The CAFÉ TA Center is pleased to announce that we have received a new SAMHSA-funded five-year Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center grant award!
Over the past ten years, CAFÉ TAC has worked closely with a variety of peer-run organizations that represent people with mental health conditions and certified peer specialists in states across the country. We’re proud of the work we’ve done to help consumers build sustainable organizations that can represent the peer voice and promote recovery in their states and communities.
With this new round of funding, CAFÉ TAC’s scope has expanded. While we remain a resource for peer-run organizations, CAFÉ TAC will now provide information, training, and resources on a broad range of topics that impact people with mental health conditions, their recovery and treatment, and their inclusion in our nation’s mental health system. As a technical assistance center serving people with lived experience of mental health conditions, we have witnessed the transformative power of recovery advocates with lived experience of mental health conditions. We believe that recognition of the value and capability of people with lived experience, including certified peer specialists, is critical to radically improving the lives of people with mental health conditions, the systems that serve them, and the public’s understanding of mental health.
To create the positive change we envision, CAFÉ TAC will share information on the evidence base for the effectiveness of people with lived experience in the system of care, and the many roles in which they can excel. The project will also support people with lived experience to grow and thrive in their recovery through access to educational opportunity, connection with family and other natural community supports, and linkages to resources on employment and economic self-sufficiency. Finally, CAFÉ TAC will be a point of access for a wealth of nationally relevant resources, connecting individuals with news and information from a host of partners.
Areas that CAFÉ TAC will address will include:
- The integration of peers in the treatment delivery system as part of evidenced-based approaches to care.
- Roles for peers in crisis services in multiple settings, including services linked to healthcare systems, certified community behavioral health clinics, or hospital emergency departments; follow-up and linkage to care; and in integrated care settings.
- Training and information for people with lived experience that want to become peer specialists.
- Supported education to help students with mental health needs succeed in academic settings.
- Resources and training on youth leadership in mental health.
- Information on the role families can play in supporting individual recovery.
- Job-seeking and employment for people with mental health conditions.
- Economic self-sufficiency, money management, and financial literacy for people with mental health conditions.
- Information on recruiting and retaining peer specialists and employees with lived experience for state and local organizations.
As we move forward into this next phase, we welcome your input, and the input of people with mental health conditions and their communities across the nation. We have created a short survey as a means for you to let us know what your priorities are. You can find it here. We would really appreciate your input!
We look forward to serving the mental health recovery community for years to come. You can always find us online at cafetacenter.net.