VOCAL'S MENTAL HEALTH RECOVERY NEWS FOR 11.18.13
 
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

 

Join the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse's National Networking Teleconference - Posted 11.18

 

TOMORROW, Tuesday, November 19th at 8 p.m.

 

The calls alternate between daytime and evening hours. The daytime calls take place the third Monday of every other month at 1:00  p.m. . (If the third Monday is a national holiday, the call will take place the fourth Monday.) The evening calls take place on the third Tuesday of every other month at 

8:00 p.m.

The call-in number is 866.906.0123; the pass code is 5037195#.
 
The purpose of the calls is for consumer/survivor/ex-patient activists from around the U.S. to get together, share information, and "network."
 
If you would like to suggest an agenda item, please e-mail Susan Rogers srogers@mhasp.org with "Agenda" in the subject line.
 
In addition, if you plan to participate, even if you don't want to suggest an agenda item it would be helpful if you would email Susan Rogers at srogers@mhasp.org; this will make it easier to provide participants with teleconference minutes.
 
If you are participating in the call, please do not put the call on "hold" for any reason, because that will put EVERYONE on hold! We learned this from sad experience. :) If you need to leave the call for a few minutes, just leave your phone on mute and come back when you're ready.

 

On Our Own of Roanoke Valley Hosts Thanksgiving Dinner - Posted 11.18 

 

Thursday, November 28th, 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

$1 per person

Reservations must be made by this Friday, November 22nd

Call 540. 362.0061 for more information and to make your reservation. 

 

84 Main's Great American Smoke Out - Posted 11.18

 

Thursday, November 21st from 10:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m.

Enjoy healthy snacks, hear speakers, get information on smoking cessation.

For further information, call 804. 333.3581. 

 

Join Friends 4 Recovery Whole Health Center for "Creative Recovery" - Posted 11.18

 

Friday, November 22nd from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Call 804.308.1366 for details. 

VOCAL News

From Mark Cowgill, Chair of VOCAL's Governance Committee - Posted  11.14

Would you like to help make VOCAL the best it can be? The VOCAL Governance Committee will soon be meeting to discuss future directions and area of focus. This special ad hoc committee works to ensure the efficient and effective work of the Board, including reviewing VOCAL bylaws and other policy documents, evaluating Board and committee structure and governing process, and recommending appropriate changes.

I invite and encourage the suggestions and the participation of VOCAL members on the committee, which will be meeting by teleconference on a regular basis. If you think you might like to serve on this committee, please email marc.cowgill@vocalvirginia.org 

with your interests as a VOCAL member, any background information related to work with non-profit boards, and your availability for conference calls. Thank you!
 

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

Recovery Resources and Support Offers WRAP for the Holidays (Seminar I) - Posted 11.14

 

If the holidays are difficult times for you, you may be interested in creating a unique WRAP - one specifically to help during the upcoming season.

 

November 26th from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

This workshop is free to attend, although RRS will accept donations to go toward supplies for Wellness Toolboxes and a pizza party. Additional assistance with plans will be provided after 3:00 p.m.

 

For further information, call 877.925.4RRS

 

Planning Meeting for 2014 "Out of the Darkness Suicide Walk" This Month - Posted 11.11

 

Tuesday, November 19th at 7:00 p.m.

First Baptist Church, Richmond


National Alliance on Mental Illness Central Virginia Meets November 21st - Posted 11.11 

 

7:00 p.m.


Weinstein Jewish Community Center, 5403 Monument Avenue, Richmond

Free, open to the public

 

Mental Health America of Virginia (MHAV) Offers CELT in December - Posted 11.11

 

December 2nd -5th in Virginia Beach

For further information and to apply, visit www.mhav.org 

or call 804.257.5591

 

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
Conferences, Trainings, and Webinars

 

The Partnership Center Offers Webinar  - Posted 11.11

 

 

A presentation on the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the health care law. Information on the Health Insurance Marketplace, how to enroll in health insurance and key websites with resources on the law will be shared. We will end with a question and answer session. Please send any questions to ACA101@hhs.gov prior to the dates of the webinars.

 

"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

TU Collaborative Seeks Peer "Voice Clips" for Its Course on Community Inclusion - Posted 11.14    

The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion is seeking volunteers to record 60- to 90-second voice clips about their experiences in becoming a part of their communities, including challenges, supports, and satisfactions. The clips will be used in the seventh course - "The Principles and Practices of Community Inclusion" - of the Collaborative's College of Recovery and Community Inclusion, an online educational program for mental health practitioners. For more information contact Richard Baron (

rcbaron@gmail.com

, 215-204-9664). The TU Collaborative recently received approximately $4.5 million from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The new award - which provides for five more years of operation - builds on 10 years of NIDRR support for the Collaborative, and seeks to expand its national impact. The Collaborative partners with the National Mental Health Consumers' Self Help Clearinghouse and Mental Health America. For more information, see the source below.

 

Policies Hamper Students' Return from Mental Health Leave - Posted 11.14

 

Are colleges and universities doing all they can to accommodate students with mental health needs? This article from USA Today examines the roadblocks that face students attempting to return to school after a leave related to mental health treatment.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2013/11/04/univ-medical-leaves-unhelpful/3359813/

Many Veterans Still Wait Weeks for Mental Health Care - Posted 11.11

 

 

This USA Today article examines the Veterans Administration's efforts to meet all requests for mental health care within 14 days.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/04/veterans-mental-health-treatment/3169763/

 

 

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.
produce and develop the magazine, working in a spirit of equality" (from

 

 

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

 

 

 

 



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.