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Facebook Provides First-of-a-Kind Service To Help Prevent Suicides
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SAMHSA and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline are collaborating with Facebook to help those in crisis.

In partnership with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, Facebook is announcing a new service that harnesses the power of social networking and crisis support to help prevent suicides across the Nation and Canada. The new service enables Facebook users to report a suicidal comment they see posted by a friend to Facebook using either the Report Suicidal Content link or the report links found throughout the site. The person who posted the suicidal comment will then immediately receive an email from Facebook encouraging them to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or to click on a link to begin a confidential chat session with a crisis worker.

Learn More  |  Read the SAMHSA Blog

About the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention

The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance) is the public-private partnership advancing the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The Action Alliance envisions a Nation free from the tragic experience of suicide. Learn More

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

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

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US Labor Department Seeks To Improve Job Opportunities
For Americans With Disabilities By Setting Historic Hiring
Goal For Federal Contractors And Subcontractors
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The U.S. Department of Labor is proposing a new rule that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to set a hiring goal of having 7 percent of their workforces be people with disabilities, among other requirements. The department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs invites public comment on this proposal, which will be published in the Dec. 9 edition of the Federal Register.

OFCCP's proposed rule would strengthen the affirmative action requirements established in Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 obligating federal contractors and subcontractors to ensure equal employment opportunities for qualified workers with disabilities. The proposed regulatory changes detail specific actions contractors must take in the areas of recruitment, training, record keeping and policy dissemination - similar to those that have long been required to promote workplace equality for women andminorities. In addition, the rule would clarify OFCCP's expectations for contractors by providing specific guidance on how to comply with the law.

"This proposed rule represents one of the most significant advances in protecting the civil rights of workers with disabilities since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "President Obama has demonstrated a commitment to people with disabilities. This proposed rule would help federal contractors better fulfill their legal responsibility to hire qualified workers with disabilities."

Although Section 503 regulations have been in place for decades, the current unemployment rate for people with disabilities is 13 percent, 1 1/2 times the rate of those without disabilities. Even more discouraging, data published last week by the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics show stark disparities facing working-age individuals with disabilities, with 79.2 percent outside the labor force altogether, compared to 30.5 percent of those without disabilities.

"For nearly 40 years, the rules have said that contractors simply need to make a 'good faith' effort to recruit and hire people with disabilities. Clearly, that's not working," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. "Our proposal would define specific goals, require real accountability and provide the clearest possible guidance for employers seeking to comply with the law. What gets measured gets done. And we're in the business of getting things done."

Establishing a 7 percent hiring goal for the employment of individuals with disabilities would be a tool for contractors to measure the effectiveness of their affirmative action efforts and thereby inform their decision-making. The proposed rule also would enhance data collection and record-keeping requirements - including for documentation and processing of requests forreasonable accommodation - in order to improve accountability. Additionally, it would ensure annual self-reviews of employers' recruitment and outreach efforts, and add a new requirement for contractors to list job openings to increase their pools of qualified applicants.

To read the notice of proposed rulemaking or submit a comment, visit the federal e-rulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Comments alsocan be submitted by mail to Debra Carr, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of Labor, Room C-3325, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20210. All comments must be received by Feb. 7, 2012, and should include identification number (RIN) 1250-AA02.

In addition to Section 503, OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. As amended, these three laws require those who do business with the federal government, both contractors and subcontractors, to follow the fair and reasonable standard that they take affirmative action and not discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For general information, call OFCCP's toll-free helpline at 800-397-6251 or visit its website at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.

• Read this news release en Español.