for failing to prosecute perpetrators of domestic violence to the necessary degree. In August 2006, Federal Brazilian Law 11.340./06, known as the “Maria da Penha Law,” was brought into effect by Luiz Incio Lula da Silva’s government.

Mural commemorating the 8th anniversary of the Maria da Penha law, Rio de Janiero.

The law was not a panacea. It resulted in 331,000 prosecutions and 110,000 final judgments in its first five years, according to the National Council of Justice of Brazil, per UN Women. However, in a country where 41,532 women were murdered between 1997 and 2007, and 10 women were dying every day from domestic violence, systemic abuse was never going to stop overnight.

The new law needed help reaching the people most effected.

Panmela Castro was at hand.

Outlier

The artist turned professional in 2005, and after the summer of 2006 began collaborating with organization Com Causa (“With Cause”), campaigning for women’s rights and publicizing the new law.

“It was easy for me because I knew these streets,” Castro tells CNN.

As a female urban artist Castro was an outlier.

“In order to be accepted you have to pay a high price, because it’s very difficult for women to get into those sorts of groups,” she reflects. “(Men) don’t like the idea of sharing power and being equals with women.”

Despite male graffiti artistsoffering her a form of protection when she was finding her feet, Castro maintains that even today she suffers psychological abuse and sexual harassment from her male counterparts at times.

“One of the reasons I was accepted was because I was good at what I did — internationally renowned … They were forced to accept me.”

There’s a reason Castro has been dubbed “Brazil’s graffiti queen.”

Her murals, low on words but heavy on message, are things of beauty. Often featuring portraits of women, they’re feminine without sexualizing the female body. Sisterhood is frequently suggested in her figures’ intertwined hair, while mythical characters like the goddess Liberty look out across Rio. The biblical Eve, “that unreliable and treacherous woman,” as Castro drolly refers to her, is a mainstay.

Through Castro’s work, women are occupying public spaces in Brazil, reclaiming the streets.

Look close enough and in the corner of one Castro mural you can find an allusion to “vagina dentata” — a folk tale in which a woman’s vagina contains teeth.

The message is clear: this woman bites back.

Spreading the word

There is a limit to what paint alone can do, says the artist.

“My graffiti is talking about justice, violence, women’s advocacy,” Castro says, “but it’s not (going) to make a real change.” Her art has, however, given her a platform to launch what has become her main pursuit: Rede Nami.

Rede Nami was started by Castro in 2010 as a way to educate communities on domestic violence by running workshops for mixed groups of 14-19 year olds, and others for women of any age.

After spending an hour discussing women’s rights, and sometimes sharing experiences of abuse, the group uses the rest of the workshop to create a mural visualizing the issue — it is physical evidence that citizens are taking a stand.

Children painting a mural during one of Rede Nami’s workshops.

“You can’t really entice people to just talk about their cases,” Castro says. “The graffiti is what makes them want to share. If it was just conversation, people wouldn’t come.”

Over 5,000 people have participated in the workshops so far, some taking place outside Brazil, while the initiative has received support from Amnesty International, Vital Voices and the Brazil Foundation.

Rede Nami has also created a program called AfroGrafiteiras, currently educating 180 Afro-Brazilian women about black feminism, gender and their own rights — as well as training them as street artists.

“All these themes help to fight the macho movement,” she adds.

Celebrity Castro

The initiative has brought Castro celebrity in Brazil, and she’s received numerous global accolades. Listed as one of Newsweek’s 150 Women Who Shake the World and noted as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Castro can be found hobnobbing with influencers including Diane Von Furstenberg, Oprah Winfrey and Jessica Alba, as well as Brazil’s most famous son, Pele.

She’s been commissioned across the Americas and in Europe by the likes of Nike, Hublot and Avon.

Recently one of her murals in New York featured prominently in coverage of the Women’s March on January 21, she says. A classic Castro design, it depicted two women joined by braided hair, with the message “Women’s Rights are Human Rights.”

Castro’s mural outside Urban Nation, due to open September 2017. (Image: Courtesy Urban Nation)

She describes a vast faade she has made for the upcoming Urban Nation gallery in Berlin (opening September 2017) as “one of my most special works.”

Performance art

In recent years, Castro has diversified into the field of performance art.

Carrying the flame of the Yugoslavia-born so-called “grandmother of performance art” Marina Abramovic and others, the new medium has allowed her to venture into transgressive territory in a way that her workshops cannot.

A post shared by My life for lovely stalkers (@panmelacastro) on Jul 10, 2016 at 6:24am PDT

For example, in a 2016 performance entitled “Por que?” (“Why?”), Castro — wearing an ostentatious Von Fustemberg dress — carved the title of the piece into her flesh. A similar bloody inscription materialized in “Gentileza Gera Gentileza” (“Kindness Generates Kindness”), when that maxim was etched into her back with a surgical scalpel.

Perhaps Castro’s most visceral act came in 2015. For the past four years she had been incorporating apples into her work, sometimes superimposing a vulva on the fruit, as an allusion to Eve.

Eve’s apple became a permanent fixture for Castro when she had one tattooed on her arm during a piece called “Ruptura,” performed as part of the “Eva” show at the Scenarium Gallery in Rio de Janeiro. The performance began with Castro applying lipstick, before being tattooed, having her head shaved by the audience, and changing into a sharp black suit. (Watch the whole performance here.)

Priscila Duarte, curator of “Eva” and consultant director of Rede Nami, described the performance’s intent: “Panmela breaks with the appearance of the princess girl, the good girl to marry and the exemplary daughter, to become another image that we can no longer define so much, but which I interpret as Renaissance.”

“When we talk about gender, we’re talking about freedom for people to deconstruct their status as women,” Castro explains. But gender, she argues, has become a forbidden word in Brazil’s classrooms. It means there has to be a clear distinction between her output as an artist, and her educational work for RedeNami.

“Most of the dialogue against women happens because people think that women have to be lower (than men). We think that women can be anything they want.”

Fortunately, the teenagers Castro educates, she says, are from a generation “open to learning and respecting women.”

“Before you’d have to fight for your rights, fight to be protected,” she says. “Today you fight to maintain those laws.”

Armed with a spray can and an indomitable persona, it’s hard to imagine Castro anywhere but the frontlines.

Read more: http://cnn.it/2mNrInF

from Panmela Castro: Brazil’s graffiti queen, delivering justice through the nozzle of a paint can