What's new: Kaiser Permanente, in partnership with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (National Council), Resilient Georgia, Metro State University – Denver, and Colorado Health Institute are launching the National Mental Health Workforce Acceleration Collaborative (NMHWAC) Program.

Why it matters: Georgia ranks #49 in the nation for mental health care access. The NMHWAC is addressing the mental health and substance use treatment workforce shortage and to increase the number of diverse licensed clinicians serving clients.

By the numbers:

• Resilient Georgia has successfully partnered with 12 sites from across Georgia for Cohort 1 & 2 of the NMHWAC Post-Masters Program.
• We have created academic partnerships with 8 accredited master’s level mental health training programs across the state.
• We will onboard 12 new sites/candidates in Summer 2024 for Cohort 3 of the NMHWAC Post-Masters Program.
• We will onboard 16 new Fellows in Summer 2024 for Year 1 of the NMHWAC Pre-Masters Fellowship Program.

• The Emily Lembeck Early Learning Center released this powerful video of parents describing their challenges and triumphs...because sometimes being a parent can be really hard.

• Vashti Center’s Youth Advisory Council, a group of teens 15-18 years old who have a keen interest in young people’s overall health and well-being, created this wonderful PSA for Mental Health Awareness Month.

• Congratulations to 30 winners of the Inaugural Young Innovators in Behavioral Health Awards Program created in partnership with Hopelab, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, and Going Digital Behavioral Health Tech. The 2023 winners are recognized for their contributions to access, awareness, and advancement of digital mental health care for young people in the U.S.

• SAMHSA’s 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline recently added ways to access LGBTQI+ services and resources: 💬 Text PRIDE to 988 📞Press 3 when calling 988 ✅ Select LGBTQI+ in the pre-chat survey at 988lifeline.org.

• Georgia's mental health resources recently got a boost from this Kaiser Permanente grant of $490,000 to increase the number of diverse licensed clinicians and support for our work at Resilient Georgia. 

• Nikki Warner, Regional Program Coordinator at Resilient Georgia and Vira Salzburn from Resilient Coastal Georgia presented at the 10th Annual Chatham County Mental Health Symposium in May. Their presentation highlighted the work of local Resilient Georgia partners and the benefits of coalition building efforts around the state.

• Wellroot Family Services and Resilient North Georgia are providing Reaching Teens, a training series that provides communication strategies to effectively engage with today's teenagers. Click here for 2024 training dates.

• Join Child Trends June 13 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET as they showcase the newest generation of leaders advocating for Black child and family well-being. Kudos to Child Trends for bringing together a dynamic panel of leaders ages 30 and under who are dismantling systemic racism in their communities. 

• The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education is now accepting applications for the 17th cohort of the Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP), which runs August 2024 to May 2025. EPFP is an intensive professional development experience designed to equip emerging leaders across various sectors with the necessary knowledge and networks to be effective change agents in education policy. Application deadline is June 14.

• Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center’s (GRHIC) third-annual Maternal Health Symposium will be held on Thursday, June 20, 2024 at Mercer University’s Macon campus. The theme is The Maternal Health Care Team.



• Hopelab recently launched a Translational Science Fellowship for researchers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to benefit Black youth wellness. The Fellowship is designed for research faculty and career researchers who are ready to translate adolescent development and well-being expertise into meaningful applications that benefit young Black people. Learn more and apply.

• Youth Mental Health Corps will deploy hundreds of trained peer mental health workers directly into schools and community organizations. Anyone age 18-24 with a high school diploma can apply.

• Join professionals from across the state Sept. 11 at the Hilton Peachtree City Conference Center for the 2024 Georgia Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect.

• Register now for the 4th Annual School-Based Health Care State Conference Sept. 20 from 8:30am - 5pm EDT at the Emory Conference Center Hotel. This year's theme, "Every Child Succeeds: Utilizing SBHCs to Fulfill the Promise," emphasizes the importance of providing every child with a caring adult, a healthy start, quality education, safe places, and opportunities to serve. 

• Cheyianne is looking forward to taking more courses/trainings that enhance her understanding about grant writing, proposals and grasping how to showcase projected budgets that can improve our chances of obtaining grants we apply for.

• Kathryn is excited the rainy season is coming to an end and looking forward to more walks outside and meetings in the sun whenever possible.

• Nikki enjoyed a successful Planning Day with Round 2 grantees in Columbus last month. In her spare time, she is having fun working on her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Certification...and training for a full marathon!