OUR 2019
AWARD WINNERS
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RECIPIENT OF THE HELEN REDDY JOHNSON
MEMORIAL AWARD FOR
VALUING EVERY CHILD AND FAMILY
Katelyn came to us and asked how she and Families as Allies could partner to support family and children, and the result was the video above (click on photo to access). We are so grateful to Katelyn and hope our partnership will continue. Please share her video with others.
RECIPIENT OF THE RUSTY TURNER
MEMORIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Julio's passion is to build an optimal system of care for his fellow Mississippians by collaborating with physicians, hospitals, payors, public and private entities to create innovative pathways and models of care. We honor Julio for his work on Mississippi's Integrated Care for Kids (INCK) application.
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ECIPIENT OF THE PARTNERSHIP AWARD
Balch & Bingham is receiving this award for its ongoing support of Families as Allies and its generous donation of pro bono work this year. The firm's guidance has definitely helped Families as Allies come closer to reaching our goals and their support and belief in our mission means the world to us.
RECIPIENT OF THE
ACCOUNTABILITY
AWARD
Jeff is a staff writer for the Associated Press. This award recognizes Jeff for his consistent, thorough and accurate reporting over the past year about Mississippi's mental health system, and for his tweeting during the recent federal trial, which allowed people who could not attend stay updated.
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Families Who Live
In The Delta
Is your child seen by a nurse
practitioner or family doctor? Do you think that person might like some extra support from a child psychiatrist or psychologist?
That help is now
available through the
CHAMP (Child Access to Mental Health and Psychiatry) Project. Check out CHAMP's brochure here and share it with the person who provides your child's medical care.
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THANK YOU FOR MAKING FAMILIES AS ALLIES A WINNER!
Please buy your gift cards
at Bravo, Broadstreet and
Sal & Mookie's starting November 15 and designate Families as Allies as your charity! Thank you to
Mangia Bene Restaurant Group for its support.
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ANNOUNCING OUR NEXT LEADERSHIP TRAINING
IN TUPELO ON
SATURDAY, NOV. 23rd
This training is for all parents and parent peer support specialists in the Tupelo area. The training will take place on Saturday, November 23rd, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
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The National Federation of Families
for Children's Mental Health is excited to be celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year! You are invited to participate in the Federation's
"30 for 30" Campaign by making a donation of $30 to honor its 30 years of service representing the
national voice of children, youth,
parents and families.
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Please join us in
Supporting the MCCD
Click photo for more information
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Quick Links
SHOP WITH US!
 News
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OUR 6TH ANNUAL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP CELEBRATION!
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CLICK ON PHOTO TO SEE ALBUM
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WHAT A NIGHT!
Last Monday night we held our Sixth Annual Community Partnership Celebration and as usual had a wonderful time with families, friends, award winners and sponsors. You can learn more about our award winners and why we honored them in the left hand column. Thanks to all who joined us, and thanks to those of you who have supported us in so many ways over the years. Of course, we would also like to thank Bravo for the wonderful job they do every year and for their delicious food.
But we especially want to thank our generous sponsors and hosts, who make the evening possible and help us further our mission.
Thanks to our silver sponsor Youth Villages, our bronze sponsors Hapax Creative, Dr. Jon Corey Jackson,
Dr. Chasity Torrence, and Drs. Howard Roffwarg and
Joy Hogge, and to our hosts, A2Z Printing, The Center For Children and Families, Community Student Learning Center, Mr. Jonathan Compretta and Dr. Caroline Ellender Compretta, Disability Rights Mississippi, Hinds Behavioral Health, Hinds County Human Resources Agency, Jackson Free Press, Mississippi Psychiatric Association, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Townes and Jan Townes, and Ms. Janet Van Suntum.
If you missed the celebration and would like to feel like you were there, check out the program and our 2019 impact report, as well as this video of the evening. If you would like to donate, you can do so here. Please note that sponsorships (any donation $1,000 and over) are acknowledged throughout the year in our print and
social media.
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STATEWIDE CANDIDATES SHARE THEIR STANCES ON
MENTAL HEALTH
At the beginning of October we sent out this question about mental health in Mississippi to the candidates for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and Treasurer:
We asked them to frame their responses in light of
Judge Carlton Reeves' ruling in the US Justice Department's lawsuit against Mississippi'e mental health system. For your reference, the ruling begins with an overview of the issues, information about costs of services begins on page 45 and the lawsuit's relationship to Medicaid expansion is explained in a footnote on the bottom of page 51.
Those candidates who responded are shown below. To read their responses just
click on their photo. If you would like a PDF of all the responses
click here.
All responses are printed verbatim and our publication of the responses does not imply
that we agree with them or that they are factually correct.
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| Delbert Hosemann |
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Jay Hughes |
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Jennifer Riley Collins |
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| Johnny Dupree |
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We reached out to these candidates multiple times throughout October, but did not receive their responses by the time of publication:
Lynn Fitch, Michael Watson, David McRae and Addie Green.
We urge everyone to vote this Tuesday, November 5.
You can find more information about voting
here
. Families as Allies does not endorse candidates.
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SUN HERALD COMMUNITY FORUM ON MENTAL HEALTH
On October 22nd Executive Director Joy Hogge participated in a community forum on mental health that was sponsored by the Sun Herald. Dr. Hogge joined Anita Lee, investigative reporter for the Sun Herald, Dr. Julie Teater, a psychologist who practices in the Gulf Coast region and Troy Peterson, Sheriff of Hancock County. The forum was moderated by Lauren Walck, Senior News Editor at the Sun Herald.
The event was well attended, with nearly 100 participants filling the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies auditorium, including some Gulf Coast elected officials. Many of those
who came were concerned about the future of mental health care in the Gulf Coast region, especially given the uncertain future of Gulf Coast Mental Health.
We know there are many challenges ahead but were encouraged by the number of community members who attended and were passionate about finding solutions.
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UPDATE ON THE
DOJ vs. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
MENTAL HEALTH LAWSUIT
On September 3rd
Judge Carlton Reeves issued his
Memorandum and Order in the case of the
United States vs. Mississippi regarding the state's mental health system. Judge Reeves found in favor of the United States. He ordered the parties to submit, within 30 days, three names of potential special masters and a proposal for the special master's role.
On October 3rd each of the parties submitted their list of potential special masters and their proposal for the special master's role.
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Reflections on Reform |
The National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health asked me to share my thoughts on implications for all states as a result of Mississippi's recent mental health lawsuit and trial. You can read what I wrote (and lots of other good information) in the Federation's
October 2019 Legislative and Advocacy Update.
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How to Talk to Children About their Mental Health: An Age by Age Guide from MSN.com
Click the photo to access the Guide
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