MHAAO is an inclusive peer-run organization dedicated to self-direction
honoring the voice of lived experience
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Congrats to Marianne O'Neill-Tutor for celebrating 14 years in recovery on October 1st!
Congrats to Brenda Mitchell for celebrating 8 years of addiction recovery on October 3rd!
Happy Birthday to Traci Lundy and Janie Gullickson!
Congrats to Traci Lundy for quitting smoking cigs! 14 days strong!
Happy 1 year work anniversary to Monica Alexander!
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New Team Member Spotlights |
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Christine Rodrigues
Peer Support Specialist for Clackamas County Choice
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What drew you to the peer movement?
I was drawn to the peer movement, because my own experience told me that this work is something that will greatly help those who need it. Mental health and addiction are both beasts, and an empathetic person who has had their own rock bottoms is something that can help someone who is struggling in a way that a clinical therapist is not able to. I am excited to share my experience and vulnerable moments so that it can help others in need.
What about our organization most excites you and/or is there anything you are looking forward to in your new role?
I am most excited to help people in need. As someone who has been in need (with my mental health and substance abuse), I know how helpful a PSS can be. Being a positive influence in others' lives is something I am truly looking forward to.
What do you do for self-care?
I like to follow the "RAD" philosophy of self-care - Reflection, Action, Distraction. I like to journal, go to therapy, do art, exercise, watch TV, clean, cook, be out in nature, and spend time with loved ones.
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Hashim Rhodes
Peer Support Specialist for Clackamas County Behavioral Health Unit
What drew you to the peer movement?
I've been doing peer support for many years, not knowing I could get paid for it lol. What pushed me forward, was my baby brother committed suicide. I wanted to turn his death into positive energy. So a lot of what I do is in his memory, and the pain he suffered. To let others know they are not alone in their struggle.
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What about our organization most excites you and/or is there anything you are looking forward to in your new role?
MHAAO so far has demonstrated great unity within the peer community. I'm glad to be a part of a great organization. I just look forward to doing the best that I can, with the tools I posses.
What do you do for self-care?
For self-care, I try meditating where there is actual natural running water. Becoming one with "Mother Earth!"
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What drew you to the peer movement?
I am a person who struggled for over 17 years with substance abuse disorder, I was hopeless and hated myself for the damage I had caused to everyone around me, including myself, and especially my two boys.
It wasn't until I was introduced to the peer movement that I found a few people that could and were willing to love me until I was able to love myself. My peers seemed to understand me and knew what it took to make the life changes in order to not only get clean (sober), but to stay that way. They walked beside me and continued to do so, even when I would fall. I had not felt that kind of unconditional love and support from anyone in my life, ever.
So I knew very early on in my own recovery, even before my sobriety stuck, that the Peer Movement was not only a way for me to pay forward all of the love and support that I had felt from my own team, but also a way for me to make sense of my own journey.
What about our organization most excites you and/or is there anything you are looking forward to in your new role?
I am excited to be a part of the MHAAO team and to use my lived experiences to pay forward what was once so freely given to me. In addition, I am looking forward to the individual growth opportunity that being part of such an amazing team might offer.
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Dawn Martin
Peer Support Specialist for
Blanchet House
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What do you like to do for self-care?
I have a lot of things that I like to do for self-care. But a few of my favorites are baking cookies for the people that I love, spending alone time with Abby, my Pit Bull/very best friend, hiking, and anything involving my adult boys.
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Keziah Wong
Communications Intern
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I'm a senior at Reed College majoring in Comparative Literature. I'm super excited to be a part of MHAAO, because of their guiding values in building a strong network of support that helps everyone involved. |
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The Oregon Cares Fund is a targeted investment in the Black community from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund. This fund is meant to provide the Black community with the resources it needs to weather the global health pandemic and consequent recession. The Oregon Cares Fund is for Black people, Black-owned businesses, and Black community based organizations. |
Bryan Corley
Peer Support Specialist for JOIN
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"I would like to report out that three of my peers that I either gave information to about the Oregon Cares fund or helped them apply for it, have reported back to me that they all have been approved and is currently awaiting for the money to arrive. They all are so excited. "
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- MHAAO was honored to receive the Oregonian's Appreciation Award, and to be ranked 3rd best small employers on their list of Top Workplaces!
- MHAAO was also ranked 7th on Oregon Business's 100 Best Nonprofits to Work For list for medium-sized organizations.
- MHAAO transitioned to QuickBooks Online in September from Susan Matlack Jones.
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative Update:
- The DEI Committee created and finalized a DEI Committee Charter.
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The DEI Committee is now accepting applications to join. Please read the charter attached to the application, and please be sure to connect with your supervisor prior to applying. As a friendly reminder, staff should only participate on one committee at a time.
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Trauma-informed Care Initiative Update:
- As a whole, the most actionable pieces have been administering/scoring Professional Quality of Life (Pro-QOL) surveys to the majority of our staff, which will be repeated and measured/compared (individually) in 6 months/1 year (depending upon the ever-changing circumstances in our world) and offering PS4PSS, which has been consistently utilized by PSS’s. PS4PSS group has largely focused on building natural supports, sharing resources, mindfulness, somatic tools, an concepts/language (toxic stress, ambiguous loss, allostatic load, collective trauma have been some hot ones lately).
- PS4PSS one-on-one have been BOOMING and are now on the decline (very large increase with every wave- most recent being fires). There have been multiple peers who have created person centered employment plans and/or used the Go-Slow-Stop Template to identify Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction.
- Recorded a Trauma Informed Care Class for OPTIC E-learning (https://optic.teachable.com/).
- Virtual Presentation to Luke-Dorf and have in-reached to various other community partners.
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MHAAO’s new Pathway Home Program is a direct service program funded through a grant from the Department of Labor (DOL). The purpose of this program is to provide a continuum of services, both pre- and post-release, to individuals experiencing incarceration in a tri-county jail and who fall within enrollment parameters.
The Pathway Home Program will provide comprehensive case management, peer support, and training in addition to linking participants to treatment, employment, housing, and other services essential to the reduction of recidivism and increased employment.
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Peerpocalypse:
- Peerpocalypse 2021 Planning Committee meeting will be held during the first week of October. MHAAO had to implement a selection process this year because we had 25 applicants to participate. This year we are also adding more structure and an equitable workshop selection process.
- Peerpocalypse ticket sales went live on October 1st and we are officially marketing a hybrid conference of in-person and virtual participation.
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Pathway Home:
- Participating in new-grantee orientation.
- Meeting with TA coach twice monthly
- Creating contracts and MOU’s for mandatory and supplemental partners.
- Created job descriptions for open positions to staff program.
- Evaluating jail census data to determine if revision in participant numbers should be submitted during planning period.
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EVOLVE Peer Delivered Services:
- In September, EVOLVE On-boarded our new staff for the Clackamas Co. Choice programs. We wet with the Choice team and we have new staff member, Christine Rodrigues participating in morning huddle meetings as well as shadowing Washington Co. Choice staff.
- Welcome Catherine Dawn Martin! Dawn is working with Blanchet House.
- Nathaniel Wright transferred from the Multnomah jail Navigator program to the Blanchet House.
- We have two new programs started in September, Recovery Pathway to work Mental health and addiction IOP Washington Co. and Kaiser Ambulatory Detox
- We have 3 open positions for our Kaiser programs and will be interviewing for these positions the next week.
- We received a renewal of the federal re-entry program starting 10-1-2020 which now includes telehealth services.
- Recovery Link has been live for 6 weeks. All is well and training for all staff is going well.
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Peerlink Grant ended on September 30th. In preparation for this Peerlink completed the following:
- Supported various organizations around sustainability of the programs through virtual training and technical assistance.
- Gathered all needed data for SPARS quarterly report.
- Collaborated with GPO and budget office to create RFP for one time funding disbursements to peer focused organizations/programs of start-up funds from unused travel budget.
- Annual and end of grant reporting will be taking place in next few weeks, along with fixing/re-categorization of past misattributed data from previous grant years in SPARS system.
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Oregon Peer Trainings & Innovations Center (OPTIC)
- Part 2 of our PWS training will be held twice to ensure smaller cohort sizes for our existing trainees. Emily, Molly, and Adrienne will be facilitators
- Emily is working on coordination for the two “part 2” trainings that will take place from October - November
- More online trainings will be in the works through new Teachable platform.
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PeerZone
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Monthly PeerZone Facilitator connection webinar for USA/Canada/UK facilitators was held September 1st. Next meeting will be October 6th at 9 AM PST.
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A “how to facilitate PeerZone toolkits” online training will be scheduled for September, and another will be held in October as a catch-up training for PeerZone facilitators too.
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OHA - Opioid and Pain Training
- Year 2 has begun, and funding will be maintained at same level as year 1
- Adrienne is working on “Understanding Pain” module
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Have experience with chronic pain or opioids? Reach out to Adrienne (ascavera@mhaoforegon.org) if you want to share input about the training!
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University of Washington Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
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Now in its 3rd year, a modified, more detailed workplan will be developed to achieve a broader reach through MHTTC activities
- Adrienne represented MHAAO at quarterly Northwest MHTTC Advisory Board meeting
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OPDSCo - OHA Needs Assessment
- The final report for the peer workforce needs assessment is complete, capturing all of the work that Marianne, Adrienne, and Comagine did over the past year!
- Report is under review by our funder, OHA’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, before it will be widely shared
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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 |
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