Job Opportunity with The National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

The National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations is pleased to announce a new position: Director of Government Relations, Part-time: 15 hours per week.

Primary duties: Work in Washington DC area on Capitol Hill moving our legislative priorities forward. Participate in congressional briefings and other meetings. Be a voice for National Coalition members to congress through building relationships of trust with Hill staff. Represent the National Coalition in working with other national advocacy organizations and coalitions. Track and participate in developing legislation.


Email cover letter, resume and statement about how you are highly qualified for this position to info@ncmhcso.org by March 26, 2009 to ensure your consideration.


The National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations mission is to ensure that consumer/survivors have a major voice in the development and implementation of healthcare, mental health, and social policies at the local, state, and national levels empowering people to recover a full life in the community.

Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Conducting Research Study

The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is conducting a research study that explores the relationship between mothers with major depression and their adult daughters.

The researchers are especially interested in learning about the way that depression affects how mothers and daughters communicate with, support, and feel about one another. They would like to interview mothers with major depression and their adult daughters (26 years of age and older) separately.

Participation in this study involves a 90-minute telephone or face-to-face interview, depending on what is most convenient for the participants. Each participant will receive $30.00 for her time.

All information from the interviews is strictly confidential; the researchers will not share any information received from mothers with their daughters or from daughters with their mothers.

To learn more about the study or to sign up, please call Dr. Marie Mesidor at 617-353-3549 or contact her by e-mail at mmesidor@bu.edu.

Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation http://www.bu.edu/cpr/

2009 College Scholarships for Students with Parents with Disabilities Announcement

Deadline: March 16, 2009

Through the Looking Glass and its National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families are pleased to announce new scholarships specifically for high school seniors and college students who have parents with disabilities. These scholarships are part of Through the Looking Glass' new federal grant (New National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families). Please note that these are new awards and have different application procedures than in the past.

For more information, please use this URL:
http://lookingglass.org/scholarships/index.php

Virtual Trainer Available to Assist Consumers with Health and Fitness

It’s Finally Here!

For the first time ever, you can sign up to receive weekly tips from CDC-funded NCPADʼs Virtual Trainer that will help keep you motivated to stay on track for your health and fitness goals for 2009.

You will gain exclusive access to our physical activity and nutrition experts that can provide personalized guidance to you during this 14-week program.

Weekly tips will include information on topics such as nutrition, workout ideas, fitness equipment, weather, motivation tools, written and video resources, and more. You will also receive forms that will allow you to log your progress as well as ideas for rewarding yourself when you meet your goals.

This 14-week program officially starts on February 14th, so you have plenty of time to fine tune your goals.

So celebrate American Heart Month by recruiting your friends and going to http://www.ncpad.org/14weeks/ to sign up.

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Want information on Federal mental health grants, publications, meetings, policies, programs and other useful material for mental health consumers? Join the CMHS Consumer Affairs Listserv at: http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/listserv/

The Peer Partnership--January 2009

Here is a link to the newest issue of The Peer Partnership for January 2009.

The Peer Partnership--January 2009

Assets for Independence

Assets for Independence (AFI) provides five-year grants to organizations and agencies that enable low-income individuals and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency by accumulating economic assets. Grantees provide financial literacy training to participants and help them save earned income in special matched bank accounts called Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). IDAs enable low-income and low-wealth families to accumulate savings for long-term assets such as a home, a business, or higher education and training. Eligible grantees include community-based nonprofits and State, local and Tribal government agencies and others, such as community development financial institutions and credit unions. A total of $18 million is available to fund 50 – 60 awards. Applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. EST on March 15, June 15, and November 1 annually.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/afi/applying.html

Evaluating Programs to Improve Social Acceptance

SAMHSA’s Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health invites you to register now for a free teleconference training titled, "Evaluating Programs to Improve Social Acceptance of People with Mental Health Issues."

Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM (Eastern Time)

To register for this training teleconference, please click here for our registration page.

Please pass this invitation along to interested friends and colleagues. Please note: Registration for this teleconference will close at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Friday, October 17, 2008.

We will email the telephone number for the training teleconference to all registered participants on Monday, October 20, 2008.

Training Summary

Most programs to promote social acceptance and address public perceptions of people with mental health problems are not evaluated for two primary reasons; (1) there is a knowledge gap regarding how to develop and conduct evaluation efforts and (2) there are a lack of resources (both human and financial) available to most groups and organizations who run stigma reduction activities and programs.

This training will:

• Demonstrate how to evaluate programs, and provide opportunities for linking with individuals who have conducted evaluations of similar efforts.


• Explain the types of things to be considered when developing, planning, and conducting evaluation activities.


• Explain how you may work with evaluators for little or no cost.


• Provide information on collaborating with various universities for help with evaluation design issues that will help generate better results.

Send in Your Questions:

We invite you to send in your questions related to evaluating programs to improve social acceptance of people with mental health issues in advance of the teleconference. Speakers will answer as many questions as possible during the teleconference. Please send your questions by e-mail to promoteacceptance@samhsa.hhs.gov.

Please note that sending a question does not guarantee its inclusion in the teleconference. We will provide the speakers' contact information so that you may pursue your answer after the call. If you provide your name and organization at the time you ask your question, we may use it during the call. Anonymous questions also can be submitted.

Training Sponsor

This teleconference is sponsored by SAMHSA's Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health (ADS Center), a project of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The session is free to all participants.




Subscribe to receive this update by visiting the ADS Center Web Site or by calling an ADS Center representative at 800-540-0320.

SAMHSA Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov

Award-Winning Film about Mental Illness and Suicide, jumping off bridges, Now Available on DVD

The critically acclaimed 2006 movie jumping off bridges, which follows a group of teenagers as they deal with a loss due to suicide, is now available for purchase on DVD. The movie has been praised as realistic and relatable and has been screened in universities across the country.

The makers of the film also partnered with mental health and suicide prevention organizations, and there have been screenings at the National Institutes of Health and Mental Health in Washington, D.C. and The Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga.

To learn more about the movie visit its official Web site.

To buy or rent a copy of the film for screenings for professionals, schools, universities, agencies, community groups or libraries, go to http://www.newday.com/films/jumpingoffbridges.html. The DVD includes a discussion guide.

Public Access TV Show Looks at Mental Health Consumer Movement

Jay Mahler and Sally Zinman, two long-time activists in the mental health consumer movement, were interviewed in June 2008 on the show “Mental Health Matters,” which airs on public access TV in Alameda County, California. The interview is available here.

“Mental Health Matters” focuses on mental health issues, including specific diagnoses, stigma and discrimination, self-help, and peer support. It is hosted by the Rev. Barbara Meyers, produced by Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fremont in Alameda County, California, and recorded at the Comcast studio in Fremont. All the episodes are available online here.

Source: http://www.mpuuc.org/mentalhealth/mentalTVshow.html