This has been a big summer for peer services in Clackamas County.  Youth M.O.V.E. Drop in Milwaukie has officially opened!  During the month of August the focus has been on outreach and encouraging the youth and young adult community to visit the Drop.  There have a been a number of movie nights, an ice cream social, and an open house.  Stay tuned for the grand opening, coming soon!  With the start of school just around the corner, outreach will shift focus to connecting and working with the school districts in our county to get the word out about this great resource.

Youth M.O.V.E. Drop is located at 11097 SE 21st Ave. in Milwaukie.  If you have questions about the activities and support provided, staff at the Drop can be reached at (503) 908-1604.  Visit the Drop on facebook.  Search Youth M.O.V.E. Clackamas County and “like” them.

The Iron Tribe house also officially opened it’s doors in the month of August.  The Tribe has done a wonderful job at creating a comfortable and supportive living space for those entering the community with a committment to living clean and sober and ready to continue their education or pursue other opportunities within this tough job market.  Referrals have been rolling in!

Kudos to Youth M.O.V.E. and Iron Tribe for a job well done!

Oregon Family Support Network is working on recruitment and hiring of family members and caregivers to fill the role of Family Partners and Navigators within the County’s mental health clinics.  The roll-out for these services has been slowed a bit to ensure we have all the pieces in place to create a solid foundation for success.

Empowerment Initiatives (ei) will be providing peer support for adults receiving mental health services throughout our county and we’ll see Support Specialists coming on-line soon.  These supports will be available in a number of programs and services offered at the Hilltop Clinic, Stewart Center, and Sandy Clinic.  ei will also maintain their presence at two of our supported housing locations, Renaissance Court Apartments and Chez Ami Apartments.

Peer Support Services are being considered in several other areas.  We welcome any feedback and ideas.  Have you heard of any new peer support programs underway and working in other parts of our state, country, or around the world?  Let us know about them!

There are many curriculums and workshops offered by OFSN to family members and caregivers.  They have developed the only State approved training curriculums for family members who are interested in becoming Support Specialists, PDS Foundations and Wrap Partner training.  There are many other curriculums available.  I encourage all to visit their website for a comprehensive list.  There are also a number of workshops taught through online technology.

In addition to providing support services through the County clinics, OFSN will also be reaching out to other mental health providers within the Clackamas County network.  Clackamas County Peer Services will be working closely with OFSN and our contracted mental health providers to facilitate positive and mutually beneficial relationships.

Thanks to all our peer support providers for the work you do every day!  Your input and participation is vital to the creation of a comprehensive peer delivered service system.

Youth M.O.V.E. (Motivating Others Through Voices of Experience) is a youth led/youth driven organization devoted to improving services and systems that support positive growth and development for youth and young adults.  YM works as a diverse collective to unite the voices of youth who have lived experience in mental health, juvenile justice, education, child welfare, and other child and youth serving systems.  This dynamic organization works with youth and young adults by providing leadership opportunities and coordinating young leaders from across the state to sit on advisory committees and boards. 

Please see The Youth Mental Health Bill of Rights posted in the box to the right developed by YM leadership.  This proclomation was signed by former Governor Ted Kulongoski.  It has since been adopted by a number of residential programs serving youth and used as a training document for staff working within these programs.  This Bill of Rights has also been used in the state of California as a model for their development of a bill of rights for children in foster care.  The Youth Mental Health Bill of Rights has been downloaded over 22,000 times from the Youth M.O.V.E. Oregon website.

YM Clackamas County will also provide peer-to-peer support for individuals requesting assistance with the health care/mental health system, educational system, vocational support, addiction recovery support, as well as, support for those who have encountered the juvenile justice system.  YM Clackamas will also identify opportunities for youth and young adults to give back to their community and coordinate participation.   These services will be accessible at the Youth M.O.V.E. drop-in/resource center located in downtown Milwaukie.  YM is creating a safe place to support and build community in the lives of youth as they transition into young adults, all the while encouraging and empowering them to make a difference in the world.

Iron Tribe is a non-profit community organization whose mission is to provide support and guidance for the releasing incarcerated person and their successful integration back into the community.  This is a peer-run organization with a recovery philosophy based in Native Spirituality; however, the Tribe is open to all.  This is an organization that celebrates the diversity contained within each individual, moving beyond simple tolerance to understanding that each individual is unique.  Staff and volunteers have lived experience of incarceration and have been confronted by addiction and, for many, mental health.  Iron Tribe accomplishes their mission by engaging people into an active program of recovery through peer-to-peer modeling, tribal mentoring, and community involvement.

Iron Tribe offers a variety of comprehensive supports; the Seventh Direction Program, clean and sober housing, and tribal support.  The Seventh Direction Program involves creating a Recovery Action Plan, focusing on recovery, life aim, wellness, support, and community.  Iron Tribe fosters a sense of belonging and structures its clean and sober housing communities in compliance with ADFC (Alcohol and Drug Free Community) statutes.

Co-Founder of Iron Tribe, Harold “Bear” Cubbedge, was recently interviewed by AboutFace, Portland’s Interview Magazine, Summer 2011 issue.  I highly recommend checking out the article.  It provides a terrific history of the founding of Iron Tribe and an idea of where they may be going.  Lead On!

Empowerment Initiatives (ei).  ei will be providing peers to work with adults receiving services through the Clackamas County Hilltop and Sandy mental health clinics.  They will also be working with the county’s Crisis Services team.

Oregon Family Support Network (OFSN), will be providing family support services to parents and caregivers with children receiving mental health services in the county.  They will be providing trainings,workshops, and support groups for family members and caregivers.  This includes one-on-one support and advocacy.

Youth M.O.V.E Oregon will be opening a drop-in center for youth/young adults in transition (YAT).  Young people will have a place to connect with peers, work with a Support Specialist or a Navigator, and participate in various activities, groups, and leadership development opportunities.

Our final contract awardee is Iron Tribe.  This organization is fairly new to our community, but has amassed a terrific track record of providing support for adults releasing from prison or jail and struggling with addiction and/or mental health.  Iron Tribe will be opening a transition house in the county and working closely with our corrections, addictions, and mental health systems.

Congratulations to you all!  We look forward to working with you and making peer delivered services a success in Clackamas County!

History has shown us when a child/youth becomes involved with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems they are often removed from their natural support settings; family, home, school, community.  Removal from these settings erodes a child/youth’s sense of belonging, competence, well-being, and purpose.  This paper provides a strategy for maintaining and strengthening these crucial connections including encouraging family group leadership; expanding the use of parent advocates, navigators, and coaches; expanding the use of youth mentors; education of systems to increase understanding of the critical role of family; changing federal, state, and local policy; pool funding to allow for flexibility in meeting the needs of youth and families; and much more.  Both the perspectives of the family and professional lens are explored.

I’ve attached the paper to this post in the box at the right or you can follow this link to the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform.  I welcome any feedback and suggestions you may have for Clackamas County as we work toward making peer services available to all populations touched by systems.  The Clackamas Behavioral Health system re-design does not only intended to provide peer services to individuals, but also to transform our system into one that better meets the needs of individuals and families and empowers those seeking support.

Today I’d like to share a video that was sent to me that talks about the importance of listening and how bias and discrimination can affect our ability to give our full attention.  These words are from those that have experienced the detrimental effects of discrimination and discovered the joy of working with someone who really listens.

Clackamas County Behavioral Health is presenting a Peer Services Brown Bag Series.  The first presentation will take place on May 19, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm.  We are pleased that Becky Child and Amy Zulich from Mental Health America of Oregon are able to present on Medication Choice:  Starting the Conversation.  This interactive discussion will take place at Clackamas County’s Development Services Building located at 150 S. Beavercreek Road in Oregon City, Room 119/120.  I’ve attached a flyer in the column to the right.  A diverse audience is really needed for a meaningful dialogue.  This invitation is extended to mental health professionals, consumer/survivors, and family members alike.  There will be additional time after the presentation for individual consultations.

The second presentation in our series is a History of the Consumer Movement in Mental Health.  It will be exciting to hear Laura Van Tosh present this information given her experience and involvement in the development of peer-operated services.  Laura is a passionate mental health activist that is recognized nationally for her contributions to mental health and disability rights advocacy efforts.  This history will be presented on May 31, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm also at the County’s Development Services Building, 150 S. Beavercreek Road, Oregon City, Room 115.  The flyer for this event is also posted in the column to the right.  All are welcome.

The Georgia Peer Support and Wellness Center recently released a report of outcomes for 2010.  What I found most striking is four fifths of the respondents reported they had been in a psychiatric hospital at least once prior to coming to the Wellness Center.  Four out of five respondents reported no hospitalizations since coming to the Wellness Center.  that’s 86% of respite guests reporting that accessing a respite bed kept them out of the hospital.  Please see the full report in the box to the right for details.

Both the Rose House and the Georgia Peer Support and Wellness Center recently participated in a webinar sponsored by the National Council, SAMHSA, Health Resources Services Administration, and Center for Integrated Health Solutions.  I have attached the Power Point slides.  The audio has not yet been posed to the National Council website.

In a recent conversation with Rebekah Fowler, Member Affairs Specialist with Adult Behavioral Health Association serving Benton, Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson, and Lincoln Counties, Benton County is exploring the idea of in-home peer respite.  In-home respite is different in that peers would “staff” a person’s home if that person felt they needed additional 24 hour support for a short period of time.

This brings us to the question, what would peer-run respite look like in our community?  What type of model would be of most value to those interested in using this type of resource?  I encourage anyone to take a look at what’s happening nationally and then come back here and let Clackamas County know what you think.

This redesign is working to create adequate access for individuals; recognizes that mental health and substance use is a health issue, not a health problem; recovery services will be person-centered and self-directed by individuals within the adult system and family and youth-driven within the children’s system; use of technology in recovery will be explored; and we will be investing in emotional health, not waiting for emotional crisis.

The Peer Services RFP is requesting a substantial number of peer and family support specialists.  These roles will include Recovery Coaches, supporting individuals working toward addiction recovery or co-occurring mental illness and addiction; Peer Support Specialists, supporting individuals with mental illness; Forensic Peer Specialists supporting individuals who are currently residing in jail or prison and will be releasing into Clackamas County or have recently been released and are receiving services; Young Adult Peer Coaches supporting youth and young adults in transition; and Family Support Specialists supporting families and caregivers raising a child receiving behavioral health services.

The results of the Peer Services RFP will assist in reaching these goals and creating a behavioral health care system that is consistently a system of recovery promoting wellness and resilience.