Consumer Supporter News March - April, 2000

Voter Empowerment Training Takes Place in Long Beach

By Ellen Alderton, NSCTAC Education Specialist

The first Voter Empowerment Project regional training session took place on January 18 with thirteen representatives from seven different states attending a day-long event hosted at the Village, a local integrated service agency in Long Beach, California. The training, organized by the National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center (NCSTAC) of the National Mental Health Association, was based upon the curriculum already developed by Kenneth Steele, the Voter Empowerment Project's founder, and Joseph Glazer, president of the Mental Health Association in New York State.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to take this project to the national level," said Catherine Huynh, NCSTAC project director. "People with mental disorders are among America's most disenfranchised groups, and our efforts to build a mental illness constituency amount to one of the last great civil rights movements." Some 40 million American adults are estimated to experience psychiatric symptoms, and many of these individuals are under the mistaken impression that they are not allowed to vote.

Both Steele and Glazer presented at the Long Beach training, covering such topics as how to set up a campaign advisory board; how to legally and effectively maintain a database of project participants; how to find, educate and register voters; how to get out the vote; and how to tally the number of registrants who actually vote on election day.

In addition, Christine Simiriglia of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania reported from the lessons learned in her own organization's voter empowerment campaign launched in Philadelphia. Patrick Cody of the National Mental Health Association also presented on how to work with the media, emphasizing the importance of an effective media strategy in order to attract registrants, volunteers and potential donors. Ellen Alderton of NCSTAC discussed how participants could train other organizations in their states to launch their own campaigns.

Additional National Voter Empowerment Project trainings will be held in February in Orlando, Florida, in March in Atlanta, Georgia and in June in Washington, D.C. Individuals wishing to learn more about these trainings or who are interested in attending should contact Beth Schaar of NCSTAC at (703)837-4795. Further information is also available on the NCSTAC web site at www.ncstac.org. The National Voter Empowerment Project has been made possible through funding from the Center for Mental Health Services and Janssen Pharmaceutica.

Get Ready: May is Mental Health Month

By Heather Cobb, NMHA Public Affairs Communications Assistant

May is just a few months away, and preparing a Mental Health Month strategy is perhaps the most important investment you can make in coordinating successful events. Much of the strength of Mental Health Month lies in the combination of national and local efforts.

Nationally, the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) and the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) will target this year's events and materials to five primary audiences with the following messages: Mental Health Matters. . . * to Communities, * to Children and Families, * to Healthcare, * to the Workplace, and * to Seniors.

Although the national effort will focus one week in May to each of these targeted audiences through events, materials distribution, and media activities, we encourage participants to modify their activities to fit their local program and legislative priorities or create their own activities and integrate NMHA materials and message points. Most importantly, Mental Health Month materials and ideas can be used throughout the entire year to complement mental health education and advocacy programs.

There are a few steps that can help prepare a strategy for Mental Health Month success.

1. Set a goal. Identify desired Mental Health Month accomplishments. Are you facing a legislative battle, encountering stigma within a particular group of people, or wanting to expand your relationship with the media? Mental Health Month can be a tool to help you reach your larger goal.

2. Identify a target audience. Who do you need to reach with mental health messages in order to achieve your goal --- policymakers, specific demographic groups, the media?

3. Develop a plan to reach that audience. Determine what activities or materials you will need to communicate your messages to the audience you have identified. For example, do policymakers need to hear the messages from local citizens? Then plan a rally at the state capitol or place an OpEd in the newspapers most read by your policymakers.

4. Plan the logistics and publicize your effort. Whether you are distributing materials, hosting an event, or conducting a public service campaign, determine what the specific needs, costs, and tasks are that need to be addressed. Then, solicit the media to help you promote your activities.

5. Evaluate your work. The key to successful public education is evaluating the effort and making changes to enhance your work.

Mental Health Month is also a great opportunity to build new partnerships or strengthening existing collaborations. Working with others allows you to expand the reach of your efforts, supplement your staffing or volunteer base, and build long-lasting relationships with potential advocacy and education allies. It can also lay the groundwork for future service integration and reform.

This year, NMHA has 50 national partners, many with local or regional chapters, who are supportive of Mental Health Month messages and activities. Contacting one or more of these groups could ultimately be your most successful Mental Health Month outreach. Both Mental Health Associations and Community Mental Health Centers are charged with public education and prevention programming as well as advocacy and, in many cases, direct services.

Therefore, these organizations may have expert marketing and public education staff, prevention resources, and existing programs for message dissemination. In addition, these organizations often provide crisis and case management services, so they can serve as Mental Health Month hotlines, referral groups, and, in the case of CMHCs, intake points.

For more information on partnership opportunities with CMHCs, please contact the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare at (301) 984-6200. To locate the MHA nearest you or to order Mental Health Month materials, please contact the National Mental Health Association at (800) 969-NMHA. - end - If room, set in bold: Mental Health Month materials and ideas can be used throughout the entire year to complement mental health education and advocacy programs.

Support: What It's All About!

by Brian Coopper, NMHA Director of Consumer Advocacy

Here at the National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center, helping organizations who support consumers is our mission. My dictionary's definition of support includes the following, "to promote the interest or cause of; to uphold or defend as valid or right; to keep from fainting, yielding, or losing courage; to keep (something) going."

There are many forms of support. For people going through a crisis, just having someone there to listen is usually extremely important. Whether it's a good friend or a crisis intervention center, a good listener on the phone late at night can mean the difference between life and death. For people with mental health problems, support groups and drop-in centers offer opportunities for developing the relationships and camaraderie so essential to maintaining quality of life.

A NETWORK OF SUPPORT A recent message posted on the NMHA "Online Community" Consumer Forum discussion group included the following statement: My message is that I've learned to build a supportive network when I'm well, so that I have somewhere to turn when the light turns to darkness. This can be the difference between experiencing a mild episode and ending up suicidal. Besides developing a personal network of support (friends, family, neighbors), many people derive some of their strongest feelings of acceptance and comfort from people they meet at local support groups.

Some support groups use a multi-step program model such as the 12 Step program used by Alcoholics Anonymous; others are less formally structured, but most are organized around a specific mental health problem a such as depression, schizophrenia or an eating disorder. Compeer programs (www.compeer.org) are very popular among the people who participate in them. Calendar sections of newspapers and organizations such as the Mental Health Association (www.nmha.org/affiliates/index.cfm) in your area should help you locate some of the support groups nearest you.

The Internet has turned out to be a very useful tool for finding information and engaging others in supportive dialogue - the old adage of, "You are not alone" applies now more than ever. There are special software programs known as "listservs" that connect people in group e-mail and online "chat" conversations. NMHA sponsors a number of discussion groups at its web site www.nmha.org - just click on Online Community and Discussion Boards and you will find two options, Consumer Forum and Advocacy Board. Information about starting or improving self-help support groups is available from the National Mental Health Consumers Self-help Clearinghouse at www.mhselfhelp.org or 800-553-4539. Some other sites of interest include the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association (www.ndmda.org, 800-82-NDMDA), Schizophrenics Anonymous (www.sanonymous.org), NAMI (www.nami.org, 800-950-NAMI) and the National Empowerment Center (www.power2u.org, 800-POWER2U).

FROM SUPPORT TO ADVOCACY The term advocacy has come to mean more than personal advocacy. It now includes public education, grass roots organizing, and political activism. Many mental health consumers derive a large amount of personal satisfaction from working to improve the mental health system, and there is a camaraderie that develops when people are working toward a common goal. Many consumers feel compelled to become involved in speaking out at public hearings where decisions about budgets and services are made.

Of course, the ultimate civic involvement is through the political process, and the Consumer Supporter TA Center is now sponsoring the National Voter Empowerment Project. By the time you read this, trainings will have been held in Los Angeles and Orlando, with others to come in Atlanta on March 27 and in Washington, D.C. during the NMHA Clifford W. Beers National Mental Health conference, June 7-10, 2000. For more information on the Voter Empowerment Project, contact our website at www.ncstac.org and click on National Voter Empowerment Project or call us at 800-969-6642.

Integrating consumers and survivors into the Mental Health Association movement is one of NMHA's top goals. This year the NMHA Beers conference will be coupled with Summit 2000: The Second National Summit of Mental Health Consumers and Survivors, on June 6, 2000. A follow-up to last year's highly successful Summit meeting in Portland, Oregon, this joint meeting will give consumers and survivors a chance to gather once again both with each other and with MHA's from around the country. The consensus statements and action plans developed at the first Summit plus more information about Summit 2000 is available from the Clearinghouse's web site at www.mhselfhelp.org.

RECOVERY: INTEGRAL TO OUR LIVES Readers of this newsletter last month saw an article about Mary Ellen Copeland's WRAP program, the Wellness Recovery Action Plan. There are other programs that focus on recovery, such as BRIDGES, or Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals through Education and Support. This program was originated by Tennessee Mental Health Consumers Association in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Mental Health Association of South Mississippi is one place where the BRIDGES programs has been replicated. The recently published Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health (www.surgeongeneral.gov) also includes a discussion on mental health recovery.

HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENTS A supportive work environment can be especially important to workers with a mental health problem. There is nothing better than having a supportive and compassionate supervisor who is willing to work with an employee with a disability to resolve any on-the-job difficulties. There is much information available about how to provide accommodations for employees with disabilities - for starters, try the Job Accommodation Network, a federally-funded center of technical assistance specifically created for this purpose. JAN's telephone number is 800-ADA-WORK, or you can visit their web site at http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu. --end- - end - If space, set in bold: It's true, we all need support at different times in our lives, and the kinds of support we need and how best to get it can be as variable as the weather.

MHA of Maryland Calls for Improved Dual-Diagnosis Services

By Beth Schaar, NCSTAC Resource Coordinator

As part of their Coalitions for Community Care Project, the Mental Health Association of Maryland will meet with members of the Mental Health Coalition later this month in an attempt to finalize the coalition's position on mental health service integration. Currently, the coalition is working to affect systems change by attempting to improve services for mental health consumers who also have problems with substance abuse.

"Given the prevalence of dual-diagnosis in mental health consumers, it is particularly exciting to see the work that the MHA of Maryland is doing to improve service delivery for individuals in need of both mental health and substance abuse treatment," said Catherine Huynh, Project Director of NCSTAC. "Without comprehensive service integration, dually-diagnosed individuals run the risk of not receiving the treatment they need to overcome their illnesses and to lead healthy, fully-productive lives."

Since 1992, the MHA of Maryland has chaired the Mental Health Coalition, a group comprised of mental health and other service agencies for the purpose of coordinated advocacy. Their successes include the passing of mental health parity legislation in 1993 and their ongoing work surrounding the implementation of Maryland's 1115 Medicaid Waiver. Their work, along with the combined efforts of the mental health community, resulted in a required mental health and substance abuse screening for all children in the CHIP and Medicaid programs.

Despite these victories, the coalition noticed a weakness in the healthcare system for low-income individuals: lack of access to substance abuse treatment. Recognizing the lack of coordinated advocacy around substance abuse services and the damaging effects this fragmented care was having on dually-diagnosed consumers, the coalition realized the need to address both substance abuse and mental health issues.

Using funds provided by the NCSTAC Coalitions for Community Care mini-grant, the coalition was able to diversify its membership by conducting outreach to members of the substance abuse and minority communities. Among these representatives are Oscar Morgan, Director of the Department of Mental Health & Hygiene, Vincent De Marco of the Maryland Citizen's Health Initiative, and Lorraine Sheehan of the Maryland Disability Law Center. * end - If room, set in bold: Currently, the coalition is working to affect systems change by attempting to improve services for mental health consumers who also have problems with substance abuse.

Rock River Valley Launches a Broad-Based Coalition

By Ellen Alderton, NCSTAC Education Specialist

The Mental Health Association of Rock River Valley (MHARRV) is knee-deep in the very ambitious project of forming a coalition with organizations from three different counties. This is the first stage in a project that ultimately aims to spread across nine counties in Illinois' Rock River Valley region.According to Lorraine Hoover, MHARRV program chairperson, working with so many organizations - some of whom have not traditionally been concerned with mental health issues - can be challenging. The process requires a great deal of education.

Says Hoover, "each group comes to the coalition with its own particular goals, and unless they are allowed to merge these goals, the coalition can fall apart. We are now in the process of defining our common objectives." At the end of the day, however, Hoover believes that building such a broad-based effort will prove advantageous. "Ultimately, we hope to build a more beneficial and perhaps more powerful coalition."

Organizations that MHARRV is particularly reaching out to include local churches and religious organizations. Although religious groups are traditionally supportive of the mental health cause in other parts of the country, "they have yet to play a strong role in Rock River Valley," says Hoover.

Once the coalition is comfortably in place, MHARRV intends to start delivering products and services. For example, the University of Illinois School of Medicine at Rockford recently conducted a survey of the three coalition counties that included information on mental health services. MHARRV hopes to extend this effort to a survey of mental health consumers, providers, and families throughout the nine county region.

MHARRV also intends to produce a resource manual and leadership guide for consumer advocates in the region and plans to develop a training program to promote a vision of recovery in all aspects of system planning and service provision throughout the region.

The Rock River Valley project is one of five mini-grant recipients receiving $8,000 each as part of the Coalitions for Community Care program funded by NCSTAC and the Center for Mental Health Services. - end - If room, put in bold: Each group comes to the coalition with its own particular goals, and unless they are allowed to merge these goals, the coalition can fall apart.

Grant Opportunities

AmeriCorps provides human resources - up to 12 youths - to help with short projects of six to eight weeks in length. Call the number closest to you for more information: (410) 632-2411, (843) 743-8600, (303) 340-7305, (619) 524-0749, or (202) 561-1382, or visit their web site at www.americorps.gov

The Ittleson Foundation provides grants for innovative, pilot, model and demonstration projects in the mental health field. To apply, send a brief letter to the executive director by April 1, 2000 describing your organization and the work for which funds are being sought, along with a budget and evidence of tax-exempt status. If the activity falls within the current scope of the foundation's interests, you will be asked to supply additional information as required.

Their contact information: Anthony Wood, Executive Director, Ittleson Foundation, 15 East 67th Street, New York, New York, 10021, (212) 794-2008, www.IttlesonFoundation.org/ The Merill Lynch Corporation meets quarterly to decide upon non-profit grantees. Contact ML&C, corporate contributions, 6th Floor, World Financial Center, S. Tower, New York, NY 10080-0614, http://www.ml.com/woml/phil_prog/index.htm

Conferences

The International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services, IAPSRS, dedicated to promoting, supporting, and strengthening community-oriented rehabilitation services and resources for persons with psychiatric disability, will be holding its annual conference May 22 - 26, 2000 in Crystal City, Virginia. NCSTAC will be offering a special workshop on voter empowerment training at this conference. Register by April 1 at: IAPSRS Conference, 10025 Governor Warfield Parkway, #301, Columbia, MD 21044-3357. Only credit card payments may be faxed at (410) 730-5965. IAPSRS Fed ID: 23-2008207; IAPSRS Phone: (410) 730-7190; TTY: (410) 730-1723.

For further information, visit their website at www.iapsrs.org. The National Association of Mental Health Planning and Advisory Councils (NAMHPAC) is holding a conference on Managed Care and the Role of Mental Health Planning and Advisory Councils on March 25 - 26 in Denver, Colorado. Topics to be discussed will include Medicaid, care systems for children, cultural competency and more. To register, or for further information, call NAMHPAC at (703) 684-5968 as soon as possible.

NCSTAC Updates