Bringing Family Lived Experience To You

Accept, Advocate, Act

April 29, 2024 | Volume 2, Issue 8

May is Mental Awareness Health Month (MHAM), during which we celebrate Children’s Mental Health Acceptance Week (CMHAW). This long-standing campaign, beginning in 1992, evolved to Acceptance Week twenty years later, in 2022. Look for daily posts this month on our social media channels that celebrate these two campaigns and recognize the importance of mental health. Themes for each week during May are as follows.

• The History and Importance of MHAM and CMHAW
• Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week
• Support for Family Members
• Resources Across the Lifespan
• Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges

This year's CMHAW theme "Lighting the Path to Social Justice for Children and Youth" will be recognized through our interactive path to social justice launching on May 6th. Visit the Acceptance Week page to "light the path" by learning what you can do to promote acceptance in your state and/or community. Each set of steps highlights information and resources designed to help you #AcceptAdvocateAct on behalf of children, youth, and families across the country.

May 16th is Mental Health Action Day! We're collaborating with Inspiring My Generation and Active Minds on a special activity for Action Day this year, Messages of Hope. Learn how you can share message(s) of hope for children, youth, families, and other community members in need of our acceptance and support. Please share the Messages of Hope flyer widely in your networks and on social media too!

Beginning in 1992, Children’s Mental Health Acceptance Week, previously known as Awareness Week, has a long history. Join us on Wednesday, May 8th from 2:00 - 3:00 pm ET for a rich discussion about the history, evolution, and future of this important campaign as we pass the torch from SAMHSA’s mental health champion Liz Sweet (retired) to Carol Cecil (incumbent). Learn more about how you can promote the message of acceptance of mental health challenges for children, youth, and families. 

Take the May 31 Days of Advocacy Challenge



Advocacy is one of the ways we work to make lasting change. As part of the Mental Health Acceptance Campaign, we are asking you to commit to spending some time each day honing your advocacy skills. Our 2024 May Advocacy calendar is now available! This day-by-day calendar provides daily activities to help you:

• Discover the roots of our advocacy efforts. Learn about the history of NFF and advocacy, the campaign shift to Acceptance, and about Social Justice in mental health, so that you can share the message with others.
• Identify your personal voice and story to share as an advocate. Personal stories have a powerful impact with legislators. 
• Educate yourself on state and national advocacy resources. Pick your area(s) of focus and trusted resources for the latest on the hill and in your state. 
• Learn how to connect with and maintain a relationship with your representatives at every level. Nearly all congressional staffers say letters will influence an undecided lawmaker, whether sent via mail (90%) or email (88%).
• Share your story for advocacy.

Being an advocate and voice for families is a not just a task for May but year-round. Use the month of May to find your advocacy why, develop your story and voice, and move into action so you can #AcceptAdvocateAct this May and throughout the year.

United in Acceptance

As we recognize Mental Health Acceptance Month and Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week this month, we're excited about the unity shown by our affiliates and partners who are celebrating with us. Many of our member organizations have plans to celebrate in their own states and communities through proclamations, legislative action days, community events, and more. We're highlighting just a few below with gratitude for their efforts to #AcceptAdvocateAct on behalf of children, youth, and families during Acceptance Week and throughout the month of May.

Summer Institute: Save the Dates!

New National Partner

Collectively

National Partner

Collectively is an organization dedicated to impacting mental health for children and families. Their work is grounded in research, and they use science to educate individuals and communities about how they can support their own mental health through the social influences in their lives. Collectively offers public speaking, workshops, coaching, technical assistance, and research in the mental health space. Learn more here.

New "The Family Journey: Stories of Resilience" Blog

We're excited to announce our new blog, Voices of Lived Experience, launching during Mental Health Month in support of families. We invite you to read our first entry, "You're Not Alone, Except When You Are," here. Look for a new post each month written by members of our own team as well as guest contributors.

ICYMI: NFSTAC Family and Caregiver Toolkit

Have you already explored NFSTAC's toolkit—a collection of family-friendly resources, videos, and tip sheets to assist families on best practices related to mental health and substance use challenges across the lifespan? We believe families are the experts. They understand the environment and the dynamics in which their children and family members live. When families have access to resources and information when engaging in services, families and providers are better able to work as a team. Share this toolkit with your networks!

April Event Recordings

Family Connections: Across the Lifespan: Parents & Caregivers of Adult Children with Gail Cormier and Gena Fitzgerald

Special Edition Office Hour: Navigating Systems with Transition Age & Adult Children with Margo Pierce and Krissy Dristy

Office Hour: Peer Drift: Family Peers' Autonomy with Gail Cormier

Webinar: Welcome the Father: Strengthening Father Inclusive Practices with David Cozart, Ronnie Williams Jr., and Taré Wilson

Words Matter Wednesdays

Each Wednesday in May, 3:00 p.m. ET

SAMHSA Centers of Excellence host a series to explore equitable, updated terminology that promotes social justice for populations where language has often been used to shame individuals, patronize, enforce prejudice, or limit visibility.

Family Connections: Acceptance…and the Art of Parenting Adult Children

May 2nd, 1:30 p.m. ET

Join this virtual community for parents and caregivers who support loved ones experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges to learn about accepting the changes when it comes to parenting adult children at different stages.

Office Hour: Professional Responsibilities: Cultural Congruence

May 14th, 3:00 p.m. ET

Executive Director of Reach Family Services Tavo Sastre discusses how his organization uses cultural congruence in their work with diverse families. Join us at this Office Hour to learn how to apply cultural congruence in your own family peer support work. 

Family Room with Sue Badeau

May 23rd, 4:00 p.m. ET

Actively engage in an interactive discussion with other family members about how to ask for support for themselves and encourage loved ones to ask for support.

NFSTAC Technical Assistance

NFSTAC invites you to submit requests for free technical assistance from our network of partners and subject matter experts.

Technical assistance includes:

• Connections with organizations or systems in or out of state

• Strategies to reach and partner with family members and best practices around effective referral development

• Exploration of resources, such as promising support models, trainings, toolkits and educational materials

• Developing or refining state-based family peer support certification programs

• Building organizational strategies to sustain and grow the family peer workforce

Our newest national partners at Collectively offer research-based training on the social influences of mental health. Their CONNECT. program supports individuals, organizations, and communities in understanding the benefits of social influences with tools and techniques on how to improve your mental health. Topics of the program include social connection, social support, social capital, social media, and social justice.

Becoming a strong ally of social justice requires self-reflection, learning, and the willingness to grow. This work begins at home. Collectively has shared social inclusion/justice activities from their CONNECT. workbook. Using this is a terrific way to explore your beliefs and to learn how you can promote inclusion and social justice for yourself and others in your communities. Pledge to become a champion for social justice today!

Visit our social justice page to learn more about what you can do as an individual or organization to promote social justice for families whose loved ones—of any age—experience mental health and/or substance use challenges during their lifetime. We encourage you to use the tools provided there to strengthen your efforts to #AcceptAdvocateAct.

Mental Health Month

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives and to celebrate recovery from mental health challenges. Access SAMHSA's full campaign toolkit here.

SAMHSA's Mental Health Month toolkit includes:

• Key Messages and Weekly Themes to help you create impactful content for various audiences.
• Social Media Shareables including posts, graphics, and animations that you can share with followers on your social media platforms.
• Hashtags and Best Practices including #MHAM2024 and #MentalHealthMatters to help promote and spark conversations about mental health on social media.
• Digital Stickers to highlight the campaign in social media stories and posts.
• Email Signatures to signify your commitment to mental health month.
• Virtual Meeting Backgrounds to serve as backdrops for your virtual meetings.

Prevention Week

National Prevention Week "A Celebration of Possibility!" is from May 12th to May 18th. Share your stories of prevention before, during, and after National Prevention Week. Join the prevention conversation using the hashtags #MyPreventionStory and #NationalPreventionWeek24 on social media. Access the Prevention Week planning guide and resources calendar here.

SAMHSA-Sponsored NFF Webinar Series

Our second webinar in the SAMHSA-sponsored series Person-Centered, Family-Driven Mental Health and Substance Use Support: A Path Towards Equity, Speak Up: Person-Centered Language Drives Equity for Individuals with Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges is tentatively scheduled for May 9th from 1:30-3:00 p.m. ET.

If you missed April's webinar, watch the recording of Equity in Mental health and Substance Use Support: Overcoming Challenges to Access for Families.

Stay tuned for more information about the series with more webinars coming in July!

See NFF Staff Present at Two FREE Virtual Conferences

May 7-9, 2024

Family Voices' Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2F) and Affiliate Organizations (AO) were invited to join this virtual convening to learn about best practices in family engagement. Check your agenda and add NFSTAC Project Director Gail Cormier's and NFF National Certification Manager Dana Asby's session on opening day, May 7th at 1:30 p.m. ET, Supporting Families Through the Lifespan: What Happens When Your Child Ages Out of Services. If you are a Family Voices F2F or AO and have not received an invitation to register for this event, contact Melanie Lindsey.

May 14-16, 2024

The National Training & Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, & Family Mental Health is hosting a System of Care Virtual Summit - All Systems Go: Taking Action Together free and open to the public. Join NFSTAC Project Manager Lachelle Freeman and NFSTAC Project Specialist Dana Asby on May 15th at 2:00 p.m. ET for their session What are the Competencies to Serve Families Through the Lifespan. Up to 12 hours of continuing education hours are available at no cost! Register now to attend over 30 sessions about Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in System of Care, Cross-sector Partnerships, Youth and Family Partnership in Practice, Evaluation, and Policy, Emerging Topics, and Systems Change.

Upcoming Family Mental Health Events

NEDA's NEDA Walks

May-November

In-person across the U.S.

Nat'l Center on Substance Use and Child Welfare's Peer Support: Path to Hope and Family Recovery

May 2nd, 1:00 p.m. ET

Pacific SW MHTTC's Safety, Compassion, and Dignity: A One-Day Symposium on Harm Reduction

May 7th, 12:00 p.m. ET

NE MHTTC's Partnering with Families in Behavioral Health: The FAMILY Approach

May 21st, 1:00 p.m. ET

SAMHSA Blog: Taking Action: Become a Health Equity Leader

Walker Tisdale III and Jennifer Early wrote a blog for SAMHSA about the importance of action towards health equity—which includes behavioral health! The blog discusses some state and federal programs intended to advance equity, shares some data and reports to educate about health equity, and includes links to Centers of Excellence whose goal is to reach equity in beahvioral healthcare.

SAMHSA's 988 Wallet Cards

SAMHSA offers a free pack of 50 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline wallet cards to anyone interested in promoting this service. Just click the "Add to Cart" button and enter your mailing address! You can also download and print the cards yourself. Share these cards with families you support.

Visit the full National Federation of Families and National Family Support Technical Assistance Center Yearly Events Calendar on our websites!