Summertime formally launched on June 7 at COA Youth & Family Centers’ Safe Summer Kickoff in Moody Park, which drew hundreds of kids and adults who enjoyed food, entertainment, raffles, and community.

Amanda Clark, a Public Ally at Community Advocates Public Policy Institute, helped to staff the registration table and provided two $50 We Energies rebate cards, which were raffled off.

"I wanted to really help people, so I thought we could help people pay their We Energies bill," Clark said. "Someone told me they really wanted to win this prize, and guess what—they did!"

In addition to PPI, COA’s partners included Amani United, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Science Advocates, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Northwestern Mutual, and Safe & Sound, plus many more vendors and supporters. Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office staff made connections with kids and their parents.

Learn more about COA's Safe Summer Kickoff--

[Photo Courtesy of COA Youth & Family Centers]

Summit Place in West Allis was the site of last week’s successful drug-take back event. West Allis police collected 43 pounds of unwanted medication—that’s 43 pounds of potentially dangerous substances that will be kept away from those it could harm. Congratulations go out to the organizers and partners, Children’s Community Health Plan , Milwaukee Police Department , West Allis Fire Department , West Allis Police Department , Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division , Hayat Pharmacy , Milwaukee County Substance Abuse Prevention (MCSAP) coalition , West Allis-West Milwaukee Community Coalition , Skywalk Pharmacy , and JLL .

Did you miss this event? Don’t worry. Another drug-take back will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Salem Lutheran Church, 6840 N. 107^th St., Milwaukee. It’s sponsored by Take Back My Meds MKE , Safe & Sound , MPD District 4 , Clean Wisconsin , Dose of Reality , and MCSAP . 

The Milwaukee City-County Heroin, Opioid & Cocaine Task Force invites anyone seeking help or guidance with addiction to this evening of resources and support. The event will include a resource fair, a free meal, access to counselors, treatment providers, naloxone training, and housing and employment resources. It’s open to the public (but closed to the media). The Milwaukee County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (MCSAP) is among the partnering agencies. Connections to Heal will be held from 5 to 7 pm. on Monday, June 24, at Bradley Tech High School, 700 S. Fourth St., Milwaukee. Kindly RSVP by June 19 to [email protected] or 414-286-3524. 

The Fourth Annual Wisconsin Peer Recovery Conference, "Recovery Outside the Box,"  is designed to demonstrate aspects of effective peer support within community services of mental health and substance use recovery. Peers, consumers, and service providers are able to enhance their individual skills and explore innovative applications of peer support in various communities statewide. Keynote speakers are Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, on "The Therapeutic Benefits of Humor for Peer Specialists," and Pardeep Singh Kaleka on "Embracing Survivorship and Repairing Harm." The conference will be held Thursday, August 1, and Friday, August 2, at Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center, Onalaska. Get details and register here .

Finding Your Best Self is a new recovery model for trauma and/or addiction that is flexible enough to be self-help or conducted by a counselor in a group or individual format. It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Radisson Milwaukee West, 2303 N. Mayfair Road, Milwaukee. Lunch is included. This Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division-hosted event is free, but RSVPs are required at this link. 

The public has few opportunities to speak at a Mental Health Board meeting; this is one of them. The finance committee will allow public testimony on the 2020 budget for the county’s mental health and substance abuse services. The session will be held at Sojourner Family Peace Center, 619 W. Walnut St., Milwaukee, beginning at 4:30 p.m. You can also take the Mental Health Board’s survey as well.

The Milwaukee Latino Health Coalition’s quarterly education series topic focuses on working with Latino families. Presenters are Ana Solano-Pacheco and Melanie Waschbisch, bilingual family counselors at Penfield Children’s Center. This session will be held from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Tannery Building, 700 W. Virginia St., lower level, Milwaukee. 

Calling all social service providers, advocates, and consumers! The Empowerment Coalition of Milwaukee, sponsored by Community Advocates, will hold this discussion of housing services at the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, 225 W. Vine St., Milwaukee, from 9 a.m. to noon. Fee is $5. Click here to register.

Want to learn more about expanding BadgerCare in Wisconsin? This tele-town hall is sponsored by Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health, Kids Forward, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin. It’ll begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25. Register and get details here. 

This acclaimed parenting skill-building program teaches parents and concerned adults how to raise African American children to become healthy, proud, and capable people. Six Thursdays, June 27-August 8, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Parenting Network , 7516 W. Burleigh St., Milwaukee. A meal is included. Call the Parent Helpline at 414-671-0566 to register.

Join Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers and Milwaukee Brewers players and wives for this free, family-friendly community health event. Enjoy bike tune ups, Zumba and salsa, games and food, raffles, and free helmets for the kids. This free event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, at Kosciuszko Park, Ninth Street and West Lincoln Avenue, Milwaukee. Click here for details.

This Registry-approved training provides tools to help prevent sexual abuse of children and will benefit adults who work and volunteer with children. Monday, July 8, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sessions will be held at The Parenting Network , 7516 W. Burleigh St., Milwaukee. Call 414-671-0566 to register or to schedule a group training.

This Certified Peer Specialist Training begins in July for individuals with lived experiences in parenting a child with mental health and/or substance use concerns and is knowledgeable in navigating systems of care for a child. This course is sponsored by Access to Independence. Applications will be accepted from residents of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties until June 18. To request an application or for more information, contact Leanne Delsart at 414-257-5855 or [email protected]. 

Two Certified Peer Specialist trainings are being offered on this summer for individuals with lived experience with mental illness and/or substance use disorder, and seeks formal training to support recovery. To be selected, complete an application and pass an interview; only the first 50 applications will be considered for each training.