In this year-end edition of news and notes, we want to start off by letting you know about a major funding opportunity for mental health consumer organizations: the SAMHSA Statewide Consumer Network grant. This grant is SAMHSA’s main vehicle to support the work of state-based organizations that work to promote recovery, peer support, and a …
In this edition of News and Notes, we’d like to call attention a recent article on mental health from an unlikely source, professional basketball player Kevin Love. In a post on The Player’s Tribune earlier this month, which you can read in full at https://www.theplayerstribune.com/kevin-love-everyone-is-going-through-something/, Love reveals that he experienced a panic attack during a …
SAMHSA has just released a funding opportunity announcement for the Statewide Consumer Network (SCN) grant program. The SCN is the SAMHSA grant program that supports statewide consumer mental health organizations in several states across the nation. The purpose of this program is to improve efforts to address the needs of adults with serious mental illness …
At The 19th Annual Family Cafe this past June in Orlando, mental health advocate Erin Callinan led a conversation about her experience living with, and recovering from, bipolar disorder. From 2001-2004, Erin endured incredibly difficult manic and depressive episodes. She found herself needing an outlet. Fortunately, she kept a journal as a means to process …
An Address from Erin Callinan, Author of “Beautifully Bipolar” Read More »
While peer support in the mental health community has gained traction in recent years, it is still relatively unfamiliar to the average person on the street. They might know that mental health is a leading health issue, or that more people need support than end up getting it, but they are unlikely to understand the …
At each Alternatives conference, awards are given to people who have contributed to the community. Nominations for each of the following awards are welcome, and should be submitted by July 21, 2017. Esperanza Hope Award In honoring contributing members of our community, Alternatives has presented the Esperanza Hope Award to a consumer/survivor/peer of color who …
In recent years, a conversation about the growing professionalization of peer support, what it might look like, and what it could mean, has been ongoing, both within the peer support community, and among other mental health professionals. Providers’ willingness to invest in peer support as an effective service is growing. Peer specialists have a desire …
We’re pleased to let you know that preparations for the 2017 Alternatives Conference are well underway, with the event scheduled for Friday, August 18 through Monday, August 21, at the Boston Park Plaza in Boston, MA! The SAMHSA-sponsored Alternatives conference is a truly remarkable international event, where mental health consumers/survivors cme together to share knowledge …
We’re already halfway through December, and the holidays are closing in! It’s no secret that this can be a stressful time of year, whether or not one has a mental health condition. People deal with all kinds of expectations, from deciding what gifts to buy, for whom, and how to afford them, to trying to …
Today is #GivingTuesday. What’s #GivingTuesday? It’s an idea that began a few years ago, and grew out of the tradition of Black Friday shopping, and the more recent growth of Cyber Monday, the day dedicated to online shopping. During the holiday season, we spend a lot of time and energy on searching out bargains and …
