Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Posts Tagged ‘Contra Costa County’

Author and Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan celebrates “Library Card Sign Up Month” in September. She says: “Writers who want to write better, read more books. Go visit your local library. I have library cards from San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda County and Contra Costa County. I love libraries.” This video was filmed by author Birgit Soyka.

If you love libraries too, please click on title-bar of this post, scroll down and fill in the boxes, then press [submit]. Thank you!

Teresa LeYung-Ryan speaks out for public libraries

What else is happening in September?

Saturday, September 24, 2011, 10:00am–4:00pm

Sonoma County Book Festival

Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter members and California Writers Club-Redwood Branch members at Sonoma County Book Festival, Santa Rosa, CA

Look for Teresa LeYung-Ryan, Margie Yee Webb, Kate Farrell at their booth and on the Redwood Village/Readers Circle Stage.  Leigh Anne Lindsey, Linda Joy Myers, Zoe FitzGerald Carter, Laurel Anne Hill. Who else?     Ana Manwaring orchestrates Redwood Writers Village Stage! Stage times: 1:00pm Redwood Writers Vintage Voices; 1:45-2:00pm Margie Yee Webb & Teresa LeYung-Ryan; 2:00-2:45pm Kate Farrell and anthology contributing authors

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa

Teresa LeYung-Ryan says: “Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!”

Coach Teresa is the author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

$9.81 for ebook; $22 for print edition

Teresa is the author of Love Made of Heart (available at public libraries) –the book inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families.

As a manuscript consultant, Teresa LeYung-Ryan loves helping writers identify their themes and archetypes.

Coach Teresa’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/teresaleyung

Teresa on facebook!

She’s also involved in Women’s National Book Association and California Writers Club.

Are There Publishing-Writing Opportunities for Students-Young Writers-Children?

The Capitol City Young Writers have opened submissions for a literary journal by writers aged 10-18. Deadline is March 15, 2011. Check it out and help spread the word. Thank you, Linda McCabe and Margie Yee Webb, for telling me.

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On January 22nd Elisa Southard will be co-chairing the judging for the Bay Area Travel Writers Student Contest Submission deadline was January 1, 2011.  Keep them in mind later in the year so that you can get in on their next contest.  How perfect for Elisa Southard, the travel writer, to co-chair this event. Elisa is working on a new book—Big City Travel Skills–for young, first-time travelers.

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The Mt. Diablo Branch of California Writers Club
Young Writers Workshops and Contest “Honoring a New Generation of California Writers”
6th – 7th – 8th Grades,  Contra Costa County, California

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Check out Stone Soup for young writers and artists

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Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan–creator of “Heroes, Tricksters & Villains” workshop for young writers

Manuscript Consultant / Writing Career Coach / Author / Publisher

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com and click on “Writers’ Resources”

Mentally Disabled & Being a Non-consentable Person

This is Post #3 to follow-up on my two posts published on July 25 & 27, 2010

My cousin’s brother is one of the primary advocates for my cousin.  My cousin’s sister (who lives a thousand miles away) is another primary advocate.

This is the email I received today Tuesday, July 27, 2010 from my cousin’s brother (San Francisco):

“I just got off the phone with Detective ____ from Alameda County Sheriff’s department.

He told me that he will be handling the case. First thing he will do is to contact BART for the video. I already told him it’s from Contra Costa County (not Alameda County).

He mentioned that other than Sis’s mental capacity, there is no crime because she went willingly and based on Sis’s statements, the suspect stopped when asked to.

I told him that the SFGH examiner said Sis is a non-consentable person, meaning her “yes” answers do not qualify as consent. This is similar to a child consenting for sex. It still does not qualify as a real “yes”.

He will contact me after investigating.

I asked for a case number but he has not generated one yet because it is not yet determined how this will be handled.”

* * *

We are not going to give up on our family member or our community. The man in the car who stopped my cousin (between late night July 22 and early morning of July 23) asked her “Do you need help?” and she said “Yes.”  His not calling the police but taking her to his home, sexually battering her, and keeping her there until morning is helping ???

My cousins are brave and I am going to continue to support their efforts. I am contacting NAMI http://www.nami.org ,  Community Violence Solutions  http://www.cvsolutions.org/ and other agencies.

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/

From the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI’s website, I found the “How You Can Help” page http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?section=Take_Action :

Contact Your Representatives

It is important that you contact your state and national representatives to ensure they are working for people with mental illness.

A list of current legislation impacting mental health is available along with an easy way to contact your representative with just a few clicks of a mouse.

(For California  http://www.ca.gov http://www.senate.ca.gov/ http://www.assembly.ca.gov/)

Issues and Legislation http://capwiz.com/nami/issues/

The NAMI Newsroom http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=press_room the place for reporters, advocates and other media professionals. NAMI’s communications services team is available around-the-clock to news media for:

• Expert analysis on a wide range of issues related to severe mental illnesses or brain disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder/manic-depression, major depression, and anxiety disorders.
• Current data on research, treatments, rates of prevalence
• Interviews with national spokespersons and technical experts
• Access to persons with serious mental illness and their families who are willing to share personal stories with the media
• Comment on breaking news

Christine Armstrong, Media Relations Associate
Colonial Place Three
2107 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-3042
Telephone: (703) 524-7600 · FAX: (703) 516-7238  ·
Email:  christinea@nami.org

Please be careful. Please call 911 when you see/hear/sense anything that tells you “something isn’t right” because you could be preventing or stopping a crime.

My cousin (a Chinese woman in her thirties, mentally disabled) lives with her family in the outer Sunset area in San Francisco, CA.  She has never left the house by herself.

Between 11:30pm and midnight Thursday night, July 22, 2010, she had gone to her bedroom. Around midnight, a family member realized that she wasn’t in her room. She was nowhere inside the house. The front door was left opened.  The SF police was called.

My cousin was wearing her slippers and a fleece jacket. She was recovering from surgery.  How far could she have walked in her condition?

My cousin’s brother drove all over the neighborhood for 5 hours.

In the morning, my cousin’s sister called me.  I raced to San Francisco.  Our plan of action was to make hundreds of copies of the Missing Person flyer (with a photo of my cousin; my uncle had added Chinese words “Please help us find our daughter”)  and we would fan out and ask neighbors if they saw anyone walking late last night.

My cousin is now home, safe.  My cousin (who has never ridden public transportation by herself) was reported to be riding on a AC Transit bus.  The bus driver had noticed her riding for a couple of hours, back and forth; he remembered seeing her board at Downtown Berkeley; he called AC Transit Police; Alameda County Sheriff’s Department responded). However Alameda County had no record of her as a “missing person.”

How did she get there?  According to my cousin’s report to her brother approximately 24 hours later:

She had walked only a couple of blocks (remember–this is outer Sunset district in San Francisco) when a man in a car asked if she needed help.  She said “Yes.”  My cousin has the mental capacity of a child.  Instead of helping her by calling the police, the man took her to his home in the East Bay and sexually assaulted her and kept her there until morning when he took her to BART (Contra Costa County), bought her a ticket and told her to go home.

After hearing this from my cousin, my cousin’s brother called the police again. The police took my cousin to SF General Hospital for physical examination and interview.

This case is complicated – my cousin might have gotten into the man’s vehicle in San Francisco County; the BART ticket originated in Contra Costa County; she was found in Alameda County. Three counties.  Who’s case is it?  That BART ticket is a key evidence.

The main message in this post is this:

Family members didn’t hear my cousin leave her room, walk down the stairs, or open the front door. No one thought she would ever leave the house by herself. Friday night we asked the police how we could make the house safer (probably the same concern that families of Alzheimer’s patients have).  One tip:  use an alarm system so that other people in the house would be alerted when the alarm is tripped. Be safe, everyone. Talk to public safety representatives in your neighborhoods.

I thank our angels and the kind people who helped find our cousin.

Here’s the website for the Taraval Police district of San Francisco http://sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=858 Click on Community Updates http://www.sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=3323 to get a list of police stations that offer newsletters which inform residents of incidents occurring in their districts.

List of Stations in SF:

Central Station
Southern Station
Bayview Station
Mission Station
Northern Station
Park Station
Richmond Station
Ingleside Station
Taraval Station
Tenderloin Station

San Francisco Police Department Missing Persons

http://www.sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=84

Contact the police department in your city and ask to receive Community Updates.

Monday night, January 18, 2010
Three weeks ago, I thought I would be working today at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. REGIONAL SHORELINE in Oakland. However, because of overwhelming registration, the organizers didn’t need me.

In a way, I did have a Day of Service. I made phone calls on behalf of my friend (to report elder abuse from a home-care agency).

The phone numbers below came from mental health advocates from Alameda and Contra Costa counties; they encouraged me to file reports.

Adult Protective Service 925-646-2854 serving Contra Costa County, CA

http://www.cdss.ca.gov/agedblinddisabled/

Disability Rights CA 510-267-1200 (formerly State Protection & Advocacy) http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/

Consumer Assistance 1-800-779-0787

After I made the phone calls (left voicemail at the second & third numbers; a person answered at Adult Protective Service and told me a social worker would call me back even though today was a holiday…so professional and reassuring).

Jan. 22, 2010

I learned from  Adult Protective Service and Disability Rights CA that because  home-care services are “businesses”I would need to make a complaint and also report abuse http://ccld.ca.gov/ as well as contact Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org/us/ Complaints: http://www.bbb.org/us/Consumer-Complaints/

While researching, I found http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/home-care-services/HO00084 Mayo Clinic website which has and answers regarding home care services. The text below inside [   ] came from the Mayo Clinic website:

[ If you're considering a home care services agency:

• How does the agency hire and train caregivers? Does the agency provide continuing education?
• Are the caregivers licensed in their fields and insured?
• How closely does the agency's supervisor evaluate the quality of home care?
• Do the agency's employees seem friendly and helpful? Make sure you feel comfortable with the agency's representatives.

If you're considering a home health aide:

• Does the home health aide have a good temperament? Make sure you or your loved one feels comfortable with the home health aide. ]

http://www.hcbs.org/ which I will review later.

Jan. 18, 2010

I’m blogging about this because: 1) I want to share those phone numbers and URLs; 2) I think writers make for great advocates (writing down our observations; reporting the observations); and 3) I need to remind myself to be true to myself and honor the powerful voice of the written word.

On Saturday, 40 writers at California Writers Club-SF Peninsula Branch heard how VP Linda Okerlund introduced me.

“Teresa LeYung Ryan wears 3 hats . . . [the third hat] She is a community spirit who uses her first book Love Made of Heart to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly and unabashedly about the stigmas their parents suffer.”

To speak openly about illness and stigmas and continue being aware–these are my duties.

Today after I made the calls, I was rewarded by wonderful comments on my blog post from the writers at Saturday’s “Major League Tryouts for Building Your Name.”
I thought about my mom (who’s my biggest angel); I remember how she needed someone to speak up on her behalf.

I’d like to think that Mom is watching over me, inspiring me to use words to help people. Writers need help too. A dear writer-friend said to me today: “How do we find time to blog and build our names when we’re writing books?” My respond was: “Our books deserved to be read by people. But, how would people read our books if they don’t know that our books exist?”

To all writers who want others to buy your work, read your work, talk about your work, I encourage you to tell yourself this everyday: “My work deserves to be read by many. My work deserves to be promoted; I’m the best person for the job.”

Sincerely,
Coach Teresa
Teresa LeYung Ryan