October News and Events from Advocates

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Entries from Advocates' Art Exhibit, held each year in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Upcoming Events

Click the links below for complete event details.

Advocates is proud to collaborate with the Western Massachusetts Recovery Learning Community to present Working With People Who Hear Voices, a conversation and workshop with Ron Coleman and Paul Baker on Tuesday, October 25th.

Advocates Promoting a Culture of Respect Commitee is proud to present Do We Need an Alternative to Psychiatric Diagnosis? A Different Point of View: Discussion with Paula Joan Caplan, Ph.D. on Friday, November 4th.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Making strides in the workplace

In just the past three months eight individuals served by Advocates Employment Services have been hired into positions with Walgreens, Roche Brothers, Wal-Mart, Market Basket, Stop & Shop and Sodexo Food Services at Babson College. Congratulations to all and thanks to the employers for recognizing the value of employing individuals of all abilities!

Advocates is the lead agency of the

MetroWest Employment Collaborative which connects local adults with disabilities to the resources they need to find jobs and succeed in the workplace.

In September, the Collaborative hosted mock interviews for local adults with disabilities who are preparing to enter the work force. Thanks to several local employers including

Merrimack Hills/Marlborough Health, Natick Visiting Nurse Association, Southborough Medical Center and Marlborough Hospital

for conducting the interviews which provided valuable real-life experience for the job seekers.

According to interviewee Louise Landau, "I gained good perspective into what the job markets expect a candidate to deliver in a real interview. It was good practice in using my communication and office etiquette skills."

A second mock interview training is in the works for November.

The Collaborative is focusing on building bridges in the healthcare sector and to that end has set up group tours at area healthcare facilities for its job seekers. A tour will take place at Newton-Wellesley Hospital later this month, and a visit to Whitney Place, a senior assisted living home in Northborough, is planned for November.

Big grant wins expand
addiction recovery in local communities

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently awarded a 3-year grant to Advocates for the Ayer-Concord Drug Court Smart Phone Project, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded funds to the Concord Trial Court to expand its drug court services provided by Advocates. These highly competitive federal grants bring much needed funds into the state to help Massachusetts residents struggling with addiction to turn their lives around.

Recognizing the innovative and effective work of the Drug Court team (which includes Kerin Raymond, clinical director for Advocates and Massachusetts State Wide Drug Court Coordinator, Hilary Curtis, Ph.D., program director of the Ayer-Concord Drug Court and Judge J. Michael Brooks, Region 4 Administrative Judge Commonwealth of Massachusetts), SAMHSA has granted $839,854 over three years to Advocates to implement the Ayer-Concord Drug Court Smart Phone Project which was piloted with promising outcomes earlier this year.

One participant credits the pilot project with saving his life:

"I ended up slipping and I wanted to die. I threw that on the board (discussions on the smart phone) and it saved my life...The whole drug court team supported me and told me to come in, had an immediate group. If it wasn't for that, and for the phone that I had at the time, I probably wouldn't be talking right now."

The program teaches individuals to use smart phones equipped with the Addiction Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (ACHESS), developed by the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, as a powerful recovery tool.

"With this technology participants can actively use phones to create a recovery support community through peer support, resource sharing and enhanced access to treatment. We are thrilled to bring this promising technology to Massachusetts and provide a greater level of support to people battling addiction," says Ken Bates, vice president for Advocates Behavioral Health and Day Supports.

With the Bureau of Justice Assistance award of $350,000 over three years to the Concord Trial Court, Advocates will now be able to expand its limited services in Concord to a full scope of drug court services including case management, training for drug court staff and use evidence-based assessment for individuals with high risk and serious alcohol and other drug challenges.

Thank you SAMHSA and the Bureau of Justice Assistance for making these vital recovery programs possible!

Thank you to our valued vendors for your support

Thank you to the following vendor-partners for generously supporting our programs and improving the lives of the individuals we serve in our community.