Volume 4| May 14th, 2019
May 2019 Newsletter
MHAAO is an inclusive peer-run organization dedicated to self-direction
honoring the voice of lived experience
Staff Highlights
We have a lot to Celebrate here at MHAAO!

We are so proud of Jessica Cardinal for being accepted to Portland State School of Social Work

Congrats to Sean Syrek for getting married!!

A BIG CONGRATS to Angele Whinn and Emily Privatsky for celebrating 9 years and 14 years in recovery, respectively! You ladies are rockstars!!

If YOU have something to celebrate, let us know!
Office Updates
Admin:

  • The last day to submit your "100 Best Companies to Work For" survey is May 20th. The email should be from survey@energage.com. If you did not receive the survey, please check your spam folder, then notify Kaity McCraw. Participation in the survey is not required.
  • Due to Peerpocalypse, the next Staff Computer Lab will be June 7th at 11 am. Currently, Sunny is going over Microsoft Word.

Equity Initiative:
  • MHAAO was awarded $40,000 from the Collins Foundation to fund our DEI Initiative!
  • We have been awarded a BRSS TACS technical assistance grant focused on the EDI Initiative as well. We have completed the organization-wide self-assessment and will be completing an action plan. This technical assistance will be completed by August 10th.
  • The DEI Committee meetings have been paused for the moment, but will regroup soon. Date TBA.

Office Yoga Classes:
  • Kasey Perdue, MHAAO Admin Assistant, is a Certified yoga instructor and has generously offered to lead staff yoga classes at the MHAAO Hancock office!
  • Tuesday, May 28th at 10 am is our next yoga class!
New Employee Q&A
1. How has being a mentor inspired you to become a Peer Support Specialist? 
Being a mentor has inspired me to become a peer support specialist because as a woman in recovery I believe that everyone's journey is unique in their own way and I honor that. 
2. What are you most excited about for your role on the Opioid Survivor Network team?
I am most excited to laugh, cry, and grow as a team but I am even more excited to meet all different kinds of kindred spirits who deserve a life of freedom. 
3. What do you like to do for self-care?  
For self-care I stay close connected with my support group, I love to swim, eat, and take care of my plants. 

-Grace Jo, PSS with Clackamas Hope Peer Support Program
1. What inspired you to become a Peer Support Specialist? 
Given my lived experience with co-occurring disorders, I wanted to find a way to help the community and give back. Peer Support is a unique way to do that. Being able to connect with people, where they are at, is an important part of the human condition.
2. What are you most excited about for your role on the Clackamas Behavioral Health Unit team?
I’m excited about working with a new team of people that all bring a different perspective, and lived experience to the table. I’m hoping to learn a lot from the unit, especially about improving the interface between mental health, addiction, and law enforcement.
3. What do you like to do for self-care? 
I go on adventures. I like being in the outdoors, and enjoy backcountry hiking and camping. I love reading books and recording music. I also eat way too much ice cream. Ha!

-Geoff Moser, PSS/CRM with Clackamas BHU
Program Updates
PEERPOCALYPSE:
  • The full program has been released! Check it out here!
  • We have 19 sponsors and 22 exhibitors this year!
  • T-minus 6 days until the conference begins!
EVOLVE 
WEST
  • Traci Lundy moved onto the TC-911 team.
  • Elmer Morris is now Peer Manager for Multnomah County Mental Health Court.
  • Cee Carver and Kristin Griffey recorded a webinar on Peer Support in ED's for OHSU's project ECHO that was well received.
  • Cee Carver, Marianne O'Neill-Tutor, and Howard Marlow presented on the OA program to 13 ADS caseworkers in Milwaukee.
  • Kristin Griffey completed Compassion Fatigue Facilitator Training and is now certified to train on the subject.
EAST
  • Multnomah County Diversion Courts: Teana Edwards moved to Peerlink TAC.
  • MC PSS: Staff are now directly supervised by Program manager Elmer Morris.
  • HB4143: The MCDC component of this program is off the ground and is taking referrals from the jail. Tee Branch moved onto this team.
  • Clackamas Hope Peer Support Program is off the ground with Grace Jo under Reina Bower's supervision. The program has already received several referrals and we are currently developing additional referral sources.
  • JOIN is going well with Bryan Corley on the team!
TRAINING AND OUTREACH:
Peerlink
  • Jessica Carroll presented at the Indian Health Board event in Washington, where she spoke to an audience comprised of representatives of Native American Tribes from Oregon Washington, and Oregon
  • Donita Diamata presented two workshops at a peer training conference in Pocatello, Idaho.
  • Jessica Carroll and Donita Diamata traveled to Guam to provide intensive in-person support to the peer organization, TOHGE Guam.
OPDSCo
  • OHA Office and Equity is providing $60,000 grant to accomplish a comprehensive statewide needs assessment and report over the next year.
  • OPDSCo summit was held April 30th in Pendleton and was SOLD OUT!! It brought together 60 peers from across Oregon for the event!
OPTIC
  • Peer Wellness Specialist is now underway. Another is scheduled for July. Check out the training dates here.
  • MHAAO contracted with Braunwynn Franklin to be co-facilitator with Jessica for the May and July PWS trainings.
  • Kaity McCraw will continue to be a guest speaker on peer support for the LGBTQ+ community at the May PWS Training.
  • PWS training is now approved for the CRM certification!
  • Scholarships for the PWS training are available through WorkSystems.
PeerZone
  • 52 new PeerZone toolkits were just released! Ask Adrienne for more details!
University of WA, Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC)
  • Two Community of Practice events are scheduled for this Thursday, May 16th. Learn more here.
Washington County Coordination
  • Janie facilitated WACo Peer Collaborative
  • Adrienne presented to Health Careers Northwest cohort in Hillsboro on peer delivered services as a discipline.
Peer Support in Action!
Peer Support Success Story:
"WACO juvenile drug court program had our first graduation since I started in the position! I have been working with her since I started in September and she has been doing amazing!! Graduated the program, got her record expunged and her license reinstated. We are super excited and proud of this accomplishment!"
-Jessica Cardinal
Our MHAAO team turned out to kick off Mental Health Awareness Month at the Clackamas County Commissioner's Office!
If you have stories about yourself or a peer that you would like to have featured in the newsletter, on our blog, or on our social media, please email kmccraw@mhaoforegon.org