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June 14, 2023

The Ally: "Accept. Advocate. Act."
 

This week we share with you two videos and one report. We hope they will be meaningful and helpful to you.

The first video is our May 31 Families as Allies Live! In it, we discuss Medicaid re-enrollment resuming (make sure Medicaid has your current address!), peer support, and how we can all support each other over the summer. The second video is a recording of the National Federation of Families' Children's Mental Health Acceptance Event: "Accept. Advocate. Act." In it, parents speak out about genuine and timely topics, including bullying, school issues and youth suicide.

Bill Rosamond, coordinator of mental health accessibility, and his team recently released their final report from 2022. We hope you will take time to read it. While it focuses primarily on adults, it gives insights into how the mental health system can be more responsive as a whole.

Don't forget there's still time to sign up for the next virtual parent peer support training from July 17- 21. The application deadline is June 19. We hope all current parent peer supporters will join us for our monthly coaching and support Zoom meeting on Wednesday, June 14, at noon. We will discuss the peer support recertification process and ideas for continuing education for parent peer supporters that we're considering. We want to hear from you what would be most helpful to you. 
Please check out our events calendar for more training and support activities. 

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NEWS
 
Bill Rosamond, Coordinator of Mental Health Accessibility, recently released his monitoring report for October - December 2022.
 
On May 31, 2023, the Families as Allies team visited Facebook and Youtube for "Families as Allies Live," our "every-fifth-Wednesday" livestream.
 
In this video, parents describe their journeys to promote acceptance of their children and their mental health challenges.

EVENTS
 
For any parents supporting other parents in any system. Parent peer support specialists, parent consultants, parent educators and parents who have completed parent peer support training are strongly encouraged to attend. We will discuss current trends in parent peer support, national standards for...
 
Technology Tools for Today 2023! How technology helps individuals with disabilities live independent lives.
 
The Mississippi Board of Mental Health Meeting will be on June 15th in person at North MS State Hospital in Tupelo.
 
This hour is open for any family member to drop in for all or some of the time to ask questions or get feedback about IEP issues and other school situations. We ask anyone who stops by to respect the confidentiality of the group and not share anything discussed in the group outside of the group.
 
The Mississippi Autism Advisory Committee will meet on June 20th in person at the Department of Mental Health.
 
Gain an understanding of current policy issues and opportunities for leadership training graduates to serve on decision-making committees.
 
This conversation is for anyone working with parents providing peer support to other parents in any system, such as Children's Services Directors, MAP Team Coordinators, Care Coordinators and Center Directors.
 
Join other parents for a monthly meeting and online gathering to coach and support other parents in any system.
 
The Council on Developmental Disabilities will meet on July 13th in person at the Hampton Inn in Oxford MS.
 
Parent peer support is a parent/caregiver or using their lived experience to support others going through similar experiences.
 
The National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN) will hold its National Conference from August 14-16, 2023 in Atlanta, GA with a pre-conference training to be held on August 13.

RESOURCES
 
The creator of the venerable children's show "Arthur" is developing a new series for preschoolers that features characters with disabilities and is about embracing differences.
 
Jackson area law enforcement concerned about closure of St. Dominic mental health facility, say could result in people who need help being jailed.
NIEER Early Intervention - Looking at Equity
 
Disability advocates are hailing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case that they feared could lead to severe restrictions on the rights of people who rely on Medicaid and other government programs.

Job Opening: Behavior Specialists
 
The Mississippi Achievement School District seeks to employ two (2) behavior specialists to assist staff, students, and their families with mental health support within the school setting. If you want to work in a fast-paced, rewarding, and collaborative environment, please visit masd.k12.ms.us. to apply.