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Bringing Family Lived Experience To You
May 1st, 2025 | Volume 3, Issue 7
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NFF News and Highlights
Register for the 2025 NFF Conference
Chicago, November 13th-15th, 2025
Children's Mental Health ACTION Week
May 4th-10th, 2025
CMHAW Week One Video
CMHAW Infographic
NFSTAC News and Highlights
Family Connections: One Family's Story with SED/SMI
May 1st, 1:30 p.m. ET
Office Hour: Sustainable Funding for FROs at the State and National Level
May 13th, 3:00 p.m. ET
Webinar: Introduction to Wellness Recovery Spaces - What We Know Right Now
May 21st, 2:00 p.m. ET
Family Collective Podcast
NFSTAC Resources
Legislative & Advocacy News
PEER Support Act Reintroduced
CONNECT For Health Act Introduced
2025 Statement of Drug Policy Priorities
May Advocacy Resources
National Prevention Week 2025
Events and Resources
CARS's Mental Health Supports in Recovery High Schools
May 1st, 2 p.m. ET
AABH-COE's Collaborative Care: Strengthening Provider Relationships with Autistic and Neurodivergent Population
May 7th, 1:30 p.m. ET
MHA's My Community-Driven Approach: Programming for Youth by Youth
May 12th, 1:00 p.m. ET
Transitions ACR's Youth & Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions: Reflections of 30 Years
May 12th, 12 p.m. ET and June 2nd, 12 p.m. ET
SAMSHA's Working Together to Improve the Crisis Response System in Tribal and Urban Indian Communities
May 13th, 2:00 p.m. ET
CCHBC-E NTTAC's Building Necessary Cross System Partnerships
May 28th, 12:00 p.m. ET
National Academies' Blueprint for a National Prevention Infrastructure for Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders
SAMHSA's Updated 988 Toolkit Resources and 988 vs. 911 Guide
SPRC's State Infrastructure Success Stories
NTTAC's The Evolving Role of Educators: Centering Strength, Adaptability, and Care
Administration for Children and Families: Weathering the Storm
2025 Training Institutes
Leveraging the Lived Experience of People with Serious Mental Illness Learning Collaborative
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Note from the
Executive Director
Children's Mental Health
ACTION Week 2025
We are excitedly celebrating Children's Mental Health ACTION Week (CMHAW) next week from May 4th - 10th, 2025! We're encouraging affiliates, partners, and collaborators to focus on Wellness, Resilience, Action, and Purpose this year. Read more about how you can get involved below! We moved beyond raising awareness of children's mental health in 2022 to highlight the need for children's mental health acceptance. This year, we are taking ACTION to elevate family voice to create family-driven systems, policies, and supports.
We have an infographic to spread the importance of taking action to support children's mental health, as well as weekly videos on social media that you can share with your communities this CMHAW!
This May, NFSTAC is getting back to the basics with a conversation with one family member who watched as her son with serious emotional disturbance transitioned to a young adult with a serious mental illness. We will also hear from two NFF affiliate Executive Directors who have different approaches to sustainable funding for the family-run organizations they lead. In our May webinar, we will explore how family peers can be integrated into innovative wellness recovery spaces.
We hope to see you on our social media channels this month where we will be spreading the word about how you, your colleagues, and your community can take action this CMHAW!
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Lynda Gargan, PhD
Executive Director,
National Federation of Families
| | May is Mental Health Month | | | |
Each year, during the first full week of May, NFF takes the lead in celebrating the mental health of children and youth. This year Children's Mental Health Action Week (CMHAW) is a call to action. The campaign theme, "That's a WRAP!", focuses on Wellness, Resilience, Action, and Purpose. Share our infographic with your networks!
Take ACTION with us this May by following us on social media. During every week in May, we will focus on a different element of WRAP. Join us there to learn more and to share with others in your network or community.
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Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental health is essential for overall well-being at every stage of life. Regardless of a person's age, background, or experience, prioritizing mental health strengthens individuals, families, and communities.
Not only is our Children's Mental Health Action Week this month, May is also Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM). Visit SAMHSA's 2025 MHAM Toolkit for free social media messaging, graphics, videos, and content that "encourages acceptance and support of people living with a mental illness." You'll also find SAMHSA's guidance on how to have respectful conversations about mental health.
SAMHSA's vast resources offer more information on mental health as well as their Find Treatment locator, a confidential and anonymous resource for persons seeking treatment for mental illness and/or substance use disorders in the U.S. and its territories.
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We are overjoyed with the amazing presentation proposals we received! The 2025 NFF Conference is going to have some amazing sessions.
Our annual conference generates a large amount of discussion on current challenges and trends pertaining to families and the health of their loved ones from a family-driven approach. Join us in Chicago this November to network and learn alongside families, family peers, and other stakeholders working to further the acceptance of families impacted by mental health and/or substance use disorders. Early bird and group discount registration is now open. Register now to save!
| | Affiliate and Partner News | | |
Parents-to-Parents (P2P) Is the non-profit side of MATTERS Media that produces movies for parents of children living with mental illness. They have partnered with national leadership organizations, treatment centers, and universities to share their documentaries and educational videos with families. P2P is a collection of parents helping other parents support their children. They educate, inform, and advocate for parents so they can be more involved, get better treatment, and have happier outcomes. Make sure to check out and share their playlist of YouTube videos made for parents.
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Update from the Department of
Health and Human Services
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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was confirmed as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in February. In March, Sec. Kennedy renewed the public health emergency declaration addressing our nation’s opioid crisis. The release of the White House's 2025 Statement of Drug Policy Priorities in April aimed at disrupting the illicit drug supply chain and addressing the complex problem of substance use disorder reflected the holistic recovery efforts that Sec. Kennedy has long campaigned for. Learn more about his personal commitment to addressing substance use disorder in this documentary about innovative treatment options, Recovering America - A Film About Healing Our Addiction Crisis. We applaud Sec. Kennedy's disclosure of his personal lived experience of substance use disorder and look forward to seeing how he centers the importance of lived experience in the recovery and treatment support services that HHS and SAMHSA make possible.
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Family Collective Podcast
All four episodes of NFSTAC's Family Collective podcast are live! Family Collective is produced by NFTSAC to inspire change for families and improve family-driven support. As families experience increasing rates of mental illness and substance use disorder, there's a critical need for more support and parity in coverage for families. Meet people with lived expertise and the changemakers working to strengthen families. Episodes include Remarkably Resilient Together; Supporting Fathers as Caregivers; Communities, Families, and Preventing Violence; and Families Traveling the Journey of Recovery.
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NFSTAC Technical Assistance
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: One Family's Story with SED/SMI
May 1st, 1:30 p.m. ET
NFSTAC goes back to basics during May's Mental Health Month when we'll learn what Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) and Serious Mental Illness (SMI) mean. Join us for a lively discussion with a parent and subject matter expert who will share the story of her child’s journey from childhood to adulthood. She'll share the lessons she and her son learned as they navigated the world of SED and SMI through the lifespan.
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Office Hour: Sustainable Funding for Family-Run Organizations at the State and National Level
May 13th, 3:00 p.m. ET
Sustaining a strong family-run organization requires more than passion—it demands a strategic and diversified funding approach. In this session, we will discuss how to procure sustainable funding at the state and national level. Presenters will offer practical strategies for aligning with state priorities, staying mission-driven, and building sustainable infrastructure. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas to strengthen and diversify funding in their own organizations.
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Webinar: Introduction to Wellness Recovery Spaces - What We Know Right Now
May 21st, 2:00 p.m. ET
This webinar will discuss the possibilities of well-functioning recovery spaces, including concerns and benefits of alternative recovery spaces, how families can support their loved ones’ independence and recovery, and the role peers could play in well-functioning recovery spaces as our world is increasingly open to addressing mental illness and/or substance use disorder.
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Our team has worked with family members and the workforce to create a number of resources for families and family peers, including:
Find more on the NFSTAC Resource webpage!
| Stay tuned for some exciting new NFSTAC products coming soon! You can visit our Resources webpage to be the first to know. | | | | |
National Legislation
PEER Support Act Reintroduced
On April 8th, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) reintroduced the Providing Empathetic and Effective Recovery (PEER) Support Act (S.1329, H.R.2741), which aims to remove barriers and provide support for peer support specialists—including family peers. The legislation will expand access to peer-to-peer support services for those living with mental health and substance use disorders. The bill includes directives for research and publication of best practice recommendations to states and entities that employ peer specialists on the topics of training, certification, and supervision. Learn more from the Peer Support Act Information Sheet. NFF endorsed this legislation.
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Learn about the work of communities and organizations across the nation that promote positive mental health and focus on preventing substance use disorder. A Celebration of Possibility showcases evidence-based prevention programs and how to implement prevention strategies.
The prevention of substance use disorder and/or mental illness starts with data. Amplify your event and learn more by accessing SAMHSA'S Prevention Resources, including the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report.
You can participate as an organization or an individual by hosting a community event such as a health fair, educational assemblies, or sharing social media posts. You can also share your own prevention story by using #MyPreventionStory to capture the vast array of prevention experiences and stories.
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National Academies' Blueprint for a National Prevention Infrastructure for Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders
This prepublication release from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers a blueprint that can be used to prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) disorders—including both mental illness and substance use disorder.
The report reviews the current national infrastructure and recommendations for what is needed to grow mental health supports. The report reviews current government agencies, data systems, and partnerships that include national associations, as well as organizations providing training and technical assistance.
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SAMHSA's Updated 988 Toolkit Resources and 988 vs. 911 Guide
Partner Toolkits from SAMHSA make it easy for the family peer workforce and others to share critical information and resources with their communities.
The latest 988 update has refreshed branding and language in print materials, photos, and social media designs. You'll also find a new "judgement-free" bus stop banner (shown above). The What is 988 and How Does It Work? video explains what to expect whether you call, chat, or text 988.
Advising People on Using 988 Versus 911 clarifies how, when, or why to use 988 or 911.
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Administration for Children and Families' Weathering the Storm
In 2023, a CDC study found that 42% of U.S. high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness tied to a variety of stressors.
Supportive adults and communities can create a safe environment for youth by normalizing conversations about mental health, promoting resilience and mental wellness, and and increasing capacity to support youth mental health. The infographic also includes additional resources on youth mental health, the 988 Lifeline, and other resources that provide support for teens, young adults, and supportive communities.
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2025 Training Institutes – Register Today!
Join nearly 2,000 experts and leaders, including family leaders, from across the U.S., working at the federal, state, and local levels to transform public human services systems, programs, and services. Choose from an array of workshops and presentations on cutting-edge research and innovative programs, services, and practices all focused on improving outcomes and building bright futures for children, youth, young adults, and their families. Learn more & register early for a special discount, first come, first serve. NFSTAC staff will be presenting at the Pre-Institutes Training Program, so make sure to register for that, too!
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