"Mental Health First Aid" Offered Through RACSB - Posted 1.27  

The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board (RACSB) is pleased to now provide Mental Health First Aid Training to local organizations and members of the public. Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour training course designed to provide participants with skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or someone experiencing a mental health crisis. Participants will be better able to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness or addiction.  

RACSB Executive Director Ron Branscome shares, "Mental Health First Aid provides participants with training to help facilitate successful encounters with an individual in crisis. Participants will be able to help connect the individual experiencing a mental health challenge with local resources like counseling or support groups." Branscome continues, "This training can help reduce the misunderstandings around mental illness. It can save lives."  

The course utilizes role-playing and simulations to help participants' better gain skills to offer initial assistance in a mental health crisis and how to effectively connect individuals to appropriate community resources. Participants will learn the common risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses to include: anxiety; depression; substance use; bipolar disorder; and schizophrenia. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices includes Mental Health First Aid training.

The 8-hour training will be provided over two (2) days. There is a registration fee of $25.00 which includes a workbook and lunch the first day of the training. Trainings are limited to 20 participants and are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.  

Trainings will be held on the following dates (times and locations may vary): May 8 -9; June 9 - 10; July 14 - 15; August 14 - 15; September 22 - 23; October 9 - 10; and November 17 - 18. To register for the training, please contact Michelle Miner, Therapist/CIT Program Manager, at 540-899-4357 or mminer@racsb.state.va.us. Visit www.racsb.state.va.us for additional information and a training flyer.  

Mental Health First Aid originated in 2001 in Australia under the direction of founders Betty Kitchener and Tony Jorm. To date, it has been replicated in twenty other countries worldwide, including Hong Kong, Scotland, England, Canada, Finland, and Singapore. Mental Health First Aid USA is coordinated by the National Council for Behavioral Health, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health. To learn more, please visit www.MentalHealthFirstAid.org.

DBHDS Office of Cultural and Linguistic Competence January Newsletter "Ideas Into Action" - Posted 1.27

This newsletter, a publication of the Office of Cultural & Linguistic Competence at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, is intended to highlight best practices and share new ideas related to culturally appropriate services and language access in the Commonwealth's behavioral health and developmental disability services system.

http://tinyurl.com/mu2mrmf

VOCAL's Advocacy Committee to Meet Weekly - Posted 1.16  

Virginia's 2014 Legislative Session Open - Posted 1.16

VOCAL Launches "Whole Health Network" (VWHN) - Posted 1.2

In the first published e-digest each month, VOCAL will offer information about whole health topics. Each month the focus will change as we rotate through topics such as smoking cessation, nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, etc. encouraging your capacity to take control over your own total health and wellness.  

Please also visit our FB page for our "Wellness Wednesday" tips! https://www.facebook.com/VOCAL.Inc

VWHN Topic #1

Smoking Cessation Help:  

"I really want to try to stop smoking but how do I do it?"

Here are some tips: 

http://smokefree.gov/ 

Art of Creative Expression Open House - Posted 1.13

The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board (RACSB) is currently soliciting applications from interested individuals to serve on its Consumer and Family Advisory Committee. The committee works with the Office of Consumer Affairs and Quality Assurance to provide feedback regarding service delivery that will lead to quality improvement. The Committee serves an advisory role to the Executive Director and the Board of Directors.

Potential projects undertaken by the Committee may include: review of satisfaction surveys; review of reports generated by the Office of Consumer Affairs; and recommendations for improvements in delivery of services based on data reviewed. Committee member responsibilities include attendance at quarterly meetings and ability to understand issues on the local, state, and federal level that may impact RACSB services.

The Committee is comprised of five to ten volunteer members meeting the following criteria: the individual must be receiving, or have within two years of joining the advisory Committee, services from RACSB; or the family member must be a family member of an individual that is currently receiving, or within two years received, services from RACSB.

Applications for membership on the Consumer and Family Advisory Committee are available at www.racsb.state.va.us or by visiting any of the five RACSB outpatient clinic locations (addresses listed below). Applications are due no later than February 28, 2014. Membership applications will be reviewed by the Program Planning and Evaluation Committee of the Board of Directors with membership recommendations being presented to the Board of Directors on March 18, 2014. Applicants will be chosen based on their familiarity with RACSB services and programs, their ability to commit to meeting attendance, and their overall interest in advising RACSB in its quality improvement activities.

Completed applications are to be mailed to Emily McGarrity, RACSB Office of Consumer Affairs, 600 Jackson Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. To learn more, please contact Emily McGarrity, Office of Consumer Affairs, at 540-899-4616 or Jane Yaun, Quality Assurance Coordinator, at 540-940-2308.

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

Veterans' Advisory Council Forming - Posted 1.23