To honor World Mental Health Day, Light & Unite RED Week, and Substance Abuse Prevention Month, a range of Milwaukee youth-serving organizations, advocates, and coalitions joined together on October 10 to present two virtual youth summits to engage and uplift our community’s young people. The summits stressed the benefits of living substance free, setting and achieving positive personal goals even during a pandemic and social unrest, and reaching out to trusted peers and adults who can help during times of stress and crisis.

Tobacco, COVID-19, and substance abuse were the topics of a recent online forum hosted by the Hispanic Tobacco Prevention Network (HTPN) and the City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance. The forum combined overviews about how substance use and COVID-19 are impacting Milwaukee's Latinx community, as well as a discussion with the candidates running for the Near South Side Assembly District, Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D) and Angel Sanchez (R), on how they would handle policies related to these public health issues. Read the recap and view the presentation slides at this link.

Researchers at UWM are conducting a study to look at positive and stressful experiences in intimate LGBQ+ relationships. Eligible individuals identify as LGBQ+, are between 18 and 25, drink alcohol, and are in a dating relationship. Earn up to $400 for your participation! Get details at this link.

The Parent Network is offering a slate of evidence-based Triple P Workshops designed to strengthen parents’ skills. October classes include Developing Good Bedtime Routines, Taming Temper Tantrums, The Power of Positive Parenting for Grandfamilies, and Managing Fighting and Aggression. Get the schedule and sign up at this link.

Many people who live with a mental illness struggle to find and maintain safe, accessible, affordable housing. Access to housing is key to maintaining recovery. This virtual forum will explore opportunities to expand access to housing, tenant rights including disability related accommodations, and resources to support consumers with maintaining housing. The forum will be held on October 13 from 2:30 to 5 p.m. and will include presentation of the 2020 Karen Avery Award and the Marie C. Perry Rising Leader Award. Register at this link.

Experience Community Building, a unique form of self-care, and learn tools to listen with greater depth and empathy. Click here for more information and to register.

The presentations and Q&As will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. on October 14 on Zoom and recorded and broadcast live on Facebook for future viewing. For your protection, you can choose not to share your screen and/or name during the event. Please contact jtriblett@communityadvocates.net if you have concerns about being recorded. Get details and register here.

Plastic-Free MKE is partnering with their coalition member Wisconsin Conservation Voters for their October meeting. Join the Zoom meeting on October 14 at 5:30 p.m. RSVP at this link.

Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communication and the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism welcome Washington Post reporters Sari Horwitz and Scott Higham to discuss their series "The Opioid Files," which explores unknown aspects of this tragically familiar topic. A finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and winner of Marquette’s O'Brien Fellowship journalism award, this groundbreaking, data-driven reporting used previously hidden government records and confidential company documents to provide unprecedented insight into America’s deadly opioid epidemic. The records and meticulous reporting showed the full scope of the crisis, and revealed which manufacturers benefited from an overwhelming dependency throughout the country. This online presentation will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 15. Get details and register at this link.

The 2020 Morris Fromkin Memorial Lecture will be presented by Lynne Woehrle (Director, Master of Sustainable Peacebuilding Program, UWM College of Nursing) and Darryl Davidson (Director, City of Milwaukee Community Engagement Achievement Collaborative) on behalf of a collaborative team of five other UWM community members. Recipients of a 2019 UWM Collaborative Team Grant, the scholars are working "to create a historical framework for understanding racism in Milwaukee, providing an overview of how the city and county has addressed racism and health over the last 50 years, and how these efforts can best be understood through the lens of nursing, public health, political science, and social justice." RSVP by emailing libspecial@uwm.edu.

The theme of the online American Public Health Association’s 2020 annual meeting and expo is "Creating the Healthiest Nation: Preventing Violence." Attendees will have 24/7 access to all meeting sessions during or beyond the dates of the meeting. Get details and register here.

How can we reduce the burden of cancer for everyone? The virtual 2020 Wisconsin Cancer Summit will bring together health system leaders, public health advocates, policy makers, researchers, and other partners from across our state who are working to fight cancer by using the Wisconsin Cancer Plan as their blueprint for action. The summit will be held online from 12 noon to 3 p.m. on October 28 and 9 a.m. to 12 noon on October 29. Get details and register at this link.

Aurora Health’s four-week smoking cessation program, Freshstart, is offered at no cost and teaches participants how quit smoking and not be dependent on nicotine, from the comfort of their own home. Sessions will be held on Wednesdays, 3 to 4 p.m., from October 28 through November 18 on Zoom and are sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Register by emailing Laurie.dlouhy@aah.org.

Working with kids in today’s digital world has never been so complex, and keeping up with the latest social media trends can seem like a never-ending challenge. In this pandemic school year, many teens and young adults have found online tools to be the critical lifeline for promoting and maintaining community. At the same time, our current learning environments also play host to many distractions, including social media. Noted author and educator Ana Homayoun helps parents and educators understand the new world of social media socialization, and provides practical tips on how we can all work to make better choices around social media use and overall wellness. This presentation will be held at 12 noon on Monday, November 2, and is sponsored by University School of Milwaukee and REDGen. Register here.

Learn about best practice youth cessation interventions and the evidence-based resources available to assist, presented by Dr. Michael Fiore, MD, MPH, MBA, Director, Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The webinar will be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, November 5. No registration is required. Please note: you may need to download WebEx application software and/or may have the option to run a temporary application in order to join. Please test your connectivity prior to the start of the webinar. Log into the webinar at this link. For more information, please contact Allison Gorrilla (agorrilla@ctri.wisc.edu). 

The Western Massachusetts Recovery Learning Community (RLC) is presenting this online training on "When Conversation Turns to Suicide" with the main purpose of supporting people who are interested in learning about and using the Alternatives to Suicide approach in 1:1 and other settings beyond groups. The RLC is asking participants to apply for a spot by October 21 at this link.

SAMHSA provides training and technical assistance for behavioral health issues that are relevant to the current pandemic. Resources touch on aiding community leaders during a crisis, eating disorders, serious mental illness, anxiety, and patient privacy. Access the latest resource sheet here.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a new mobile app, My Mental Health Crisis Plan, which allows individuals who have serious mental illness (SMI) to create a plan to guide their treatment during a mental health crisis. The app was developed through SMI Adviser, a project funded by SAMHSA and administered by the American Psychiatric Association. 

The app provides an easy, step-by-step process for individuals to create and share a psychiatric advance directive (PAD). A PAD is a legal document that includes a list of instructions and preferences that the individual wishes to be followed in case of a mental health crisis, should they not be able to make their own decisions. 

My Mental Health Crisis Plan App is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play. Get details and download the app at this link.

If you are sick of cigarette litter fouling up your living area, get some help from Hold On To Your Butt MKE. They’re offering do it yourself cigarette butt receptacles and clean up kits for your use. Click here for details and to order.

The City of Milwaukee Health Department launched "Ask MHD" to respond to questions about COVID-19. Email askmhdcovid19@milwaukee.gov to ask your question.

If you are looking for where to get food right now, visit 211 Wisconsin, dial 211, or text your ZIP code to 898211. FoodShare is another great way to get the food you need for your family! If you are interested in applying to receive EBT benefits, please visit Wisconsin's Access website. Find more information from Hunger Task Force.

Community Advocates' COVID-19 Resource Pages:

We update these pages frequently. If you have a resource you'd like us to share, please email lkaiser@communityadvocates.net.

Home To Stay is a new website full of resources for people returning from incarceration developed by the Milwaukee County Community Justice Council’s Milwaukee Reentry Council and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. New entries are being added, so check this site often.

The 2020 Census is underway and the most important thing you can do is respond when you receive your invitation. Responding now will minimize the need for the Census Bureau to send census takers out into communities to follow up. Go to my2020census.gov to be counted.