A Message From Holly Ireland, Executive Director

Dear Mid-Shore Community members, friends and family, 

Welcome to our new monthly viewsletter! This is more than just news - it's Tides of Hope: a mid-shore community newsletter from Corsica River Mental Health Services (CRMHS) and Crossroads Community, Inc. (CCI)! In addition to the traditional articles, pictures, and announcements, each edition will include at least one video and one opportunity to weigh in and share your thoughts, needs, perspectives, and opinions. We invite you to join our community and learn about our staff, clients, and programs. Please let us know what you'd like to see from our agencies and how we can better serve our community.

It is in our agencies' missions, visions, and values to meet the expressed needs of the community we serve - thus the main purpose of this viewsletter is for mutual sharing, awareness, and fostering of a collaborative relationship so we can become a healthier community together. We are excited to build our future together upon a solid foundation 40 years in the making! 

YES – we are amid our 40th year of service to the mid-shore community!

Nearly three years ago, the boards of both organizations selected me to succeed John Plaskon, who held the title of Executive Director (ED) of Crossroads Community, Inc. for 33 years, and of Corsica River Mental Health Services, Inc. for the last 14 years. In my three years of serving as ED, I have the honor and privilege to continue that legacy, and in that time, so much has happened!  The Tides of Hope is our way also to share what we have done, what we are doing, and what is on the horizon for us.

Here's a Snapshot of What We Have Accomplished: 

• Completed an Integrated Strategic Plan for FY2025 – 2028.
• Adopted a new integrated Electronic Health Record (EHR) called MyEvolve, which allows for greater connection and communication between the two agencies. We will also be launching our patient portal later this month, with more features and efficiency to come.  
• Expanded and restaffed a medical team, led by Medical Director, Lawrence Pezor, MD, board-certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, adding a full-time nurse and expanding medication management hours. 
• Piloted Measurement-Based Care for clinic services, to be expanded to all programs. 
• Reduced our staff vacancy rate from 27% in 2021 at the height of the pandemic, to less than <5%. 
• Implemented agency-wide training on Motivational Interviewing and Trauma Informed Care evidenced-based practices (EBP). 
• Increased the Residential Rehabilitation Program occupancy rate from 73% to 95% 

What We Are Currently Doing: 

• Pursuing Assertive Community Treatment EBP Fidelity of our Mobile Treatment Treat (MTT) to increase our MTT census to 50! Do you know of someone who might qualify? Click here to access the MTT referral form.
• Expanding our school-based operations in Caroline, Dorchester, and Queen Anne’s Counties. Click here to see open school-based therapist positions.
• Welcoming new referrals to our programs. Know someone who may benefit? Click here to submit a referral.
• Awaiting word on our application to the Maryland Department of Health for a grant or low-interest loan award for at least one phase of the construction of our new building on Washington Street in Cambridge.   
• Preparing to expand programming by integrating primary care and behavioral health. (Hence, why we need a new building!)  

What We Are Working Toward

• Integrating both agencies, CCI and CRMHS, into one! 
• Keep providing our services, ensuring that they are accessible, meet individual, family, and community needs, and are of high quality through continuous and sustained improvement. 
• Continue to grow and strengthen the relationships we have with all of you by finding creative ways to engage together to make a difference, save a life, bolster safety, stamp out stigma, increase awareness, and connect those in need to what is needed when it is needed.  

We will be seeking the comunity's input throughout the process of the CCI and CRMHS integration into one agency. Through this viewsletter you can share your views, ideas, and perspectives along this journey with us. Help us choose our new agency name and let us know what services are needed that you are not finding out there. Tell us if our programming is accessible, meets these needs, and is of good quality.   

On March 15th, CCI celebrated four decades of meaningful community impact. We are honored to have been serving the mid-shore since 1984 and we look forward to forty years more! Stay tuned for the Memory Lane section in all future newsletters to learn more about CCI's history and our impact on the community.

Thank you to the Bay Times Record Observer for sharing CCI's story. Read the article here.

Help us by voting for our New Agency Name! With the merging of Crossroads Community, Inc. and Corsica River Mental Health Services, we need your help to choose a new name that represents the unique and hopeful nature of our agency. Check out the top 5 names our staff voted on and let us know your favorite or suggest your own.

Cast your vote here!

Meet the Team: Health Home Program

The Health Home Program at Crossroads Community Inc. is available to clients who have Medical Assistance and a qualifying diagnosis. Clients in the Health Home program are affected by persistent mental illness and emotional disturbances that may require lifelong treatment to manage. The goal of the Health Home (HH) program is to help these individuals live healthier lives by managing their somatic health and maintaining their mental health so that they may work and live in the community independently.

September 28: Kids in the Park at 224 Sunset Avenue in Greensboro, MD

October 11: True Colors Art Show Reception at Chesapeake College. Free to attend - live music and refreshments available.

October 26: Centreville Day at Lawyer's Row

November 2: Make a Difference Day at Sudlersville Middle School

Be on the lookout for an announcement with more information about the 2025 Anniversary Gala and 5K Fundraiser!

Crossroads Community and Corsica River have officially merged on social media. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe to all of our social media platforms to stay up-to-date with our latest news and developments. Keep a close eye out for exciting updates from our team!

Explore our Linktree for convenient access to all our social media channels, or by scanning the QR code https://linktr.ee/cci_crmhs.