PROGRAMS:
We care to the point of tears. We reach out with a helping hand, and then with two hands and once again find tears in our eyes. The struggle never seems to become easier. The problems we want to help people with never seem to go away.
Understanding Us is in a unique position in that we believe any success a community has in the future, dealing with autism, teen suicide or homelessness, any leap forward, will be the result of a better understanding of who we are and why we do what we do. Understanding Us is exploring one of those ideas and wondering if...
We believe that the ideas Understanding Us is working with are helping people who deal with a number of mental and physical issues. And the freedom of action Understanding Us has in creating new programs allows us to work with populations that traditional researchers have trouble connecting with.
Our programs focus on the needs of the people in our program. We are not concerned with how to implement a pre-structured program, but focus on creating a structure around ideas that may better address the needs of the people we work with.
When a program’s stated goal is to apply ideas, to a seemingly forever problem, what does success look like and how should it be measured? 20/20/20. Our view, and the standard we are holding ourselves to, is that targeted therapies or any intervention we develop should have a measurable overall degree of improvement relative to current programs of at least 20%.
Understanding Us has a goal of reducing the number of homeless walking our streets by more than 20%. The number of suicides in a given region by at least 20%. If a program thinks it knows what autistic kids need to succeed, scores on school testing should improve by more than 20%. A 20% reduction in the need for depression medications or rates of recidivism may be achievable goals.
20/20/20. And if 20, why not 30%, and if…. The best part of working with something new and different is that there are no established limitations as to what can be accomplished.
Understanding Us has worked successfully with children struggling with autism and developed a nationally recognized program for a large diverse group of homeless individuals.
Because our programs are holistic in application and do not recommend the use of medications, there is little danger of doing more harm. Our programs use activities that offer motion-based challenges and are considered recreational: skiing, Tai Chi, stilts, slack lines, balance boards and adventure walking.
It’s not what we do, but how we do it, that helps an individual gain confidence in their ability to not only climb out of a hole, but avoid falling into holes.
Our programs are structured around Geometric Behaviorism principles, principles that could help redefined what motivates all human behavior.
We care to the point of tears. We reach out with a helping hand, and then with two hands and once again find tears in our eyes. The struggle never seems to become easier. The problems we want to help people with never seem to go away.
Understanding Us is in a unique position in that we believe any success a community has in the future, dealing with autism, teen suicide or homelessness, any leap forward, will be the result of a better understanding of who we are and why we do what we do. Understanding Us is exploring one of those ideas and wondering if...
We believe that the ideas Understanding Us is working with are helping people who deal with a number of mental and physical issues. And the freedom of action Understanding Us has in creating new programs allows us to work with populations that traditional researchers have trouble connecting with.
Our programs focus on the needs of the people in our program. We are not concerned with how to implement a pre-structured program, but focus on creating a structure around ideas that may better address the needs of the people we work with.
When a program’s stated goal is to apply ideas, to a seemingly forever problem, what does success look like and how should it be measured? 20/20/20. Our view, and the standard we are holding ourselves to, is that targeted therapies or any intervention we develop should have a measurable overall degree of improvement relative to current programs of at least 20%.
Understanding Us has a goal of reducing the number of homeless walking our streets by more than 20%. The number of suicides in a given region by at least 20%. If a program thinks it knows what autistic kids need to succeed, scores on school testing should improve by more than 20%. A 20% reduction in the need for depression medications or rates of recidivism may be achievable goals.
20/20/20. And if 20, why not 30%, and if…. The best part of working with something new and different is that there are no established limitations as to what can be accomplished.
Understanding Us has worked successfully with children struggling with autism and developed a nationally recognized program for a large diverse group of homeless individuals.
Because our programs are holistic in application and do not recommend the use of medications, there is little danger of doing more harm. Our programs use activities that offer motion-based challenges and are considered recreational: skiing, Tai Chi, stilts, slack lines, balance boards and adventure walking.
It’s not what we do, but how we do it, that helps an individual gain confidence in their ability to not only climb out of a hole, but avoid falling into holes.
Our programs are structured around Geometric Behaviorism principles, principles that could help redefined what motivates all human behavior.
HOMELESSNESS:
Homelessness is a problem everywhere and has always been a part of every society. Cities across the country have had little success helping individuals experiencing addiction and mental health issues. Groups of homeless individuals and the mentally ill gather in city parks across the country and drugs are available everywhere.
Understanding Us and members of the homeless community are working together in Salt Lake City, Utah to change the public perception of the difficulties the homeless face in their search for a more structured and stress-free existence. A recent study conducted by Understanding Us in partnership with a local community college demonstrated that the education level of people in our program was at or beyond high school. The street people in our program are educated and homeless.
Our program acknowledges this fact by respecting the idea that many homeless individuals know what success looks and feels like, but somehow just don’t know how to get back to who they were before whatever happened, happened. And we acknowledge and respect their pasts by including them as leaders in our program.
The programs’ purpose is to implement new ideas about how we each discovered who we were and what did or did not work for us as we interacted with time, space and each other. Participants in our program find their own way out of homelessness. Understanding Us just provides a safe place for the self-discovery process to happen.
The process is the same for everyone, but we each experience it differently, and in the process discover what works best for each of us. Do we go left or right…or maybe just stand where we are for a moment…
Understanding Us and members of the homeless community are working together in Salt Lake City, Utah to change the public perception of the difficulties the homeless face in their search for a more structured and stress-free existence. A recent study conducted by Understanding Us in partnership with a local community college demonstrated that the education level of people in our program was at or beyond high school. The street people in our program are educated and homeless.
Our program acknowledges this fact by respecting the idea that many homeless individuals know what success looks and feels like, but somehow just don’t know how to get back to who they were before whatever happened, happened. And we acknowledge and respect their pasts by including them as leaders in our program.
The programs’ purpose is to implement new ideas about how we each discovered who we were and what did or did not work for us as we interacted with time, space and each other. Participants in our program find their own way out of homelessness. Understanding Us just provides a safe place for the self-discovery process to happen.
The process is the same for everyone, but we each experience it differently, and in the process discover what works best for each of us. Do we go left or right…or maybe just stand where we are for a moment…
TAI CHI PROGRAM:
In our Salt Lake City Tai Chi program a group of as many as 60-70 street folks regularly gather three - four days a week for a burrito, coffee, social interaction and Tai Chi.
The program is open to everyone. We often have a fidgeting addict who spent the night under a tree standing next to a person having an argument with competing voices in their head, who is next to a local struggling with depression and he or she next to a vet just released from jail who slept in a tent.
The amazing aspect of the effort is that we have a number of homeless individuals coming together as a group, all working together in collaboration. They are all struggling and trying to learn something new, but while learning and struggling they know they are not alone.
Learning Tai Chi is not easy, yet they come and maybe for the first time in a long time start to experience success, not only for themselves, but in the context of a group. Working with others, they are creating something special.
What someone sees when they walk by our Tai Chi group is not a group of homeless individuals, but a group of people doing something together. What is being done is being done in extremely slow motion, is coordinated and looks relatively easy. It looks peaceful and flowing and is something the watcher seems to connect with.
The local tourists take pictures, often not realizing that 90% of the group sleeps on the street or in a shelter.
Homeless watchers see other homeless individuals working together to create something special and stand and just watch. They know people in the group, they’ve shared hardships and the watchers also see the tourists with their cameras….
Each time the residents of the street stop and watch, they watch from a place that’s a little closer to the group.
In our Salt Lake City Tai Chi program a group of as many as 60-70 street folks regularly gather three - four days a week for a burrito, coffee, social interaction and Tai Chi.
The program is open to everyone. We often have a fidgeting addict who spent the night under a tree standing next to a person having an argument with competing voices in their head, who is next to a local struggling with depression and he or she next to a vet just released from jail who slept in a tent.
The amazing aspect of the effort is that we have a number of homeless individuals coming together as a group, all working together in collaboration. They are all struggling and trying to learn something new, but while learning and struggling they know they are not alone.
Learning Tai Chi is not easy, yet they come and maybe for the first time in a long time start to experience success, not only for themselves, but in the context of a group. Working with others, they are creating something special.
What someone sees when they walk by our Tai Chi group is not a group of homeless individuals, but a group of people doing something together. What is being done is being done in extremely slow motion, is coordinated and looks relatively easy. It looks peaceful and flowing and is something the watcher seems to connect with.
The local tourists take pictures, often not realizing that 90% of the group sleeps on the street or in a shelter.
Homeless watchers see other homeless individuals working together to create something special and stand and just watch. They know people in the group, they’ve shared hardships and the watchers also see the tourists with their cameras….
Each time the residents of the street stop and watch, they watch from a place that’s a little closer to the group.
Tai Chi at Library Square
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Tai Chi at Pioneer Park
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CHAMPIONING LEADERSHIP
Our program is being led by residents of local shelters and these “leaders” are being trained to engage others in learning to become leaders. The leaders are trained to focus on those that join us with special needs, people dealing with effects of strokes or dyslexia. The “leaders” are a developing into outreach workers and a new breed of social worker.
Our program is being led by residents of local shelters and these “leaders” are being trained to engage others in learning to become leaders. The leaders are trained to focus on those that join us with special needs, people dealing with effects of strokes or dyslexia. The “leaders” are a developing into outreach workers and a new breed of social worker.
HELPING those labeled “difficult”:
Many of our participants have been aked to leave other programs. Some, because of behavioral problems can no longer use the City Library. Many from time to time “go off their meds” and are hard to deal with in structured, often overwhelmed service programs. They cause problems and are asked to leave.
No one has ever been asked to leave our program. If they don’t participate, there is no burrito or $2.00. But if they participate, no matter how well they do, or how hard they struggle, they are treated with respect. In fact, those that struggle the most are the most appreciated. This is what I personally feel creates the magic of the program.
Many of our participants have been aked to leave other programs. Some, because of behavioral problems can no longer use the City Library. Many from time to time “go off their meds” and are hard to deal with in structured, often overwhelmed service programs. They cause problems and are asked to leave.
No one has ever been asked to leave our program. If they don’t participate, there is no burrito or $2.00. But if they participate, no matter how well they do, or how hard they struggle, they are treated with respect. In fact, those that struggle the most are the most appreciated. This is what I personally feel creates the magic of the program.
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LEARN TO SKI PROGRAM:
We recently offered a “learn to ski” and deal with stress program for up to ten homeless individuals. Again, the focus is on motion and learning to move using a process we have created that is intended to replicate “learning to walk” in an environment that reproduces the stresses created by our intuitive fear of falling. We view skiing as a tool for creating situations that help a person learn to deal with stress. Stress that is very similar to what a person stuck in a hole might experience. |
Moving downhill on skis for the first time is frightening. The fear we feel is not irrational or imaginary, but real. If we are moving downhill out of control, moving faster and faster with no way to stop, we panic and eventually fall. We have no control of what is happening. We took the wrong turn and find ourselves in a hole, a deep hole, one we never think we’ll get out of.
Am I talking about skiing or addiction or PTSD or severe depression?
The feelings, stresses and emotions are the same no matter where and when we experience them. In the ski world, a person often experiences the same fears. But being on skis traveling down the mountain is a great place to learn how to respond differently to the same reoccurring stress creating situations. If you do this, this happens and if that, then that happens.
As we become less and less afraid, the hole we are in just becomes less and less deep…
Am I talking about skiing or addiction or PTSD or severe depression?
The feelings, stresses and emotions are the same no matter where and when we experience them. In the ski world, a person often experiences the same fears. But being on skis traveling down the mountain is a great place to learn how to respond differently to the same reoccurring stress creating situations. If you do this, this happens and if that, then that happens.
As we become less and less afraid, the hole we are in just becomes less and less deep…
STUDIES
Understanding Us is searching for help in organizing studies that measure the impact our programs are having on the populations we work with.
Understanding Us is searching for help in organizing studies that measure the impact our programs are having on the populations we work with.
PEER LED JOBS & SUPPORT PROGRAM:
Being developed.
Financial Support Needed:
All donated funds go directly to programs and are tax deductible. There are no administrative costs. Become a sustainer with a monthly donation that helps any of the above or with the day-to-day operation.
All the great folks in our program thank you for your support.
Being developed.
Financial Support Needed:
All donated funds go directly to programs and are tax deductible. There are no administrative costs. Become a sustainer with a monthly donation that helps any of the above or with the day-to-day operation.
All the great folks in our program thank you for your support.