Resilient Georgia Resiliency Trends |
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We hope you had a great summer and you were able to spend a lot of time outside!
Research (repeatedly) shows: Mental and physical health are closely linked and interdependent, for children and adults. Among our Resilient Georgia team, we enjoy hiking, yoga, swimming, running, and more as a means to destress and center ourselves – what is your go-to physical activity that also serves as a mental health pick-me-up?
We hope you continue to move your body, indoors or outdoors, to boost your resilience both physically and mentally!
So many of our partners are forging exciting partnerships that support both the physical and mental well-being of children. To name just a few:
On that note: Our upcoming General Meeting will focus on innovative efforts across Georgia at the intersection of physical health and mental health.
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Please mark your calendars for the Fall 2023 Resilient Georgia General Meeting in November. Join us virtually on Thursday, November 9 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. We will send an invite with more details in early Fall and hope to see you then.
Thank you for connecting here, and please check out our new donation page. We appreciate your continued support as we expand our efforts to create an integrated behavioral health system for all Georgia residents.
Sincerely,
Emily Anne Vall, PhD
Executive Director
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This Issue: 3-Minute Read |
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5 things you need to know |
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Hispanic/Latinx Mental Health Resources |
Why it matters: Hispanic/Latinx communities show similar vulnerability to mental illness compared to other communities, but they can often face challenges in accessing care and treatment. Thankfully, these organizations are connecting Hispanic/Latinx communities to culturally relevant care and to each other, helping to strengthen community resiliency.
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Be Vulnerable Series: Sudden Loss |
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- This post offers resources and support for learning to grow around loss.
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Camp Twin Lakes Builds Resilience |
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What's new: Our partner Camp Twin Lakes is building resiliency through intentional programming to help campers build self-efficacy, optimism about life, and ability to learn from mistakes.
Why it matters: Finding a way for all children and young adults to spend their summer immersed in social and emotional learning activities like those provided at Camp Twin Lakes, which serves thousands of children with serious illnesses, disabilities, and adverse childhood experiences, is essential to building their resilience for when they return to the demands of school and life outside of Camp.
Read more: Check out this post in our Be Vulnerable blog series.
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Mental Health Resources for Black Communities |
Why it matters: This new resource includes organizations for connections to therapy and support, social media resources, books, and additional tools and educational resources.
Did you know? National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month just wrapped up in July. Check out our Mental Health Services and Support page with resources for different underserved mental health minority communities
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Colorism, Intersectionality and Black Women's Health |
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What's new: This blog post, authored by public health advocate Brianna Halliburton, provides perspective on:
- Understanding colorism
- Intersectionality and Black women
- The health impact of colorism
- Resilience and combatting colorism
Why it matters: Colorism is a form of discrimination based on skin tone, where lighter-skinned individuals have advantages over those with darker skin tones. Colorism has been linked to negative physical health outcomes in Black people, affecting conditions such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular issues. However, little research has focused specifically on the experiences of Black women and the impact of colorism on their mental health.
Our thought bubble: Colorism is a global phenomenon that has been going on for far too lon g. This is one worth sharing.
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What's new: Resilient Georgia recently welcomed Nikki Warner to the team as our Regional Program Coordinator. A trained mental health counselor, Nikki is passionate about overall health and wellness and believes mental health support should be easily accessible to all.
- Nikki is based in Savannah and previously worked as an academic counselor at Georgia Southern and as a Georgia APEX Project school-based mental health counselor for K-12 students. Nikki is also a poet, and we are so happy she has joined our team!
Why it matters: This newly created position will be integral to our regional coalition building efforts throughout Georgia. Nikki will help track progress across our 16 regional coalitions and celebrate their many accomplishments. She will support our coalitions across their work to prevent and heal childhood adversity, emphasize trauma-informed awareness and care, and promote resilience in children and their families.
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Regional Coalition & Partner News |
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Gateway Community Service Board developed a new fellowship to produce knowledgeable and skilled child psychiatrists. Congratulations to the first fellow, Dr. Zuleimye Valle-Blas, who began training July 2023.
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We were thrilled Resilient Georgia was the July featured partner by the Georgia Association for Infant Mental Health (GA-AIMH). We are proud to partner with GA-AIMH and support the great work they do to help Georgia’s infants and young children reach their fullest potential.
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Rome Floyd County Commission on Children and Youth Executive Director LaDonna Collins describes how her Collaborative is building a “Region of Resilience” in this video interview.
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GEEARS released the new Annual Early Childhood Checkup. This report provides a snapshot of how well our state is meeting the needs of our youngest children—ages birth through five—and their families.
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The Resilient Northeast Georgia Teen Resiliency Summit hosted approximately 245 adults and teens across their region with representation from all 12 of their counties for an incredible day of speakers and panels – including a panel of youth who shared their most pressing mental health needs.
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Congratulations to Resilient and United Communities of South Georgia/Greater Valdosta United Way (and their partners One Sumter Economic Development Foundation and the Georgia Power Company!) Their screenings of the “The Reformation Project” brought 125 people out in Valdosta and 225 in Americus!
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Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies GA launched a Maternal and Child Health data hub for the state. It will serve as a central repository for a wide range of metrics, provide geographic mapping and real-time analytics to help foster collaboration and knowledge sharing for decision-makers, advocates, and mothers.
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Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) is a postgraduate curriculum created by the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.TM) designed to enable clinicians and agencies to provide quality support services for members of the adoption kinship network in Georgia. The next TAC session begins in October, and the early application deadline is Sept 1. Register to attend a TAC information session or complete the program application.
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What's Happening at Resilient Georgia |
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Emily Anne is reminded daily how mental and physical health are intertwined during her evening runs with her son in the jogging stroller!
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Neha is thrilled to begin the Executive Program for Social Innovation Design at University of Pennsylvania and grateful to Resilient Georgia for supporting her time away for this exciting professional development opportunity.
- Side note: We will welcome Neha back with open arms in April 2024 upon her completion of the program.
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“In all things of nature,
there is something of the marvelous"
—Aristotle
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