About UsHope Renews was founded by parents of teens with severe emotional distress in residential treatment programs. Having had children in these programs we learned firsthand two things. First, that this kind of intensive intervention can be life saving. And second, we learned that it comes with a substantial price tag. It has been our belief that this kind of care should not be the exclusive province of the wealthy. So we created a foundation to specifically address financial issues – through loans and grants directly to families, through the dissemination of information of resources that might be available to help pay for treatment, and through a forum of supportive voices to connect families facing this challenge. Hope Renews has survived the critical first five years in operation. While our grant and loan program is focused on just one program, Vista Adolescent Treatment Center, the information in this website should be of use to the much broader universe of families struggling to pay for a child in treatment. More... How Much Is Treatment?There is no other way to say it: residential treatment is expensive. Parents have to navigate a maze of funding options that are confusing and frustrating. We have been through it. We hope we can make your job easier by sharing our experiences. More... How Do I Pay for It?Paying for treatment is a challenge to low- and middle-income families. But it is not impossible. It takes a parent that is educated, dedicated, and thinks outside the box. It will require planning, locating resources, talking to programs, juggling tasks, all while you are trying to take care of your family. But if you approach this fight, armed with knowledge and support, you are more likely to get your child the help he needs. More... |
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Latest news regarding Hope Renews, mental illness and treatment centers. 4/24/20101The sad death of Phoebe Prince, who committed suicide in January after months of what has been called bullying, has prompted an public outcry. At ABC News, we are told that teen bullying can be a sign of depression, in both the bully and those who are bullied. Research shows [bullying] can be a red flag for depression and suicidal behavior. That's true whether teens are doing the bullying, or are victims of it. "If you are vulnerable and being bullied, it can be the straw that breaks the camel's back," said Madelyn S. Gold, a professor of psychiatry and public health at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute who has studied bullying. Warner's new book says the problem is all in our heads3/4/2101We all know the truth. Doctors prescribe too many drugs for our children. Big Pharma is pushing antidepressants on our kids. Our schools are fulled of overmedicated zombies. Maybe not. In her new book, "We've Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication," Judith Warner makes the argument that our kids don't get medicated often enough. And it's making waves. Positive People Have Less Heart DiseaseBy Salyann Boyles for WebMD.com, 2/17/2010This is good news for all you cockeyed optimists. Here is an article about how your happiness affects your heart. It turns out being cheery leads to less heart disease. "After accounting for known heart disease risk factors, the researchers found that the happiest people were 22% less likely to develop heart disease over the 10 years of follow-up than people who fell in the middle of the negative-positive emotion scale.
People with the most negative emotions had the highest risk for heart disease and people who scored highest for happiness had the lowest risk. This observed protection persisted even when naturally happy people were experiencing transient depressive symptoms." What do they recommend for all the sour-pusses among us? Perseverance PaysFrom the New York Times, 2/5/2010In this New York Times column, Walecia Konrad explains that tenacity and persistence pay off, when appealing a rejected claim from a health insurer.
Read the full story, “Fighting Denied Claims Requires Perseverance." Easier to Obtain Treatmentfrom New York Times, January 29, 2010Great news for parents who need health insurance to cover their child's treatment costs. In a nutshell, the rules "significantly expand the rights of people with mental illness, much of which goes untreated because of insurance restrictions." Here is an article in the New York Times about the new mental health parity regulations. For a more in-depth discussion of the new rules, check out this great video from CNN, with Dr. David Shern, president and CEO of Mental Health America. More...
Youth now have more mental health issuesBy Hope RenewsAs if teen depression isn't depressing enough, today's teen depression is worse than depression in the Great Depression. (Is your head spinning yet?) The Associated Press reports on a new study that found that "five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied in the late 1930's." More... Leads to Irreversible Damagefrom ScienceDaily, 12/20/09ScienceDaily reports that Canadian researchers have linked regular cannabis use in teenagers to permanent psychological damage. This according to a new study published in Neurobiology of Disease, by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. More... |
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Newsletter 2010The Hope Renews Newsletter for 2010 (that is, a real, hold in your hands, line your bird cage, burn after reading, made from paper document) is in the final production phases. The topic is ADVICE:
You won't want to miss it, so please send us your mailing address and we will make sure you to get a copy -- in the mail. The Editors |