December, 2021
'The Voice' is Families Together in New York State's monthly newsletter with information that is important to families, and youth across the State of New York.
For further information visit our website:
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Happy Holidays & a Happy New Year from Families Together in New York State! |
KASHA MORGAN
Kasha Morgan is a certified Family Peer Advocate -C. She is also the parent of three children, of which two were diagnosed at an early age with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. She has been working for Mental Health America of Dutchess County as a Family Peer Advocate for eighteen years. She is committed, dedicated, and passionate about partnering with children and families to assist them with finding their voice. She has served on the Dutchess County Mental Hygiene Board. She currently is a member of the Child and Youth
sub-committee for the Mental Hygiene Board. In 2006 she received the Parent Advocate of the Year Award by the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association in New York State. In 2013 she received the Kathy Decker Claiming the Children Award by the Dutchess County Children's Mental Health Awareness Week Planning Committee. Kasha continues to take trainings to increase her knowledge. She continues to share her personal story and knowledge to influence the system and empower families.
Fun Fact:
Kasha loves to play bingo
and cook for her family.
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FANS Technical Assistance Office Hours
Multiple Dates
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Virtual Rally For Behavioral Health
Tuesday, December 21st, 2021
11:00 AM
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Family Empower-ment Month
February 2022
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Virtual Training for FPA Professional Credential |
1-hour Orientation:
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
4-Day Training:
February 14-17, 2022
9:30 AM to 2:00 PM each day
Continue with registration ONLY if:
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You hold a current FPA Provisional Credential; and,
- You have completed ALL of the Level 1 and Level 2 online modules; and,
- You are currently providing services that fill within the role of a FPA (employed or formal volunteer); and,
- You are available to participate in the full training along with weekly coaching calls (schedule TBD).
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Join families and young people across New York State for a month of virtual advocacy about topics and issues that are important to you!
This year, we kick the month off with the Family Empowerment Day General Session on February 1st at 11am! Join fellow advocates to learn about the FTNYS Policy Priorities and participate in breakout sessions to prepare for the townhalls.
Our zoom townhall events are also making a return, but this time, they will be spread throughout the month of February. Town Halls are a chance for families and youth to share their perspectives with state commissioners and legislators.
Schedule so far:
Week 1: February 1st-4th
Family Empowerment Day
Tuesday, February 1st, 2022 at 11:00 A.M.
Mental Health Townhall
TBD
Addiction & Recovery Townhall
TBD
Week 2: February 7th-11th
Child Welfare Townhall
TBD
Youth Justice Townhall
TBD
Week 3: February 14th-18th
Developmental Disabilities Townhall
TBD
Education Townhall
TBD
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VIRTUAL RALLY FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH!
Join us on Tuesday, December 21st at 11:00 to rally for Behavioral Health! Help us make some noise as we call for 5.4% COLA and $500 million for workforce, service, and support. Tag a friend to attend the virtual rally together. #OurShareforCare #FundBehavioralHealth.
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Addressing the COVID-19
Delta Surge
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Resources for families affected by COVID-19; Prioritizing mental and physical health while staying home.
Families Together is here to help.
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2021 FTNYS Digital Advocacy Center
Stay up-to-date with all our advocacy efforts and use emails, social media, and phone calls. We might have to stay home, but our advocacy doesn't have to.
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Spotlight of The Month
Katrina Hazell
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Katrina Hazell embodies advocacy and leadership in every way, shape, and form. As a young adult with lived experiences, she has used those experiences to not only create a path for herself but to help create an easier path for others with similar experiences. Katrina is the recipient of many awards and a member of several networks and advocacy groups with focuses on helping young people with disabilities. Katrina is also the creator of the Disability Champions Mentoring Network, a community that builds bridges, supports relationships, transitions to adulthood, and equitable opportunities. Thank you for all that you have done and what you will continue to do as a change agent. Keep up the amazing work.
Thank you for all of your dedicated work Katrina!
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There are three openings at Families Together in NYS, Inc., Youth Power, which is the statewide network of young people who have been labeled and are seeking change. Through peer-to-peer mentoring, we empower young people to be active citizens that are aware of government operations, their rights, and the ability to use their voices to influence policies, practices, regulations, and laws.
POSITIONS AVAILABLE:
TEMPORARY- Part-time - Western Regional Youth Partner
Full Time - Grant Funded - NYC Regional Youth Partner
Full Time - Long Island Regional Youth Partner
APPLICATION PROCESS: Applicants must send a resume with a formal cover letter, outlining their lived experience as a youth as described in the qualifications above, to employment@ftnys.org in order to be considered.
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Join the Youth Power Advisory Council |
Youth Peer Meetings Are Here for You! |
Join Our Peer Supervisors Meetings |
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IT'S TIME TO MEET
OUR PARTNERS!
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NORTHERN REGIONAL CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING
Your Disability Rights and Resource Center
The services that NRCIL provides are all aimed at assisting those with disabilities to live in integrated communities with supports. FTNYS assists NRCIL with those supports by providing training to NRCILs Advocates and Supervisors. Below is a write-up from NRCIL about that training.
Northern Regional Center for Independent Living (NRCIL) is proud to recommit to the Family Assessment of Needs and Strengths (FANS). As leaders of the Family Support teams at NRCIL, Jennifer Sibley and Karen Boliver understand the importance of an assessment tool that provides for the family voice to be heard. The FANS tool is an important part of the engagement and empowerment piece that a Family Peer Advocate (FPA) utilizes when meeting with a family to understand and set goals with the family to meet needs.
On October 26, NRCIL’s Family Support Team from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties gathered to host Nancy Craig, Director of Community and Systems Engagement and Parent Advisor Liaison for Families Together in New York State. We gathered for a one day training to assist our FPA’s to recommit to the FANS tool. Prepared with questions and experiences unique to our North Country families, our teams of FPA’s were able to utilize our time with Nancy to discuss the best way to utilize the FANS tool. We are energized to work with families and assist them to develop meaningful goals and treatment plans. Our team walked away from this valuable training with a renewed commitment to utilize the FANS tool to help families achieve their goals and become fully empowered to be the best versions of themselves that they can be and remove any barriers to success.
Since our time with Nancy, we have increased the number of completed FANS assessments and most importantly, our FPAs have increased their confidence in helping families establish and accomplish their goals with measurable outcomes. We would like to thank Nancy Craig, as well as our Central New York Parent Advisors Kathleen Liedka and Susan Lewis, for sharing their time, knowledge and expertise with us.
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New York’s FREE and confidential COVID-19 Emotional Support Helpline
1-844-863-9314
8:00am – 10:00pm / 7 Days per week
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As New York State welcomes refugees from Afghanistan, it is critical that New York’s mental health providers are aware of the circumstances that recent refugees are likely to be affected by, and best practice approaches to serving them. New York State’s Office of Mental Health has created the attached resources for mental health providers and refugees themselves, to provide needed information about accessing high quality mental health resources and supports.
Translations available below.
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EMPOWERING FAMILIES. COORDINATING SYSTEMS.
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