About Tapestry
Since 2008
Weaving Together Systems of Care
It can be difficult to find the help needed for a youth or young adult in your community. The right programs and services are not always easy to find, especially in times of crisis. Eligibility criteria can be confusing and often a youth or young adult’s needs do not fit neatly into a single box that can be addressed by one agency or system. Acronyms and agency lingo can be an “alphabet soup”, and it can feel like there’s nowhere to turn. Without support and help from caring people who are familiar with “the system”, the road to wellness and recovery for a youth or young adult with serious mental health needs, and their families, can be a long and lonely one.
Tapestry has made a commitment to work together with youth and families to make our system better. We have developed relationships in the community to weave together the systems of care for children and youth with serious mental health needs and their families.
Our efforts include partners from Chautauqua County Departments (Mental Hygiene, Health and Human Services and Probation), as well as many community based providers.
This effort has been ongoing since 2008 and together we are working hard to make sure that help is easy to access, family-driven, and tailored to the needs of each youth, young adult, and family.
Through improvements to the Chautauqua County System of Care, Chautauqua Tapestry and partner organizations have:
- Increased linkages and referrals to community-based services and supports by over 77% from 2020 to 2021
- Developed cross-system case conferencing through SPOA/CSPOA through biweekly meetings and robust partner participation
- Implemented maternal depression and pediatric developmental screenings at pediatric offices
- Provided suicide prevention trainings across the county to over 640 community members in the past two years alone
- Worked to provide services, referrals, and support to children, including care management, wraparound planning, mobile crisis service improvements, MIT, family and youth peer supports, respite care, and more
- Increased the number of people accessing services to which they were referred by approximately 120% from 2020 to 2021
Our Mission
Chautauqua Tapestry represents the weaving together of effective, appropriate and individualized supports and services that are accessible and comprehensive to meet the needs of youth with emotional and behavioral challenges and their families.
Team
Our Staff
Christina Breen (she/her)
Christina Breen is a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Training Specialist working with Chautauqua County’s System of Care. Christina’s background is Community Development and Social Work, and has experience leading youth engagement efforts in many sectors. She holds many certifications in evidence based mental health and suicide prevention trainings and curriculums. She is a notable local and regional trainer, whose passion for inclusivity and help seeking comes through in every conversation. Christina’s navigation of mental health challenges as a youth and young adult shapes her compassion for young people and the need to bring their voices to strategic mental health planning. Christina enjoys gravel cycling, time with family and friends, and adventuring with her son.
Carri Raynor (she/her)
Carri Raynor is a suicide loss survivor and works as the Family Lead for Tapestry. She also is the Coordinator for the Suicide Prevention Alliance of Chautauqua County. After losing her husband Dan to suicide, Carri has dedicated over 10 years of educating her community on suicide prevention and mental health awareness. Carri sits on the board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Western New York, a volunteer for AFSP’s Healing Conversations program. She is a certified mental health trainer in many evidence based curricula such as Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid, Sources of Strength and AFSP’s Talk Saves Lives, More Than Sad and It’s Real. She facilitates a Survivor of Suicide Loss support group and has much experience in fundraising by coordinating over 14 community suicide awareness events each year. Carri resides in Western New York with her daughter Laken and dog Otis Pickle.
Tessa Fadale (she/her)
Tessa Fadale is the project assistant for Tapestry Resilience Initiative. She supports Tapestry initiatives with data collection and research collaboratively with SUNY Research Foundation to improve child and family serving systems in the county. She is a Chautauqua County native and enjoys gardening and riding horses. Tessa graduated from the SUNY Fredonia Social Work program and is pursuing public health at SUNY Albany.
Rachel M Ludwig LCSW (she/her)
Rachel Ludwig is the Project Director for Tapestry System of Care in Chautauqua County, NY. Chautauqua County has had a Cooperative Agreement with SAMHSA since 2008. Tapestry is currently in Year 2 of a 4 year CMHI grant.
Rachel is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 25 years of experience in child and adolescent therapeutic interventions and family therapy through direct practice and administrative roles in community, residential and governmental settings in PA and NY. She is trained in numerous modalities with overall focus on wellness and integrated care.
Rachel has taught at the bachelor and master level at two universities’ schools of social work.She has presented at numerous state-wide and national conferences on topics including building partnerships in system of care, high fidelity wraparound, evidence based practices, trauma informed care, family driven care and evaluation.
Rachel currently serves on several community boards. She most enjoys time with family; especially outdoor adventures and road trips, sporting events, and gardening.
History
Chautauqua Tapestry was established in 2008 with a federal grant from SAMHSA, given to the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, to establish a system of care in Chautauqua County. The Tapestry Resilience grant focused on expanding the system of care for two specific age groups: children aged 0 to 8 years, and college-age students, 18-21 years.
After the initial success, SAMHSA has awarded more federal grants to fund the continuation of this work. The goals of Chautauqua Tapestry, the most recent expansion of the grant, are to improve the mental health outcomes for children and youth. Age ranging from birth through 21, at risk for serious emotional disturbance (SED), and their families.