VOCAL'S MENTAL HEALTH RECOVERY NEWS FOR 11.7.13
 
In Today's Digest....
New in the Digest Today
VOCAL News
News Around the Commonwealth
Conferences, Trainings and Webinars
Links to Peer-Run Programs
Job Opportunites
Other News


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A twice-weekly electronic news-digest delivered to your inbox dedicated to keeping you informed of mental health recovery news and opportunities across the Commonwealth and the nation.

 


New In the Digest Today
CPC Meets Tuesday with Lunch - Posted 11.7

Central Peer Connect meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 12th from 12:30 - 2 p.m. at Chester House, 11814 Chester Road in Chester.
Lunch will be served, but Chester House needs to get approximate numbers attending. Please call 804.318.8263 to make your lunch reservation.

Arts and Crafts Class at "84 Main", Warsaw - Posted 11.7

Thursday, November 14th from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
"Gratitude Trees" for Thanksgiving
For further information: 804.333.3581

 

VOCAL News

VOCAL Announces Staff Changes - Posted 11.4

 

VOCAL recently had open positions for the Network Program Director and the Operations Manager.  VOCAL is pleased to announce that Jane Ellis, former Advocacy Coordinator, has accepted the Network Program Director position and Deidre Johnson, former contracted Executive Assistant, has accepted the Operations Manager position.  Please feel free to visit VOCAL's website at www.vocalvirginia.org to read their bios.

 

In other staffing news, we are saddened to announce the resignation of Debbie Smith, REACH Program Director, in September and the resignation of CO-OP Program Director, Cynthia Evans, in October.    

Join us  in wishing Debbie and Cynthia all the best in their future endeavors!

 

Ask VOCAL! 

 

Do you have a question that you wish to direct to the Executive Director about VOCAL?  Now is your chance to do so; please direct your questions to askVOCAL@vocalvirginia.org.  Your submissions will be answered and published in the Network News following your submission. 

News Around the Commonwealth

On Our Own of Roanoke Valley Celebrates 20 Years! - Posted 11.4

 

Friday, November 15th, 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
429 Elm Street, SW

Lunch served

 

Magellan of Virginia Will Hold Member Orientation Sessions - Posted 11.4
 
Effective December 1st Magellan Behavioral Health of Virginia will work with the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to manage many of Virginia's mental health services (ie. Medicaid, FAMIS).
 
Magellan of Virginia will be holding member orientation sessions throughout the Commonwealth to introduce Magellan and to inform members (service recipients) of upcoming changes. These orientation sessions are geared towards members, but anyone may attend.
 
 

Free Third Thursdays Gathering, "Invoking Your Allies: Building Support for Creating the Life You Want" - Posted 11.4

 

Thursday, November 21st from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Orange Hill Wellness Center
401 Orange Street, Charlottesville

For further information, 434.977.6918

 

New Exercise and Meditation Hour Every Wednesday  - Posted 10.31

 

4:00 p.m.

Friends 4 Recovery Whole Health Center

7420 Whitepine Road, N.Chesterfield (23237)

Phone: 804.308.1366

 

Mental Health of America Seeking Women Living with Schizophrenia or Schizo-Affective Disorder to Participate in A Free Social Exploration Project - Posted 10.24

 

Are you interested in: 

Meeting and making new friends?
Receiving money to fund social events or activities of your choice?
Feeling comfortable in cultivating
relationships in your community?

   

This opportunity provides a free personal coach to assist in reaching your social goals. The personal coaches are certified peer support specialists, trained in professional life coaching.   

 

For further information about "It's My Life - Social Explorations", please call :  Kirsten or Shavonne at 703.838.7515  

  

Veterans Weekly Peer Support Group at On Our Own of Roanoke Valley - Posted 10.17

 

Mondays at 1:00 p.m.

For more information, call 540.362.0061  

 . 

Conferences, Trainings, and Webinars

 

Café TA Center Offers Online Training on Conflict Resolution - Posted 10.31
 
The Café TA Center is offering an online training on "Conflict Resolution: Challenging Organizational Change and Growth." How can organizations manage conflicts and find a way to turn disagreement into productive action? The training "offers some advice on how to understand conflict, and turn it into a net positive for your organization. This training is presented as a pre-recorded slide show with accompanying audio." To download the training (including the audio portion), click here. You can download or view the training in PDF format with a written transcription of the audio and thumbnail images by clicking here.

Webinar: Veterans and Service Animals - Posted 10.31

 

Presented by the Cornell University Industrial Labor Relations School (ILR) Employment and Disability Institute. This webinar will look, in part,  at the use of service animals by veterans who have non-apparent disabilities such as PTSD.

 

November 12th from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

 

Register here: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/register/index.cfm?event=4543 

 

For questions or more information, contact the Institute at 607-255-7727 or 607-255-2891 (TTY).

 

"Emotional CPR (eCPR)" Certification Training Registration Now Open to the Public - Posted 10.14
  
The two-day training will be on
December 2-3, in Austin, Texas (prior to the Alternatives Conference)

Through a combination of presentations, interactive discussions, and dynamic role-plays, trainees will learn about and practice the key concepts involved in effectively supporting a person through an emotional crisis and into healing. eCPR training is appropriate for the general public, peer and other service providers, family members, administrators, and others. No previous training is necessary. 

"Early bird" registration discounts apply. Tel: 877.246.9058 

Click here for more information and to register

 

Link to Virginia Mental Health Conferences and Trainings Calendar for Opportunities to Attend Conferences and Trainings - Posted 4.11  

 

Go to:  http://tinyurl.com/VirginiaCalendar

 

Do you know of other things that could be posted on this calendar?? Email Yolande Long: yolande@vocalvirginia.org

 

Links to MH Peer-Run Programs in Virginia
Consumer Wellness Center (Annandale)
 
Recovery In Motion ( Fredericksburg)  
kakallay@gmail.com

Blacksburg Computer Empowerment Services
http://computerempowerment.net/about.htm
  
Friends4Recovery Whole Health Center (Richmond)
http://www.friends4recovery.org/#!calendar

Center for Recovery and Wellness (Lynchburg)
http://centerforrecoveryandwellness.org/calendar/

Trillium Drop-In Center (Woodbridge)
http://pwdropincenter.org/calendar.php

On Our Own of Roanoke Valley
http://rvonourown.com/Events.aspx

WeCare, Inc (Martinsville)
http://wecaremhc.org/?page_id=42

On Our Own of Charlottesville
http://wwhttp://www.saara.org/events-calendar.phpw.onourowncville.org/structure.html

84 Main (Warsaw)
804.333.3581

Recovery Resources and Support
http://www.rrs4hope.com/

The Laurie Mitchell Empowerment and Career Center (Alexandria)
  
Other Program Information:

 

Virginia Peer Support Coalition (Virginia)
  
Mental Health America of Virginia (MHAV)
http://www.mhav.org/Current_Program_Schedule.html

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Falls Church
ANC436@aol.com 
NAMI Virginia (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
http://namivirginia.org/

NAMI Central Virginia (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
http://www.namicentralvirginia.org

SAARA of Virginia (Richmond)
http://www.saara.org/events-calendar.php

Spiritworks Foundation Center for Recovery of the Soul (Williamsburg)
http://www.spiritworksfoundation.org/events-calendar/

 

Job Opportunities

Other News
Call for Works: Special U.S. Edition of Asylum Magazine - Posted 11.4 

From U.S. Asylum Editors:
Publish your sketches, comics, first-person accounts, collages, drawings, photographs, essays, poems, stories, paintings, interviews, excerpts from your memoirs and graphic novels, and other works in this special U.S.-based edition of the U.K.'s famous Asylum Magazine.

We REALLY want art from people who feel that their voices are silenced and/or that they lack public venues for self-expression (for example, prisoners, non-English speakers, people in mental health facilities, etc.). Are you someone like this? Please send us your work! We also plan to display some of the work on a website and/or publish it in a book (with your permission) if we get enough submissions. That said, we also love to see work from family members, mental health workers, and anyone else who is interested in mental health.

Guidelines:  
For publication in the magazine, short written works should have a word limit of 800 words. Long written works should have a word limit of 1600 words. Images should have a resolution of 300 dpi. Longer works can be submitted anyway for consideration in the future publication.

Submitting Creative Works::  
We are particularly interested in black and white images and other creative works (for example, comics, drawings, poems, stories). To help foster this, we will be introducing an interactive element to the issue. When you submit a creative work, please note (1) if you would like another anonymous contributor to "rework" it, and (2) if you would like to "rework" another's piece.

Anonymity: 
If you choose to remain anonymous, please consider including a short bio (2-3 sentences about your life) and note whether or not you permit your work to be published in a book or website.

About the magazine:  
"Asylum magazine is a forum for free debate, open to anyone with an interest in psychiatry or mental health. We especially welcome contributions from service users or ex-users (or survivors), carers, and frontline psychiatric or mental health workers (anonymously, if you wish). The magazine is not-for-profit and run by a collective of unpaid volunteers. Asylum Collective is open to anyone who wants to help produce and develop the magazine, working in a spirit of equality" (from www.asylumonline.net).

 

This special U.S. Edition of Asylum has been made possible through the Lived Experience Research Network (lernetwork.org) and will be edited by Summer Schrader, Nev Jones, Laysha Ostrow, Faith Rhyne, Timothy Kelly, and other artists, activists, academic-survivors, and writers. Please address inquiries to the addresses below. 

 

Want to Help?: We could use some help reaching out to groups who seldom get opportunities for public expression, so please e-mail the editors if you have ideas on how to help us achieve this goal. We also have a flyer that can be printed out and distributed at institutions and facilities where people might not have regular Internet access.

 

Please send all works by March 4, 2014 to AsylumEditor@gmail.com

and/or

 

U.S. Asylum Editors
P.O. Box #8603

Delray Beach, FL 33484

 

 

Enter "Contest Design for a Greater Good: Don't Overlook Mental Health" - Posted 10.3

 

https://www.goodjoe.com/contests/263-design-for-a-greater-good-don-t-overlook-mental-health 

 

Organization Offers Award Honoring Exemplary Peer Advocates - Posted 10.31

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award Program, which "recognizes outstanding emerging leaders with disabilities who exemplify leadership, advocacy, and dedication to and for the broader disability community," click here. The deadline for the AAPD awards is Dec. 6th at 5:00 p.m.

SAMHSA's GAINS Center Seeks Volunteers for Video Interviews at Alternatives 2013 - Posted 10.31  
 
SAMHSA's GAINS Center is seeking trauma survivors who are attending Alternatives 2013 - December 4th - 7th, at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Texas - to videotape interviews for its trauma training curriculum. The interviews will focus on the effects of, and recovery from, trauma. "Participation would mean sharing your story to help us teach others about trauma," a GAINS Center spokesman writes. "Participants will be given a stipend for their time."

 

If you are interested, please contact Arin Starzyk at astarzyk@prainc.com.   

From the Editor...
If you have a submission for the e-digest, please email it to me at yolande@vocalvirginia.org
I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,
Yolande Long
Communications and Events Coordinator
804.343.1777 
Dear Reader,  
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DISCLAIMER:

This page is offered strictly for informational and support purposes.  We assume no liability whatsoever for any consequences arising out your use of information or connections provided through any of the above organizations. VOCAL does not necessarily agree with information provided by these organizations, their websites, members or other affiliations.