Recovery Peer Specialists CRPS

Christina Huff Mental Health Hero #MentalHealthMonth

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:59:32 +0000

Please NOTE: This blog is participation in a MENTAL HEALTH MONTH event sharing mental health heroes in connection to Mental Health Humors Cartoon-a-thon. Please help us bring mental illness awareness and eduction all month long by sharing this post with your social network, friend and family.

Thank You.

Christina “Christi” Huff 2013 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon

Drawing by Chato Stewart

Christi, aka The Bipolar Hot Mess, has been blogging in the mental health field since April 2011. She got her start while searching for support with her bipolar disorder because she was feeling quite alone and misunderstood with her illness and what she was going through. This opportunity came by becoming a blogger for the website Ask A Bipolar. Shortly after she started blogging there,… READ MORE

See Your Bonus Drawings by my children.

LP 14 – Sweet Pea 11 - Precious 10 and Belly 7

——Sponsors——

FreeCounselingHelp.com is America’s only directory connecting people with affordable counseling. There are thousands of non-profit agencies within America that are available to help those with limited means. FreeCounselingHelp.com allows people to quickly search by ZIP code and find the best fit for their mental health needs.

Mentalympians is a mental health community development initiative to raise awareness of mental health recovery, inspire hope, reduce self-stigma, foster recovery and also connect individuals who are interested in campaigning for mental health reform.

I would like to thank Enzymedica’s Tom Bohager for his support. Enzymedica is Florida-based founded in 1998 to offer consumers targeted digestive enzymes products. Considered America’s #1 selling enzyme brand sold by health food store retailers. They also offer a FREE Digestive Enzyme interactive education program that is very helpful in learning the benefits enzymes have on our over all health.

Thanks to my wife Joan Winifred for her careening help and compassion for the past 21 years.

Friend me on Facebook @chato B Stewart.

View previous Newsletters.

Bonus My kids’ Drawings:

LP 14*

Sweet Pea 11 * Sweet Pea 11

Precious 10 *Precious 10

Belly 7*Belly 7

David Speicher Mental Health Hero #MentalHealthMonth

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:36:12 +0000

Thank You.

David Speicher 2013 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon

Drawing by Chato Stewart

I worked as a Human Resources Director for over 20 years. I partnered with executives to change culture and minds moving from a harsh bureaucratic system to one with a culture of free will to approach your profession, your job and employee involvement. I also over saw our benefits programs which often had at least minimum coverage for mental health. I also managed our Employee Assistance Programs (ESP)

As a consumer and not being diagnosed until I was 42, I took the … READ MORE

See Your Bonus Drawings by my children.

LP 14 – Sweet Pea 11 - Precious 10 and Belly 7

——Sponsors——

Friend me on Facebook @chato B Stewart.

View previous Newsletters.

Bonus My kids’ Drawings:

LP 14*

Sweet Pea 11 * Sweet Pea 11

Precious 10 *Precious 10

Belly 7*Belly 7

Kathi Stringer Mental Health Hero #MentalHealthMonth

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:16:32 +0000

Thank You.

Kathi Stringer2013 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon

Drawing by Chato Stewart

I was self-employed and a key supplier for Hughes Aircraft. Quality was important. After being hospitalized my focused changed to educating people about performance improvement, quality and corrective action to improve the delivery of mental health services… READ MORE

See Your Bonus Drawings by my children.

LP 14 – Sweet Pea 11 - Precious 10 and Belly 7

——Sponsors——

Friend me on Facebook @chato B Stewart.

View previous Newsletters.

Bonus My kids’ Drawings:

LP 14*

Sweet Pea 11 * Sweet Pea 11

Precious 10 *Precious 10

Belly 7*Belly 7

Linda and Charlie Bloom Mental Health Hero #MentalHealthMonth

admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 04:48:33 +0000

Thank You.

Psych Central’s own Linda and Charlie Bloom are 2013 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon

Drawing by Chato Stewart

Linda and Charlie Bloom are seminar leaders, authors, psychotherapists and consultants and are considered experts in the field of human relations. They have been working with individuals, couples, and groups throughout the country and internationally since 1975 and have been featured speakers at many professional and public conferences. They have made over 200 radio and TV appearances… READ MORE

See Your Bonus Drawings by my children.

LP 14 – Sweet Pea 11 - Precious 10 and Belly 7

——Sponsors——

Bonus My kids’ Drawings:

LP 14*

Sweet Pea 11 * Sweet Pea 11

Precious 10 *Precious 10

Belly 7*Belly 7

Dese Rae L. Stage Mental Health Hero #MentalHealthMonth

admin — Sat, 04 May 2013 01:57:02 +0000

Thank You.

Dese Rae L. Stage 2013 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon

Drawing by Chato Stewart

Dese’Rae L. Stage (link: deseraestage.com) is a Brooklyn-based photographer working on a series of the portraits and stories of suicide attempt survivors called Live Through This (link: livethroughthis.org). Live Through This strips suicide of its anonymity, encourages survivors to own their experiences publicly and proudly, and asks the rest of us, “why not talk about it?” It is the first known project of its kind, exploring a world that has remained a taboo for far too long.

Dese’Rae never knew she wanted to be a photographer. In fact, she completed her Bachelor of Science in… READ MORE

See Your Bonus Drawings by my children.

LP 14 – Sweet Pea 11 - Precious 10 and Belly 7

——Sponsors——

Friend me on Facebook @chato B Stewart.

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View previous Newsletters.

Bonus My kids’ Drawings:

LP 14*

Sweet Pea 11 * Sweet Pea 11

Precious 10 *Precious 10

Belly 7*Belly 7

Kelly Babcock 2013 Mental Health Hero #mentalhealthmonth

admin — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:51:56 +0000

Kelly Babcock 2013 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon

Drawing by Chato Stewart

I wasn’t always that concerned with the welfare of people with mental health issues. I wasn’t actually aware that people with mental health issues needed anyone to be concerned for their welfare.

Then I found out that….. READ MORE

Kelly Music on Reverbnation.com

See Your Bonus Drawings by my children.

LP 14 – Sweat Pea 11 - Precious 10 and Belly 7

——Sponsors——

I would like to thank National Furniture Supply for their support. NFS is a seller of fine Hammary Products.

Bonus My kids’ Drawings:

LP 14*

Sweat Pea 11 * Sweat Pea 11

Precious 10 *Precious 10

Belly 7*Belly 7

Kristi Goldsberry 2013 Mental Health Hero #mentalhealthmonth

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:58:48 +0000

Kristi Goldsberry: 2013 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon

Drawing by Chato Stewart

When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1991, I had no idea recovery was possible! My psychiatrist and other mental health professionals I encountered during the first seven years after my diagnosis referred to my mental illness as though it was a terminal illness. I was encouraged to take my medication, read Kay Redfield Jamison’s books, and…. READ MORE

See Your Bonus Drawings by my children.

LP 14 – Sweet Pea 11 - Precious 10 and Belly 7

——Sponsors——

Bonus My kids’ Drawings:

LP 14* LP 14

Sweet Pea 11 * Sweet Pea 11

Precious 10 *Precious 10

Belly 7*Belly 7

Statewide Information, Referral & Access Line

admin — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:11:13 +0000

March 2013 We are excited to announce the Statewide Information, Referral & Access Line (IR&A). This line provides callers with information and referral resources for children and adults with mental health, behavioral and emotional healthcare needs. The line is available 24/7 to assist with locating mental health providers, finding support groups, connecting callers to information and educational activities and accessing other community resources. We are also here to assist people facing challenges with receiving Medicaid mental health services. The IR&A is sponsored by NAMI Collier CLEAR and the State of Florida, Department of Children and Families. The IR&A line is free of charge and available anytime day or night. The IR&A line is staffed by Certified Peer Specialists who are consumers/peers and caregivers/family members trained to assist individuals with mental health challenges and their family members. Peer Specialists answering these calls are professionals with the shared experience of living with a mental illness and/or caring for a family member with a mental illness. They understand the struggles and challenges that individuals and families face and are able to relate to the caller while providing the information, insight and direction they may need/want. They also communicate the feeling of hope and that recovery is possible. Please click here or email hhawk@namicollier.orgfor our flyer and distribute to those you believe could benefit from this unique support. If you would like to be added to our resource database or provide additional information on your program, agency or services please email the Access Line Coordinator, Heather Hawk at hhawk@namicollier.org We look forward to continued collaboration with you in our efforts to develop leadership among parents, family members and peers to effect statewide system change. Most Sincerely, Heather Hawk Access Line Coordinator Cindy Highsmith Myron CLEAR Program Director Connecting Leadership, Education, Advocacy & Recovery Clearing the Way for Change in Florida Stay Connected Forward this email This email was sent to chatobstewart@yahoo.com by cindy@namicollier.org | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. NAMI of Collier County| 6216 Trail Boulevard| Building C| Naples| FL| 34108

Save the date: Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET)

admin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:43:01 +0000

Save the Date! April 26th “Ask the Doctor” Conference Call with Ray Gonzalez of the Center for Cognition and Recovery Hosted by NAMI’s Medical Director, Dr. Ken Duckworth, M.D. Who: Ray Gonzalez, ACSW, executive director of the Center for Cognition and Recovery (CCR) When: Friday, April 26th, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST Where: Conference call number below To access the toll-free call, please dial: Phone Number: 1-888-858-6021 Access Number 309918# Ray Gonzalez, ACSW, is the Executive Director of the Center for Cognition and Recovery (CCR). Join us as Ray speaks about Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET), which is a form of cognitive remediation therapy. CET is a program developed by Professors Gerard E. Hogarty and Samuel Flesher, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as a treatment to aid in the psychiatric rehabilitation of people recovering from schizophrenia and related illnesses. The CET model views schizophrenia as a neurodevelopmental disorder and works on improving deficits in cognition, increasing social cognition and improving vocational effectiveness. There are now 21 CET program sites across the US with at least four more starting within the next six months. For more information on CET, please visit: www.cetcleveland.org . Ray Gonzalez, ACSW, is a graduate of the Ohio State University School of Social Work. Gonzalez describes himself as an “optimist” with 36 years of experience as a psychiatric social worker. He is a certified CET coach and has been co-leader of four CET groups. Gonzalez has also been a NAMI member for more than 20 years. He conducted a CET workshop at the 2012 NAMI convention in Seattle and will be a speaker at the NAMI convention in San Antonio this June. If you would like to listen to past “Ask the Doctor” calls, including last month’s call with Dr. Mary Ellen Copeland of WRAP, please go to www.nami.org/askthedoctor. Thank you! Jessica W. Hart Program Assistant Policy & Legal Affairs and Child & Adolescent Action Center NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) 3803 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 Arlington, Virginia 22203 (703) 516-0698 jwhart@nami.orgjwhart@nami.org> www.nami.org Judith Evans, Executive Director NAMI Florida, Inc 1030 E. Lafayette St. Tallahassee, Florida 32301 (850) 671-4445 (850) 671-5272 fax

NAMI Membership Deadine April 20

admin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:17:38 +0000

Dear P2P Mentors, Connection Facilitators, Provider Education Teachers and IOOV Presenters, Is your membership current? Please remember that anyone who teaches or presents a NAMI course or Facilitates a NAMI Support Group must maintain membership in NAMI. If your membership has expired, please be sure to renew by April 20th! Thank you all so much for supporting your State office with your dues. Cordially, Carol Weber, M.S. Program Director, NAMI Florida 1030 E Lafayette Street, Suite 10, Tallahassee, FL 32301 850-671-4445 <> 850-671-5272 Fax cweber@namiflorida.org www.namiflorida.org Need to Report Data? Please follow this link: www.nami.org/programdata NAMI Membership Manager Insider is sent on the third Monday of each month to membership staff, all NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates, executive directors, state presidents and the NAMI board. If you know anyone who should be receiving this communication, please email their name, email address, position and affiliate. Annual Membership Deadline THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 20 The Saturday, April 20 membership deadline is quickly approaching! All memberships and corresponding payments must be received by the NAMI office prior to 11:59pm Eastern on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in order to be counted towards your NAMI Affiliate’s vote weight. This year’s vote weights will be determined by the number of Regular and Open Door members your NAMI Affiliate has with an expiration date of April 20, 2013 or later. If you have access to NAMI 360: Any open eBatches in NAMI 360 must be closed and paid for by 11:59pm Eastern on Saturday, April 20 in order for those members to be counted as ON TIME and count towards your NAMI Affiliate’s vote weight. Memberships in any eBatches created prior to the April 20 deadline but not closed and paid until after April 20 will not count towards your NAMI Affiliate’s vote weight. Reminder: Please be sure that each of your eBatches contain 50 members or less in order to ensure that the system does not time out while closing your eBatch. If you have more than 50 members in an eBatch, your eBatch will not close and your payment will not go through. If you receive an error message and/or are unable to close your eBatch, you MUST email us at memberservices@nami.orgor call Elizabeth Monrad (703-516-0684), Amanda Roberts (703-516-7991), or the Member Services Voicemail (1-888-999-6264 menu option 2) and leave a message with the following information: * screenshot or text of the error * when the error occurred * the eBatch number * the exact amount of the eBatch * your intent to pay for the eBatch with a credit or debit card You must email us or leave a voicemail on any one of the three phone numbers above by 11:59PM Eastern on Saturday, April 20 in order for your eBatch to count as on time once we have resolved the problem. Please do NOT change the eBatch after contacting NAMI about the error. Please note: Please do not wait until the end of the week to begin processing memberships. The NAMI office will be closed on Saturday, April 20 so we will return emails and phone calls starting on Monday, April 22. If you do not have access to NAMI 360: Please contact NAMI staff at memberservices@nami.orgor 1-800-950-6264 IMMEDIATELY for information on an alternate method of membership submission. Member information and dues must still be received by 11:59PM Eastern on Saturday, April 20 to count as ON TIME. If you are mailing your payment for memberships, it must be received at our office by Friday, April 19 as our office does not have Saturday delivery. We cannot consider postmarked payments as on time. Our address is: NAMI, Attn: Member Services 3803 N Fairfax Dr, Suite 100 Arlington, VA 22203 If your NAMI State Organization processes memberships for you, please work with them to ensure they have sufficient time to submit your memberships and corresponding payments to NAMI in order to meet the April 20 deadline. There is one remaining NAMI 360 training session that will be held prior to the April 20 deadline. Please sign up for tomorrow’s training so that you can learn the system and process all the memberships you need to before the deadline. If this training session does not fit your schedule, please contact us immediately at memberservices@nami.orgfor an alternate method of membership submission. ________________________________ Voting 2013 Preparation As the voting season for 2013 draws near, please keep the following important dates in mind: * April 20: Deadline for membership submission and payment to NAMI* * May 31: Voting packets received by NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates * June 20: Voting delegate credentialing and absentee voting deadline * June 27: Candidate speeches at NAMI Convention; Candidates visit State Caucuses at NAMI Convention * June 29: Voting at NAMI Convention *Reminder: All memberships and corresponding payments received by the NAMI office prior to 11:59pm Eastern on April 20, 2013 will be counted towards your NAMI Affiliate’s vote weight. For more information about NAMI elections, visit www.nami.org/voting. ________________________________ Updated Contact Information for Voting Packets Needed Voting packets will be mailed at the end of May 2013 to all eligible NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates. In order to make sure you get your voting packet on time, please verify the contact information listed for your organization on NAMI.org. The information listed for our NAMI offices on the “Find Your Local NAMI” section of NAMI.org is being pulled from NAMI 360. If you do not see any contact information or if you see out of date information for your NAMI Affiliate, you can update your contacts in NAMI 360 on the “Edit State/Affiliate Profile” page. If you do not have access to NAMI 360, please fill out our Affiliate Contact Update formand send it to memberservices@nami.org. ________________________________ NAMI 360 Q&A Sessions at 2013 NAMI National Convention in San Antonio Will you be attending the 2013 NAMI National Convention in San Antonio this year? If so, please join us at one of our NAMI 360 Q&A sessions with Jean-Michel Texier, NAMI Chief Information Officer, and Elizabeth Monrad, Information Services Manager. You can drop in to either of the sessions below if you have questions about NAMI 360 or would like to see how specific sections of the system work: Friday, June 28 from 1-2pm Central Sunday, June 30 from 7:30-8:30am Central The location of the sessions will be posted in the Convention program. ________________________________ Making Purchases in the NAMI Store We have gotten several questions about making purchases on behalf of NAMI State Organizations or NAMI Affiliates in the online NAMI Store. Please keep the following tips in mind when shopping for your NAMI office on NAMI.org: 1. If you need to purchase items in the NAMI Store on behalf of your NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate, you must have a leader role in the system at that organization (Volunteer, Staff, President, etc.). 2. You must log in to NAMI.org before going to the NAMI Store. 3. Click on your name, which will be highlighted and underlined in the shopping cart on the right-hand side of the screen. 4. A new page will appear that will display a drop-down box, choose your NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate from that box and press Change Customer. Once you complete this process, you will be able to purchase on behalf of your organization and the shipping address for you materials will be the organization’s designated address. If you have problems while following the above steps, contact memberservices@nami.org. If you have problems with an order or have questions about the products in the NAMI Store, please contact store@nami.org. ________________________________ NAMI Sending Email Renewal Notices in 2013 NAMI has begun emailing renewal notices to the members of any NAMI Affiliate that has opted to have them come from the NAMI office. If a NAMI Affiliate chooses to have NAMI send renewal notices, their members will receive two emails from NAMI before their expiration date and two after they have expired reminding them of the benefits of their membership and how to renew online. Please note: NAMI renewal notices will only be sent by email—not by mail. If your office opts for NAMI to send renewal notices on your behalf, your members who do not have an email address in NAMI 360 will not receive a notice. You will need to contact those members separately regarding their renewal. With the April 20 membership submission and payment deadline quickly approaching, we want to help you process the majority of your renewals before that time to ensure you have the highest member count possible. The NAMI email renewal notices will include instructions on renewing online so your members can do it quickly and easily. To indicate which organization (NAMI, the NAMI State Organization, or the NAMI Affiliate) you wish to have send the renewal notices, follow the steps below: * If you have access to NAMI 360, go to the “Edit State/Affiliate Profile” area in NAMI 360, click on the “Edit Information” link and choose from the “Renewal Notices Sent by” drop-down menu. * If you do not have access to NAMI 360, you can use the Affiliate Contact Update Formto communicate your renewal notice preferences. Send the completed form to memberservices@nami.org. Starting this month, NAMI plans to continue to send email renewal notices to members from NAMI Affiliates who have set the NAMI 360 Affiliate Renewal Flag to “NAMI” as well as for those NAMI Affiliates who have not set the renewal flag to any value yet. We will continue to exclude members for those offices who have set the Renewal Flag to “State” or “Affiliate” thus indicating that they have opted to send the renewal notices themselves instead of NAMI. We believe this approach is in the best interest of NAMI as a whole because we want to make sure each member is alerted when his/her membership expires and give him/her an easy opportunity to renew. Please contact memberservices@nami.orgif you have any questions about these renewal notices. ________________________________ NAMI 360 Training Schedule NAMI 360 training began in late May 2012, and we have continued to hold multiple trainings each month since then. Training is mandatory in order to use the system. NAMI 360 users will need a unique email address in order to have their account set up and correctly linked to their record in the database. Please note: Only attendees who were pre-approved by their NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate President or Executive Director will receive access to the system after the training. If multiple people at one office want to be trained, they will all need to register separately even if they are all interested in attending the same training in order to receive access. To sign up for a NAMI 360 training, please complete the following steps: * Click the training link provided here and select ONLY ONE training date and time*. NAMI 360 Online Trainings *Only a few sessions are posted at a time, so please check back if you do not see a time that works for you. * Complete the registration form. NAMI staff will contact your NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate President or Executive Director for final approval. * Once your training registration has been approved by that person*, you will receive an email confirmation containing a link to the training session. *PLEASE NOTE: if your registration is not approved, you will NOT be able to attend the training you signed up for. There is one remaining NAMI 360 training session that will be held prior to the April 20 deadline. Please sign upfor tomorrow’s training so that you can learn the system and process all the memberships you need to before the deadline. If this training session does not fit your schedule, please contact us immediately at memberservices@nami.orgfor an alternate method of membership submission. NAMI 360 trainings will resume after the April 20 membership deadline with less frequent trainings. Please check the registration page for new training dates after April 20. ________________________________ Update on Standardized Dues Individual Versus Family Memberships There have been several questions recently regarding individual versus family memberships. All NAMI memberships are individual, with the possibility of associating family members to that individual membership via NAMI 360. According to the NAMI bylaws, even though a family of individuals can join under one membership, they are still considered ONE individual – “…family of individuals living in one household that is counted as one for the purposes of paying dues and voting.” This same language is present in many NAMI State Organization and NAMI Affiliate bylaws as well. There are many reasons for this policy, but prominent among them is that this enables the organization to compile a “clean” count of members. A clean count is useful in numerous settings, but is essential to establish vote weight for all national elections. Membership Application Templates NAMI has made available for all NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates various membership application templates recognizing the move to the Standardized Dues structure implemented by the NAMI Board of Directors in July 2012. These templates are available on the NAMI website in the Center for Excellence, and are designed to be customizable to include the approved NAMI logos, text about the NAMI services provided by the State Organization and Affiliate, contact address and photos in some cases. Please feel free to access these templates and use them as needed in re-designing your membership applications in its various forms. You will find these templates in the Membership and Dues section of the Center for Excellence’s websitein the last subsection titled Membership Forms Templates. Questions about either of these topics? Please contact Bob Scott at bobscott@nami.org. ________________________________ Discuss What You’ve Read with the Information Services Team We will be holding a conference call on the fourth Monday of each month to give readers the opportunity to discuss the content of that month’s newsletter. When: Monday, April 22 at 2 pm Eastern (1 pm Central, Noon Mountain, 11 am Pacific) Where: 1. Dial 1 (888) 858-6021 2. Enter conference code 703 524 7600# when prompted Please note: This is a different conference code from previous months. Judith Evans, Executive Director NAMI Florida, Inc 1030 E. Lafayette St. Tallahassee, Florida 32301 (850) 671-4445 (850) 671-5272 fax