Stories From The Road

Web Resources for the Peer Support Community in North Carolina

 

 Alcohol/Drug Council of NC

Throughout its history, ADCNC has presented and promoted creative  solutions to gaps in the continuum of services for addicts and their  families. ADCNC also has provided leadership resulting in the passage of  state legislation addressing the disease of addiction.

              Link: http://www.alcoholdrughelp.org/       

 

NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services

North Carolina will provide people with, or at risk of, mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance abuse problems and their families the necessary, prevention, intervention, treatment, services and supports they need to live successfully in communities of their choice.

 

 

 

             

Link: http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/       

 

NC Mental Health Consumers Organization

The North Carolina Mental Health Consumers' Organization is a private  non-profit organization established in 1989 to offer advocacy and  support to adults with mental illness.

NC MHCO is special because it is "peer-run" meaning all the board  members and all staff has personal life experiences with mental illness.  The board is comprised of sixteen members, four from each region of the  state. Board members are elected by the membership.

 

              Link: http://www.ncmhco.org/       

 

North Carolina Consumer Advocacy, Networking, and Support Organization

North Carolina Consumer Advocacy, Networking, and Support Organization was established in 2009.  It is fully peer operated.  The emphasis of its work has been on ensuring that people with lived experience with mental illness and recovery are valued participants in systems advocacy and change.  It has focused much of its effort on strengthening the role of peer support in our state to improve the quality of people's lives and their recovery.  It is a non-profit organization.

              Link: http://www.nccanso.org       

 

Recovery.org

If you or someone you love is trying to make a complete drug or alcohol recovery, you'll want to make sure you choose well. Whether you require a luxury residential addiction program, executive substance abuse treatment or just an outpatient program, we provide toll-free help 888-968-7541.

              Link: http://www.recovery.org/       

 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Administration

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services  Administration’s  (SAMHSA) mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse  and mental  illness on America’s  communities.  SAMHSA, in collaboration with other  Federal agencies, States, Tribes, local organizations,  and  individuals including consumers and the recovery community, has  demonstrated  again and again in research and practice -  prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover from  mental  and substance use disorders.

              Link: http://www.samhsa.gov/       

 

Questions concerning the Peer Support Program? Call 919-843-3018 or email us at: [email protected]

Behavioral Healthcare Resource Program | School of Social Work | University of North Carolina 325 Pittsboro Street | CB# 3550 | Chapel Hill, NC 27599

The Local Management Entities (LME-MCOs) of NC

 

NC's Map LME-MCO's Here--> Download North Carolina LME-MCO Map

 

Alliance Behavioral Healthcare

Web | Counties Served: Cumberland, Durham, Johnston, Wake

Corporate Office       4600 Emperor Boulevard       Durham, NC 27703       Phone: 919-651-8401             Fax:  919-651-8672             Chief Executive Officer: Rob Robinson

Cumberland  Office       711  Executive Place       Fayetteville,  NC 28305       Phone:  919-651-8401       Fax:  910-323-0096       24-hour  Access/Crisis Number: 800-510-9132

Durham Office       414 East Main Street       Durham, NC 27701       Phone: 919-651-8401 Fax: 919-651-8859  24-hour Access/         Crisis   Number: 800-510-9132

Johnston Office 521 North Brightleaf Boulevard Smithfield, NC  27577 Phone:  919-651-8401 Fax:  919-989-5532 24-hour  Access/Crisis Number: 800-510-9132

Wake Office       5000 Falls of Neuse Road       Raleigh, NC 27609       Phone: 919-651-8401       Fax:   919-651-8776         24-hour Access/              Crisis   Number: 800-510-9132

 

Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions

Web | Counties Served: Alamance, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Mecklenburg, Orange, Person, Rowan, Stanly, Union, Vance and Warren

Corporate Office     4855 Milestone Avenue     Kannapolis, NC 28081     Phone: 704-939-7700     Fax: 704-939-7907 24-hour Access / Crisis Number: 800-939-5911

Area Director: Pam Shipman

 

Alamance Caswell Community Operations Center   2451 South Church Street   Burlington, NC  27215 Phone: 336-513-4222 Fax:  336-513-4225 24-hour Access / Crisis Number:  888-543-1444

Five County Community Operations Center             134 South Garnett Street             Henderson, NC 27536             Phone: 252-430-1330             Fax:   252-431-346324-hour Access / Crisis Number:  877-619-3761

Mecklenburg County Community Operations Center 10150 Mallard Creek Rd. Suite 305 Charlotte, NC 28262 Phone: 980-938-4100 Fax: 980-938-4195 24-hour Access / Crisis Number: 800-939-5911

OPC Community Operations Center     201 Sage Rd. Suite 300     Chapel Hill, NC 27514     Phone: 919-913-4000     Fax: 919-913-4001     24-hour Access / Crisis Number:  800-939-5911

Piedmont Community Operations Center     245 LePhillip Court     Concord, NC  28025     Phone: 704-721-7000     Fax:  704-721-7010         24-hour Access / Crisis Number:  800-939-5911

 

CenterPoint Human Services

 

Web | Counties Served: Davie, Forsyth, Rockingham, Stokes

        4045 University Parkway         Winston-Salem, NC 27106                     Phone: 336-714-9100         Fax:   336-714-9111           24-hour Access/          Crisis   Number:         888-581-9988

CEO/Area Director: Betty Taylor

 

CoastalCare

Web | Counties Served: Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender

 

CoastalCare Corporate Office:   3809 Shipyard Blvd   Wilmington, NC   28403     or         PO Box 4147     Wilmington, NC 28406     Phone:   910-550-2600     Fax: 910-796-3133 24-hour Access / Crisis   Number: 866-875-1757 Customer Services:  855-250-1539     LME Area Director: Foster Norman 

 

East Carolina Behavioral Health

 

Web | Counties Served: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare,  Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Martin, Northampton, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt,  Tyrrell, Washington

1708 E. Arlington Blvd,               Greenville, NC  27858        Phone: 252-695-6400        Fax: 252-215-6881 24-hour Access / Crisis Number: 877-685-2415

CEO: Leza Wainwright

 

Eastpointe

Web | Counties Served: Bladen, Columbus, Duplin, Edgecombe, Green, Lenoir, Nash, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Wayne, Wilson     

 

Eastpointe  Corporate Office 514 East Main Street PO Box 369 Beulaville, NC 28518 Phone: 800-913-6109 Fax: 910-298-7180 Web: www.eastpointe.net 24-hour Access/Crisis  Number: 800-913-6109  TTY: 888-819-5112 Area Director: Ken Jones

Goldsboro Regional Office          100 S. James St.          Goldsboro, NC 27530          Phone: 800-913-6109          Fax: 910-298-7180 24-hour Access/Crisis Number: 800-913-6109  TTY: 888-819-5112

Lumberton  Regional Office          450 Country Club Road          Lumberton, NC 28360          Phone: 800-913-6109          Fax: 910-298-7180 24-hour Access/Crisis  Number: 800-913-6109  TTY: 888-819-5112

Rocky Mount Regional Office          500 Nash Medical Arts Mall          Rocky Mount, NC 27804          Phone: 800-913-6109          Fax: 910-298-7180 24-hour Access/Crisis  Number: 800-913-6109      TTY: 888-819-5112 

 

 

Partners Behavioral Health Management

 

Web | Counties Served: Burke, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Surry, Yadkin

Corporate Office 901 South New Hope Road                   Gastonia, NC  28054          Phone:  704-884-2501          Fax: 704-854-4809 24-hour Access / Crisis Number:  1-888-235-4673          Administrative Number:  1-877-864-1454       

Area Director: W. Rhett Melton

Hickory Regional Office Site:          1985 Tate Blvd. SE Suite 529 Hickory, NC 28602 Phone: 828-327-2595 Fax: 828-325-9826 24-hour Access / Crisis   Number:  1-888-235-4673

Elkin Regional Office Site          200 Elkin Business Park Drive          Elkin, NC  28621          Phone:  336-835-1000          Fax:  336-835-1002 24-hour Access / Crisis Number 888-235-4673

 

Sandhills Center for MH/DD/SAS

 

Web | Counties Served: Anson, Guilford, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond

PO Box 9           West End, NC  27376-0009           Phone: 910-673-9111           Fax: 910-673-6202 24-hour Access / Crisis Number: 800-256-2452

Chief Executive Officer: Victoria Whitt

 

Smoky Mountain Center

 

Web | Counties Served: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe*, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson*, Jackson, Macon, Madison*, McDowell, Mitchell*, Polk*,      Rutherford*, Swain, Transylvania*, Watagua, Wilkes, Yancey*

 

44 Bonnie Lane               Sylva, NC  28779               Phone: 828-586-5501                 Fax: 828-586-3965 24-hour Access / Crisis Number: 800-849-6127        

 

Area Director: Brian Ingraham

 

Daniel Mackler: The Importance of Listening, Open Dialogue and Human Connection In Psychiatric Care

 

From MAD in America and the Open Paradigm Project we meet Daniel Mackler who is truly a motivator for change, growth and recovery. 

Therapist and folk artist Daniel Mackler  discusses the major barriers to creating a more effective and compassionate psychiatric system, as well as the practice of Open Dialogue in Finland, and recognizing pain as a motivator for growth.

 

Daniel Mackler, Therapist and Folk Artist

 

 The testimonial below is produced for Open Paradigm Project content campaign "Moving Beyond Psychiatric Labels." 

For more info please visit www.openparadigmproject.com

 

 

 

Daniel is a musician and documentary filmmaker responsible for such titles as:  Take These Broken Wings, Open Dialogue, Healing Homes, and Coming Off Psych Drugs.

For more information please visit Daniel’s website wildtruth.net. This is latest in a series of testimonials featured on MadInAmerica.com produced by the Open Paradigm Project - @Open_Paradigm on Twitter.

 

Community: Meaning, Togetherness and Finding Our Way Home

 

Life's meaning will determines life's effect. How we perceive what is happening to us will determine our ability to cope and overcome. The perceptions we share regarding what has and what is happening affects our ability to make sense of the world.  It's all about the meaning we attach to life's challenges.

 

 

Our ability to cope with life's challenges are fiurther strengthened by both life's meaning and life's participants. Whether we isolate or join together, will result in whether our resilience is either weakened or strengthened. The clarion call of the Civil Right's Movement was not I but "We Shall Overcome."

 

Meaning and a shared sense of identity lead to a greater sense of togetherness and "being at home" with the challenges we face. It is seems we are all like Dorothy in that we all seem to have a universal desire for home and to return home. That longing extends out for real a sense of community. 

 

Peers can hold space towards this end. Peers, can be with others, in such a way to provide solid ground and a sacred place for others to expand their understanding of life and with intentionality and patience support others in constructing new maps to find their way home.

 

Adversity is inevitable but successfully overcoming life's adversities is a choice. We either choose confusion or meaning. We either choose isolation or togetherness. We either choose rugged individualism or to join together to face life's adversities.

 

Our choices will ultimately and inevitably determine whether you and I, together,......find our way home.

 

 

 

Matthew Cohen: " Six First Steps for Building Communities of Emotional Wellness"

 

Matthew Cohen: change artist and social entrepreneur who founded Flock Forward who is a proponent of empowering, context-sensitive, body-based practices for personal change, social justice, emotional wellness,  and cooperative community development. He provides provide education and training in these areas.

Matthew Cohen, Social Entrepreneur

 

Find Matt : Contemplative Computing, Flock Forward, Fbook, Twitter & Linked-In

 

---[This article was published at  Flock Forward also at  Mad In America.]---

 

I am being asked by a number of grassroots communities to facilitate a dialogue about how they can better welcome and support individuals who experience emotional distress. This is a challenge for many aspiring peers and allies in a culture where responsibility for our individual well-being has been increasingly transferred to psychiatrists, doctors, and other health professionals.

Even among our movements for alternatives, we often find ourselves replicating disempowering patterns of relying on experts, institutions, and formalized programs to help us through our trying times. Certainly there are roles for these approaches, especially as we slowly transition away from centuries of mistreatment in western culture. And, there is a great deal we can do to alleviate suffering as neighbors, faith communities, activist groups, and other existing circles of mutual aid.

In many places and historical moments, communities have rallied strongly around people who have experienced trauma or exhibit atypical behaviors and abilities. Readers may be interested in Monica Cassani’s recent post featuring an excellent summary of resources on the concept of spiritual emergency, and the way many indigenous cultures respond to extreme states, which leads me into the first step…

1) Take heart that you and your community are not alone. There is a rich and vibrant tradition of those who wish to include, learn from, and gently support individuals experiencing emotional distress. Our current paradigm of institutionalized violence, coercion, and disempowerment is just one version of how we can think about the difficult problems of living. When we begin to make the choice to find another way, we are joining a vast lineage of kindness and skillful practices.

2) Build a culture of radical honesty. Often the majority of the suffering people experience around emotional difficulties  and distressing thoughts comes simply from not being able to talk about them and be truly heard. We live in a culture infected by a kind of sanity-chauvinism, where there are very few “right” ways to experience and express feelings and distressing thoughts. Someone sharing an experience from outside the box is usually ignored, reacted against, or even attacked.

We see this most starkly in the extremely limited number of acceptable narratives about mental illness in popular culture. Anyone who goes “off meds” or defies a psychiatrist’s diagnosis is considered even more sick, “lacking insight” into the severity of their condition. We are denied the opportunity to make meaning out of our own lives.

This pattern can arise in alternative circles as well as in the mainstream. It occurs every time we say or hear, as one of the first responses to a problem, “You should go see [insert favorite psychiatrist/doctor/therapist/acupuncturist/nutritionist/shaman] I think will help you,” instead of some version of “I would like to hear more about that.”

The remedy is for each community member, at their own comfort level, to make the first move and share about their emotional life. If your group meets regularly, especially with the same constellation of people, I encourage scheduling a specific chunk of time for everyone to have the opportunity to express something about their inner world.

Be willing to share the full spectrum of ups and downs like “When I stepped outside and felt the wind on my face this morning, I felt completely in love with life,” and “A part of me that thinks I am a terrible person and that others would be better off without me has been very active today.”

When I am blessed to witness the victories, defeats, inner demons, and saint-like qualities of others in my community, I feel much more connected, less alone, and safer sharing where I am at myself.

3) Listen and appreciate from the heart. A common objection to the previous step might be, “If I share honestly, people will think less of me or use what I say against me.” We need to overcome these damaging myths, which damn us and our communities to a degenerate level of kindness, and fashion new ways of being at the same time. Hearing others with appreciation is equally as important as sharing ourselves.

One method that I find to be helpful when relating with someone who is behaving in a way I do not particularly understand, or I have a reaction to, is to tune into the emotion of what they are saying rather than the content. Then, I can respond honestly and empathically with a statement like, “I hear that you are feeling very scared,” even if  my rational mind might not be able to connect with what they are scared of.

When we listen openly, without criticism and judgment, then we create a circle of connection with the person who is sharing. The person speaking can begin to feel themselves being heard, and the person listening can hear their own hurt parts speak up and rejoice as they are doing the listening. This is a reason why grassroots mutual support groups like the Hearing Voices Network and the Icarus Project are so helpful to their members.

Finally, when you are able to listen, consider kindly and gently asking “what happened to you?” This question is so often eschewed by mental health professionals, who are only interested in what the problem is now, and how to efficiently fix it. For some people, talking about the past may be helpful and validating. For others, less so. Either way, offering a safe and non-judgmental invitation is a harmless, and sometimes extraordinary, gift of support.

4) Take a stand against coercion, violence, oppression and abuse. Research data and most peoples’ lived experience tells us that these are the primary causes of major distress, especially when experienced during childhood. Emotionally damaging circumstances come in many forms. Being an ally against racism, sexism, homophobia, rape-culture, emotional abuse, ableism, and economic injustice is a direct act of support for individuals affected by these forces.

So is standing up to police and psychiatric violence.

Once you’ve taken the first three steps, consider openly discussing how your community might respond non-coercively to a person experiencing an extreme state. The prospect of violence from authorities and being caged in a psychiatric hospital is a major (and very reasonable!) source of anxiety for individuals experiencing or approaching these states.  Every time we choose to not take away the agency of our brothers and sisters, we affirm their humanness, and create a greater space for healing.

Every situation is different, and coercion is not always avoidable, but every action of solidarity is important. Sometimes I have been in a situation where there was nothing I could do to prevent an involuntary trip to a hospital for someone else, but I was told after the fact that simply trying, and in some cases delaying the process for several days, made a meaningful difference for them.

5) Be a resource for basic wellness practices and social interaction. Arts, potlucks, sports, music, hiking, storytelling, dancing, singing, yoga, healthy food, games… these simple, everyday activities are nourishment for everybody’s emotional life. Hold events and invite others to join. Extend your community’s circle of influence so that those who might be less social or prone to isolation can benefit from your group’s natural surplus of social warmth. Extend special invitation to those you have not seen as much of, or might have a concern about.

6) Attend trainings and educational events. There is much for all of us to learn about dismantling psychiatric oppression, supporting people in distress and resolving conflict  You might invite a trainer into your community, or attend events at an alternative institution in your area, if you are lucky enough to live in one of the few places where they exist, such as Western Massachusetts.

Low-cost possibilities include showing films, holding community dialogues, facilitating a mad maps jam, and running a reading group.

Trainings like Intentional Peer Support, Emotional CPR, Wellness Recovery Action Plans, Non-Violent Communication, and anyone offering trauma-awareness can help improve your community’s practical skills for empathy and support.

These are steps that any community can begin to take with little assistance. And the growing movements advocating for alternatives to psychiatry includes many skilled consultants, educators, and troubleshooters who are available to suggest paths out of the darkness of pathologizing and medicalization, into the warm glow of mutual aid, human dignity, and transformational healing.

 

CooperRiis: My Visit to a Beautiful, Healing Community

 

The sunflower exudes a bright cheerfulness, a rare boldness, and a stunning brilliance among flowers. This flower has stood as a symbol of loyalty, constancy and evokes feelings of both warmth and happiness.

CooperRiis is a healing community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains that exudes a similar cheerfulness (in their approach) boldness (in their mission) and brilliance (in their results) as a healing community in the lives of so many that have dealt with mental health challenges and those who have struggled with substance misuse. Peer support is an integral part of the support given at CooperRiis to those seeking to move forward toward wellness and recovery here.

My wife and I both had the joy of visiting there a few months ago and were able to witness first-hand the warmth and happiness shared among the people there.

Their healing mission is:

"to enable individuals, whose lives are impeded by a mental health challenge or emotional distress, to develop their capabilities for creativity, wholeness, relationship and optimal health, so that they can achieve their highest levels of fulfillment and functioning and respond productively to their future challenges and opportunities for growth."

CooperRiis finds its roots in a long healing tradition that dates back to the healing community models of Gould Farm and Spring Lake Ranch that have been in place since 1913. CooperRiis was founded by Lisbeth and Don Cooper.

Their vision to create such a healing community was born out their long journey of helping a member of their own family to pursue a path of recovery through what they found to be a bewildering and fragmented mental health system. Based on their own experiences of seeing the work that was taking place at Spring Lake Ranch in Vermont, they decided to see this come to fruition here in NC.

CooperRiis is a progressive, holistic and multi-site community located in both Mill Springs and in Asheville, NC. The farm is a 94-acre property 45 minutes southeast of Asheville and their Asheville campus is situated in a peaceful wooded area in the Montford neighborhood north of downtown Asheville.

Right off the bat, there was such a level of inclusivness that it was difficult to tell who were staff and participants in their community as we ate an exquisite Mediterranean-style lunch. Much of which was organically grown there.

We were met by Dr. Sharon Young, the Institute Director and two residents who offered us a guided tour. She explained that they intentionally create an environment where staff and residents live and work together as a functioning community with specific jobs and roles within that community. She explained in the lunch room area (again we saw both staff and their families eating side-by-side with residents) as being one of many examples seen here of their philosophy of Relationship-Centered Care of putting the relationship at the core of the recovery process.

My wife and I were able to see throughout the kitchen, in the barn and woodshop, the farm and  gardens, how the mind and heart work together in their approach to Experience-Based Living. Really how staff and residents both work and live together in community in a way which honors the whole person. Here recovery occurs organically and with each person having a specific purpose that supported them in renewing their own sense of purpose and meaning.

In their great room over the fireplace, they have the 7 Domains of Recovery visible to the eye. Their Recovery Program  is based on A Holistic 7 Domains Approach   (<--link to handout from conference I recently attended) that came from Dr. Young's  own research in recovery which was rooted in grounded theory analysis. From her extensive research and interviews from many people sharing their recovery stories, she was able to glean and establish the seven domains. She along with others have been able to develop a holistic approach  of care at Cooper Riis on these domains.

The 7 Domains (<--link to another conference handout) Are As Follows:

1. Social/Community/Connectedness-our ability to connect to others in a healthy way
2. Spirituality-our sense of inner peace and harmony; our hopefulness and passion for life
3. Purpose/Productivity/Fulfillment-accomplishment, fulfillment, achievement & meaning
4. Empowerment/Independence-increased sense of control of over one's life and recovery
5. Emotional and Psychological Health-one's well-being and emotional stability
6. Physical Wellness-one's ability to take care of their basic physical needs
7. Intellectual/Learning/Creativity-a desire to learn and to challenge yourself mentally/creatively

It was so empowering to my wife and I, as we heard her describe how residents declare their DREAM STATEMENT for their life (as lets say someone declares their major in college) and the "Liberal Arts" approach to wellness education in each domain to assist each resident in developing a plan of care and support to fulfill that in a holistic way from each dimension of wellness.

Cooper Riis has a Community Work and Service Program that offers work and community related activities that are necessary to life at Cooper Fiis to restore one's idenity from a patient to a responsible citizen (woodworker, animal caretaker,artist, chef etc...) of the community. Offering them a wellness identity.

They also offer a Community Program as they seek to support their residents in moving towards greater independence and challenge as they gain skills, go back to school and re-enter the work-a-day world as they reintegrate back into the community. Cooper Riis has 4 Levels of community programming that end with permanent and supportive housing as they become a part of the Alumni there.

They also offer a Respite Program program for former residents a place to return if needed and they have even extended their vision in their Family Education Program due to the requests of families to receive more education in how to support their family members through their family education program curriculum.

You can contact CooperRiis at:

CooperRiis, Healing Community 

• 101 Healing Farm Lane Mill Spring, NC 28756
• Toll free (800) 957-5155 // Main number (828) 894-5557
• Email: [email protected]

Here is a full-length video that offers an overview of the wonderful work they are doing. Enjoy!

SAMHSA Webinar: "Promoting Recovery Through Psychological and Social Means"

 

This is Step 3  of SAMHSA's four-part webinar from the Recovery to Practice website.

• Step 1-"Engagement & Outreach"
• Step 2-"Person Centered Planning From Theory to Practice"
• Step 3-Promoting Recovery Through Psychological and Social Means
• Step 4-"Graduation"

Summary of Webinar:  In Step 3 of this Recovery to Practice Webinar "Promoting Recovery Through Psychological and Social Means,"  they are discussing the most effective psychological interventions as Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy (presented here by David Kingdon) along with social means which include Community-Based Supports (set forth here by Larry Davidson)  to help individuals enhance and pursue their life goals with the support of Peer-Run Programs (explained here by Jayme Lynch ) to provide the needed assistance to promote recovery-oriented care for the individuals we support.

SAMHSA Webinar: Download Step 3 ROC Continuum Psychological & Social Means                      

SAMHSA Webinar Powerpoint:  Download Step 3 ROC Powerpoint

 

The first presentation was given by David Kingdon, M.D. Professor of Mental Health Care Delivery
at University of Southampton, UK who presented on Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy and touched on the following treatment strategies and topics including :

 

• A brief history and key elements of CBT
• The overall aim and therapeutic process of CBT
• Making sense of individual's beliefs
• The effectiveness and limitations of CBT
• The training required to offer CBT

 

The second presentation was given by Larry Davidson, Ph.D. Project Director, Recovery to Practice,  and DSG, Inc. who presented on Community Based supports touching important topics such as:

• The move toward community-based work
• The art of recovery/care planning
• The role of activity analysis and art of supporting others
• The essential components of supported activities
• The importance of community integration and inclusion

 

The final presentation was given by Jayme Lynch, CPS who Director of the Peer Support and Wellness Center of the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network and she spoke about Peer Run Programs and discussed the following items which include:

• The reality of a trauma-informed environment
• The importance of wellness activities
• Supports such as Respite and 24/7 Warm Line
• Staff training and supervision of peers
• The four tasks of Intentional Peer Support (ISP)

This clip from SAMHSA entitled "Building Communities of Recovery: How Community-Based Partnerships Work"  ties all this process together by explaining ways of developing recovery-oriented care in the community.

 I found this to be a very helpful webinar in the SAMHSA Series in how to truly think about the psychological and social strategies that we can utilize as we are transitioning people into the community and seeking to move NC towards more recovery-oriented care.

M. Scott Peck: The True Meaning of Community

M. Scott Peck, an American psychiatrist and the author of the book "The Road Less Traveled" also wrote another important work "The Different Drum:  Community Making and Peace" which lays out the true meaning of community.

He states that community is "a group of individuals who have learned how to communicate honestly with each other, whose relationships go deeper  than their masks of composure, and who have developed some significant commitment to "rejoice together, mourn together," and to "delight in each other, make others' conditions our own."

He goes on to compare a community to a precious gem when he states "A group becomes a community in somewhat the same way that a stone becomes a gem - through a process of cutting and polishing. Once cut and polished, it is something beautiful. But to describe its beauty, the best we can do is to describe its facets. Community, like a gem, is multifaceted, each facet a mere aspect of a whole that defies description."

You can find an exerpt from his book here: "The True Meaning of Community". He lays out some basic ideas that are true of any real sense of community which include:

• Community must be inclusive
• Community must be realistic and have consensus
• Community must have contemplation and self-awareness
• Community must be a safe place
• Community must show vulnerability & peacemaking
• Community must be able to express differences gracefully
• Community must be a place where all are leaders
• Community must have an atmosphere of love

As peers we are not only supporting others but we are seeking to connect others to their natural supports and in a holistic and organic way seeking to build or re-build a sense of community in their lives.

This Day...

 

what shall i say?
to the unfolding beauty of this day...
will i get lost in the fray and the plunder...
shall i get lost in the awe and the wonder...

what shall i seek?
to the issues of life what to do and to speak...
will i give way to fear and with silence conceal
shall i burst forth with love and with wisdom reveal

what shall i do?
with the struggle and the hurt that i see in you...
will i hesitate, withhold and slowly walk away
shall i with hands  and with tears, gently stay

may we this day give way to the wonder
pursue love and never let fear take us under
with courage offer hope to stand by your side
into the world of need...let us together....then stride...(-BCreech)

 

-Painting by "Aimee Vance"

 

4 Questions to Consider For Transition Into the Community

 

What does a person need in their environment in order to recover?

 

 

 

How do I know when someone is ready

to make a change or transition into the community?

 

 

 

How do I know whether a community-based

service is truly recovery-oriented?

 

 

 

What is the evidence that people with serious

and persistent mental health challenges recover?