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Bringing Family Lived Experience To You
Accept, Advocate, Act
September 1, 2023 | Volume 2, Issue 1
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Social Justice Corner
Share our Social Justice Statement
Children's Mental Health Acceptance
NFF News and Highlights
Register for the Annual Conference
Sponsor the Annual Conference
Submit Award Nominations
NFSTAC News and Highlights
Family Connections: Parenting and Recovery
September 7, 1:30 p.m. ET
Webinar: Family Engagement in School Mental Health
September 20, 2 p.m. ET
Celebrating Our Affiliates
Parents Helping Parents
Legislative & Advocacy News
Virtual Congressional Briefing Co-Sponsored by NFF
September 21st, 12 p.m. ET
National Recovery Month Resources
Events and Resources
NTTAC's Supporting the Transition to College for Youth with Psychosis
September 8th, 12:00 p.m. ET
PA Kin Connector's Empowering GrandFamilies
September 9, 10 a.m. ET
September 13, 10 a.m. ET
Recovery, Harm Reduction and the Federal Government
September 11th, 7:00 p.m. ET
SAMHSA's Special Release of Research Findings on Recovery
September 20th, 9:00 a.m. ET
SAMHSA's Talking with Your Young Adult About Underage Drinking and
Talking with Your College-Bound Young Adult About Alcohol
HHRC's Xylazine Basics: Overdose Prevention, Harm Reduction, and Wound Care
Back to and Off to School Resources
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Note from the Executive Director
Family Peer Support is a
Vital Part of Recovery
September is Recovery Month, a time to celebrate and honor everyone in recovery from mental health and/or substance use challenges. We believe recovery is an ongoing process of change through which individuals become more resilient and improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.
Self-determination and self-direction are the foundations for recovery as individuals define their own life goals and design their unique path(s) toward those goals. They optimize their autonomy and independence to the greatest extent possible by leading, controlling, and exercising choice over the services and supports that assist their recovery and resilience. Those supports include the families, Family Peer Specialists, and Family-Run Organizations walking alongside people of every age in recovery.
In November, we'll all be together for our 34th National Conference. There's only one month left to take advantage of our conference registration early bird price and nominate someone outstanding in the field of family peer support for an award. Help us spread the word about reaching families, the family peer workforce, and other stakeholders through sponsorship and exhibiting at our conference!
With hope,
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Lynda Gargan, PhD
Executive Director, National Federation of Families
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Family Peer Support Work IS Social Justice Work
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"The Right Supplies"
Accept, Advocate, and Act!
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The return to school or campus has "all the feels": excitement, happiness, sadness, hopefulness, and/or worry. It's not just students either—parents and caregivers feel the same and added pressures.
It's also the return to advocating and acting for our students to get the support or accommodations they require. A recent Harris poll found only half (49%) of parents surveyed reported that their child’s school offers any type of mental health services. To get you started , visit our resource section for school and campus mental health tips and tools.
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National Federation of Families News and Highlights | | | |
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Our conference app Whova is now live! Register for the conference now to get access to Community Boards where you can interact with other attendees, create your personalized agenda, ask presenters questions, visit virtual exhibitors, and more!
It's not too late to exhibit at, sponsor, or attend our conference in Chicago, IL from November 9-11! Groups registering 10 or more people save $50/person on registration fees!
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At each conference, we present three awards:
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The Reclaiming Children Award recognizes an exceptional individual who has made significant contributions to enhancing the lives of families in their own community.
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The Karl Dennis Unconditional Care Award recognizes an individual who has made a lasting contribution to children's mental health on the national level.
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The Family Peer Support Award honors and acknowledges a certified family peer who has contributed significantly to the family peer support field.
Award nominations are due by 9/30! Nominate a colleague or yourself today!
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Farewell to the
Family Involvement Center's Founder and Long-Time Executive Director
As a parent, Jane Kallal experienced significant challenges and barriers to getting her children (and herself) what they needed to thrive. When she experienced that family voice and choice is not always recognized, she founded the Family Involvement Center (FIC), where families are encouraged to learn and demonstrate their knowledge and expertise gained from lived experience. After 21 years as FIC's Executive Director, Jane recently announced her resignation to focus on her continued advocacy for children and their families. We appreciate all of her contributions to families in Arizona and nationally.
We welcome Deidre Calcoate as FIC's Interim Executive Director! She has served on their Board of Directors, is a parent, and has extensive experience serving in Arizona’s child-serving systems. We look forward to working with Deidre as she transitions the organization into a new phase.
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| QUESTION: Which conference track are you most interested in learning more about? | | | |
Responses from July Poll: How does your organization advance social justice? | |
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This August, you told us how your organization advances social justice. Almost 40% of you are advocating for family-driven systems that create diversity. Closely tied at 21%, 20%, and 19%, your organizations are using person-centered language that promotes self-reliance, partnering with organizations to promote interdependence for all members of society, and offering community-based programming to build stronger and more inclusive neighborhoods.
Registered conference attendees can join the conversation about social justice in the Whova app's Community Boards feature on the lefthand menu. Look for the Board Family Peer Support IS Social Justice.
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Watch and Share ALL of our
TAC Talks
NFSTAC has now published all four of our TAC Talks—brief videos to introduce practical strategies to family members of loved ones with mental health and/or substance use challenges. These videos, a collaboration with Partnership to End Addiction, are excellent resources to share this Recovery Month via social media, in your newsletter, directly with families, or wherever they'll be helpful!
| NFSTAC invites you to submit requests for free technical assistance from our network of partners and subject matter experts. NFSTAC is driven by the needs of families and the workforce that supports families. You'll find education, training, and family support resources tailored specifically to families, the family peer workforce, communities, healthcare systems, clinicians, and educators. | |
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Family Connections:
Parenting and Recovery
September 7, 1:30 p.m. ET
Families can—and do—recover together. With support, they can establish a new family dynamic, learn about the challenges of substance use and/or mental health, and heal together. You'll meet a father and son who will share their individual experiences, and how they built the relationship their family has today.
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Webinar: Family Engagement in School Mental Health
September 20, 2 p.m. ET
Family engagement is a collaborative and strengths-based process through which the workforce, families, and children build positive and goal-oriented relationships. It is a shared responsibility of families and school staff at all levels that require mutual respect for the roles and the strengths each has to offer.
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Join us for our first session with subject matter expert Wanda Douglas, President of the North Carolina Foster and Adoptive Parent Association! | |
Mark Your Calendar for Office Hours' Return in December!
We're excited to announce the first speaker in our next Office Hour Series Preparing the Family Peer Workforce for Systems Transformation and Authentic Family Partnership! The first six sessions will focus on one of the five Core Competencies for Certified Family Peer Specialists, with a sixth session on family peer drift. Office Hours will now be 90-minute sessions where subject matter experts briefly introduce skills crucial to effective family peer support before Family Peer Specialists have space to share their challenges and successes with each other and ask questions of the speaker.
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Celebrating Our Affiliates! | | |
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Interested in being a Featured Affiliate?
In October, we'd love to feature YOU! Reach out to dasby@ffcmh.org if your organization has a program, event, or great story to share!
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Legislative and Advocacy News | | |
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Join the National Federation of Families and 20 cosponsors for a virtual Congressional Briefing on HR 3073, the Community Mental Wellness and Resilience Act of 2023. In May, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Representatives Paul Tonko (NY-20) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) reintroduced their Community Mental Wellness and Resilience Act (CMWRA), legislation to establish a first-of-its-kind $36 million pilot grant program through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide funding to local community-based mental wellness and resilience programs.
The bill has been endorsed by over 150 organizations, including NFF. This is a landmark bill that will fund community-led initiatives that use a public health approach to prevent and heal mental health problems caused by toxic stresses, emergencies, and disasters. When enacted, this policy will, for the first time, authorize the CDC to fund and support community-led initiatives nationwide that use a public health approach to proactively build mental wellness and resilience to prevent and heal mental health challenges generated by toxic stresses, emergencies, and disasters.
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Keep Up with the Latest Legislative News
NFF's Legislation and Policy News for Family Advocates is the place to find the details on the bills, policies, and opportunities for input that family advocates need. Visit for the latest news and releases, proposed legislation and policies, and what's being implemented in both policy and legislation. It's updated monthly to give you the latest information in one place.
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National Recovery Month Resources | | |
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September is National Recovery Month! This national observance began in 1989 to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, as well as the providers and communities who make recovery possible—including families and family-run organizations! Thank you to the Office of Recovery for creating the social media shareable celebrating families and FROs that started this newsletter! | |
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Take Action during
Recovery Month
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Back to and Off to School Resources!
When you're coordinating all the things needed for the start of classes, remember to factor in what can help your student thrive in the coming year. Let's make sure everyone gets off to a good start with these resources:
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