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Recognizing and congratulating Renee Henderson, on the occasion of her retirement from Community Behavioral Health, after more than two decades of faithful and dedicated service.
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WHEREAS, Community Behavioral Health (“CBH”) is a non-profit 501c(3) corporation contracted by the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS) to manage the delivery of behavioral health services for Medicaid recipients of Philadelphia County, in accordance with Pennsylvania’s HealthChoices Program, administered through the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (“OMHSAS”); and
WHEREAS, When Renee Henderson joined the staff of CBH more than 21 years ago, she was responsible for designing and implementing financial and accounting policies and structures as part of an effort to increase sustainability and transparency throughout the organization; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Henderson’s vision, leadership, integrity, and attention to detail ensured the success of that project, earned the respect of her colleagues, and in 2016, landed her in the role of Chief Financial Officer of CBH; and
WHEREAS, Renee is a fiercely dedicated advocate for supports, programs, and services for people with autism, and she is the founder of Autism Sharing and Parenting (“ASP”), a volunteer-run, community-based organization dedicated to providing training, resources, and supports to parents of children on the autism spectrum; and
WHEREAS, For 17 years, Renee had the primary role in providing therapeutic interventions at home to her daughter, who was diagnosed with autism as a child, and who was able to thrive academically as a result of those supports; and
WHEREAS, Renee took all of what she learned as a parent and teacher and reinvested it back into ASP, ensuring that other parents are supported and creating a trusted circle of learning and sharing; and
WHEREAS, Renee’s advocacy and activism have taken her beyond ASP, into service on various task forces, boards, and other working groups, which all strive to advance the services for, and development of, a neurodiverse group of people; and
WHEREAS, In retirement, Renee has stated that she plans on continuing these ventures, in solidarity with people with learning and sensory differences, and expanding the work of ASP to include supporting adults on the autism spectrum; and
WHEREAS, Renee will deeply missed by her colleagues at CBH, not only for her integrity and strong work ethic, but also for her infectious laugh and the crafting events she hosted, like the baby blanket crocheting event for mothers in recovery, some of whom also learned how to crochet from Renee through her kits and classes; and
WHEREAS, CBH, the City of Philadelphia, and the statewide community of people with autism, especially children and their parents, are forever grateful to Renee, whose foundational work has enabled CBH to be the organization that it is today; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby recognize and congratulate Renee Henderson, on the occasion of her retirement from Community Behavioral Health, after more than two decades of faithful and dedicated service.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Renee Henderson as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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