Help Fund a Firewalkers Anthology
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If 300 people pledge $20 we can build a Firewalkers Anthology!

Firewalkers is a book designed to radically rethink mental illness. These are stories to learn and share. It has given hope to those who felt limited. It has helped mental health professionals become more understanding, more expansive and more creative. It has opened the minds of people who were only familiar with the medical model - hospital, meds, being a patient...

It is the book you want to hand someone who has just been diagnosed and thinks life is doomed from here on out. This book is a resource of options.

Firewalkers chronicles the profound, turbulent, spiritual experience of living through a mental health crisis. What our society labels as "mental illness" can be a sacred quest that has the power to enrich us, reveal unknown strengths, and transform our lives.

Want to see a new Firewalkers Anthology in print? Click below!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1186064533/the-firewalkers-project

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Survey: Is Your Organization Trauma-Informed?
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This brief survey was developed by the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care, in consultation with NCMHR. The purpose of the survey is to gather information on what peer-run organizations are doing in terms of trauma-informed programs and services, and what their technical assistance needs may be. Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey - you will be providing a valuable service.
To complete the survey, click here. The survey will remain open until December 19, 2011.

VOCAL, Virginia's Peer Support Network, will partner with the Monacan Indian Nation, American Tribes Project, SpiritWorks Foundation Center for the Soul, and Resistdance to bring music, art, and dancing creative cultural opportunities to young adults. We will raise awareness of mental health and addiction challenges, the possibility of recovery, and educate young adults about how to live a life of wellness through creativity and community building. American Tribes Project Artistic Director Christopher Rowland will facilitate the creation of two community wellness mural projects, co-led by young adults, on the Monacan Indian Nation Tribal Lands at Bear Mountain and at SpiritWorks. A'ishah Hils of Resistdance will lead our outreach and youth social networking efforts.

To obtain further information about this project contact Heather Peck at heather@vocalvirginia.org or via phone at 434-243-7878 ext. 18.

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Webinar: WRAP as an Evidence-Based Practice
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lease join us for this FREE webinar which will describe a rigorous research study of WRAP participant outcomes that has been accomplished through collaboration between university researchers and WRAP advocates/facilitators in Ohio. Judith A. Cook is Professor, PhD, will present this webinar along with Matthew Federici, Executive Director of the Copeland Center.

It will be helpful for anyone interested in evaluating WRAP at the individual, group, community, or statewide levels, as well as those who are interested in using research results to improve the quality of WRAP facilitation. Also discussed will be ways the research results can be used to improve WRAP and advocate for increasing WRAP funding. Along with information on WRAP as an evidence-based practices, Matthew Federici will give practice tips for implementing WRAP to adhere to the evidence base.

Judith A. Cook is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Department of Psychiatry.  She received her Ph.D. in sociology from The Ohio State University and completed an NIMH post-doctoral fellowship in clinical research training at The University of Chicago.  Currently she directs the Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy that houses a number of projects. One of these is the National Research and Training Center on Psychiatric Disability that is funded for five years to conduct research and training on self-determination, recovery, workforce development, and employment. Much of her research involves collaboration with people in recovery and other community members using participatory action research strategies.

Matthew Federici, M.S., C.R.P.S., is an experienced Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator who has done both training and managing a training team through his previous position at the Institute for Recovery and Community Integration.

This webinar is sponsored by the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery where you can get trained to be a certified WRAP Facilitator.

Space is limited, so register today.

To Register:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/155018081

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SAMHSA ADS Center Invites You to Put Yourself on the Map!
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A Word from the National Empowerment Center (NEC)
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Around the same time that she experienced her first childhood trauma, Jennifer Constantine started to experience visions and hear voices. She was often ostracized by her peers growing up. For years, she wandered about from job to job, place to place. Through discovering how to live with her voices and visions, Jennifer is now a proud mother of twins and a leader and advocate in her state of South Dakota.      

On the statewide level, we at the National Empowerment Center (NEC) have the privilege of using our experience to support Jennifer and other emerging leaders in South Dakota, Arkansas, and Texas. We assist these leaders in building strong statewide peer-run advocacy organizations to transform their state mental health systems to become more trauma-informed, peer-driven, and recovery-oriented. Jennifer says, "NEC staff are deeply familiar with the challenges and opportunities that come with statewide organizing. I feel more personally empowered and more hopeful for the collective future of peers in South Dakota."

This year, NEC has much to be proud of.We organized a series of public events that highlighted best practices and cutting-edge trends in recovery-oriented programs and peer-run services. These included:

• Creating Connections through Dialogue Conference - June 10-12, 2011. Co-sponsored with the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery, the Creating Connections conference was a trailblazing and inspiring gathering of revolutionary thinkers and innovative ideas, with speakers and participants from across the US and around the world. For videos and conference highlights, click here.

• Open Dialogue Event- November 3, 2011. Smith College professor and Fulbright scholar Mary Olson, Ph.D., presented with Jaakko Seikkula, Ph.D., one of the main developers of the Open Dialogue Approach in Western Lapland, Finland. Open Dialogue has achieved remarkable success helping people through extreme states labeled 'psychosis' and 'schizophrenia' while relying much less on medication and hospitalization. NEC co-sponsored this event with the Mill River Institute for Dialogic Practice and the UMass Department of Psychiatry.

Other Accomplishments/Activities:

• Asserting a national leadership role in promoting peer-run crisis alternatives. In September, we kicked off a webinar series featuring successful peer-run respites; more webinars will take place in 2012. We also continue to add to and expand the peer-run alternatives section of our website, including several new videos featuring the innovative work of peer-run respite programs. Click here to access this webpage.

• Promoting the use of information technology among peer-run organizations. NEC is providing consultation and technical assistance in the area of information technology; including the creation of an interactive guide to the online and social media landscapes, with a variety of clickable links and resources. To access the guide, click here.

• NEC has also developed its own "Recovery and Hope" YouTube Channel, with over twenty-five videos featuring speakers, presentations, and personal stories about recovery. To visit our channel, click here.  
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• Using our voice in Washington. NEC continues to participate in cross-disability coalitions to advise the Obama administration on disability policy and recovery-oriented implementation of health care reform. In 2011, NEC staff have provided input to the National Institute of Mental Health, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

• At the international level, NEC staff continue to travel worldwide with a message of hope. In 2011, NEC staff made presentations in Italy, Scotland, Iceland, and England on recovery, peer support, and hearing voices. We continue to collaborate with peers and provide consultation to newly forming peer-run organizations around the world.

STAR Center Teleconference:"Recovery and Wellness in African American Faith-Based Communities: Building Relationships that Build Community"
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This Wednesday, December 14th at 2:00 p.m.

The holiday season can be a difficult time for many individuals, especially those from underserved communities.  You are not alone!  Although the holidays are intended to be a time of peace, joy, and love, strained relationships and economic hardship can bring about feelings of worthlessness, depression, and helplessness.  This is especially true when we are bombarded with media messages advertising the idea that spending exorbitant amounts of money is the only way to ensure a successful and happy holiday.

For those of you struggling during this holiday season, we invite you to join us for a message of hope on the upcoming STAR Center teleconference: Recovery and Wellness in African American Faith-Based Communities: Building Relationships that Build Community.  The goal of the teleconference is to provide a forum for learning together about the wealth of recovery and wellness support and tools that African American churches have to offer individuals and communities - regardless of race or religion. 

We are honored to present Deacon Donald M. Clark as the featured speaker for this event.  He is a well-known and respected leader in the mental health consumer community.  Deacon Clark survived the pitfalls of being a homeless father (now grandfather) to become a religious and community leader with extensive experience advocating issues on behalf of the homeless, the disabled, and Veterans with a focus on civil rights and equality, and consumer issues. 

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Wednesday December 14th at 10 a.m.

ONLINE REGISTRATION:                                 

www.surveymonkey.com/s/AfricanAmericanChurch

TELEPHONE REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS:

1)    Dial (703) 328-0699

2)    Leave a message clearly stating your name and phone number

3)    You will receive a return call approximately 24 - 4 hours before the start of the    teleconference with dial-in number and instructions

2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Available for Online Analysis and Download
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The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the civilian, non-institutionalized population of the United States age 12 or older. The survey is also a source of national estimates on mental health measures such as serious mental illness, other mental illness, depression, and treatment.

The public use data and documentation files for the 2010 NSDUH are now available for download, online analysis, and Quick Tables through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive website.

SAMHSA's first report on the 2010 NSDUH titled Results From the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings   (2.56 MB) provides highlights of the 2010 survey. Topics of the report include illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use, and initiation of substance use; youth prevention-related measures; substance dependence, abuse, and treatment; and trends in substance use among youth and young adults.

Access the 2010 NSDUH  |  Access Previous NSDUHs