June is Pride Month, a month that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and raises awareness regarding equal justice, opportunity and health for the LGBTQ+ community across the nation. Pride Month recognizes the major impact LGBTQ+ individuals have all over the world and strives to make communities, schools, work, and other parts of society a better place for this generation and the next one. After halting celebrations last year due to the pandemic, this year the City of Milwaukee is coming together with organizations to celebrate and promote Pride Month safely. The city has put together some beautiful displays that can be seen throughout the city this month, such as murals and lighting up landmarks and major business like the Mitchell Park Domes, Hoan Bridge, Milwaukee Art Museum, and more. Also, look out for a virtual conversation with MCSAP focusing on the LGBTQ+ community that is listed in this newsletter. There will be more events, resources and news that you can find if you check out the MKE LGBT Community Center.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Milwaukee's Juneteenth Day celebration, a day that commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States and a day that connects African Americans across the country. After a year off due to the pandemic, Milwaukee will be hosting an in-person Juneteenth Day Parade and Celebration on June 19. The parade will start at 8 a.m. from 14th and Atkinson and will travel to Burleigh and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Festivities will then start at 9:30 a.m. and will end by 4 p.m. There will be vendors focused on health and social justice, music, dance and ethnic foods available to highlight the celebration. Masks will also be required for all attendees and there will be volunteers handing out free masks to those who need them. Click here to read more about the festivities.

MCSAP has upgraded and enhanced its website with new resources, videos, calendar, and blog to provide better engagement with its partners and community members. Take a look at mcsapcoalition.org. And don’t forget to Like MCSAP on Facebook, where you’ll find continually updated news and resources.

The Youth Transformation series is a social and emotional learning program for boys and girls between the ages of 12-17. They will learn about the knowledge and skills necessary to understand their emotions. These sessions occur Thursday, June 17 & 24, at 6 p.m. via Zoom:

In this session, youth will explore things they can control and the icky habits that are holding them back from living their best lives in real life.

This session will discuss the risk factors, warning signs, and action steps to prevent suicide.

Click here to register.

This week, June 14-20, is International Men's Health week. Join MCSAP in an honest discussion on men's physical and mental health with panelists willing to share their experiences. The online event will be held Friday, June 18 at 1 p.m. To register, click here, or tune in live on MCSAP's Facebook page here.

The City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance will be holding a Health Disparities Panel on June 22 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Join to learn more about health disparities in Milwaukee, what factors contribute to them, and how they affect tobacco and substance use. To register, click here. Attendees will receive a thank you $10 gift card after the event.

The Peer Recovery Center of Excellence in collaboration with the Prevention Technology Transfer Center network and the Great Lakes PTTC have come up with a series to demonstrate how fields of prevention and recovery share common goals. This webinar will help inform and raise awareness about the intersection between SUD (substance use disorder) prevention and recovery approaches. This is a two-part webinar with the first session being held Thursday, June 24, and the second session held Tuesday, June 29, from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. To register for this webinar, click here.

Join MCSAP and the City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance in celebrating Pride Month by having an honest conversation on being a part of the LGBTQ+ community and what engagement with different communities and resources in Milwaukee looks like. Join MCSAP on Friday, June 25, at 1 p.m. virtually by registering here, or tune in live on MCSAP's Facebook page here.

The Alliance for Wisconsin Youth, partnered with Community Advocates, is hosting a Mindful Gratitude Workshop with Christel Wendelberger. The workshop will provide an experiential retreat from stress and "noise" of typical modern American day & support the building of healthy environments in work & family life. This will be an in-person workshop held at the Community Advocates Brown Deer training location at 6900 W. Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee WI 53223.

Please note: This session is only open to AWY coalition coordinators. RSVP by emailing Hannah Lepper at hlepper@communityadvocates.net.

The 2021 Wisconsin Peer Recovery Conference is a virtual Zoom event that demonstrates aspects of effective peer support within community services, mental health and substance use recovery. The conference will help enhance individual skills to provide more effective personal support. There will be a registration fee of $75 per person with scholarships available for the full amount. Information on the scholarship application form can be found here. To register for this conference, click here.

It's Pride Month and the Office of Children's Mental Health announced the publication of a new fact sheet, Improving Quality of Life for LGBT Youth, which details what our communities, schools, parents, and policymakers can do to make a difference. It highlights that compared to the general population, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youth experience higher rates of mental health disorders, often stemming from discrimination, and that many LGBT youth have limited or no access to mental health care. Throughout this month of celebration, it is important to remember that support is still needed within the LGBTQ+ community, among youth and adults, to allow individuals to live with pride.

The Office of Children's Mental Health continues to support children's mental health and well being by offering information and tool kits with helpful information and tips on mental health. Check out their toolkit that supplies monthly fact sheets on youth mental health, mental health services and more information on identifying feelings in youth. For more information on this resource, click here.

MPS Drive will be offering free classroom and behind the wheel sessions for all MPS students who are seeking driver's education. Students will receive 30 hours of classroom instruction, 6 hours of driving instruction and 6 hours of observation. To qualify, the student must be an MPS student and at least 15.5 years and not older than 17.5 years. When registering, there will be a $35 permit fee, which will cover the cost of the temporary permit. To learn more, click here.

Healthy Milwaukee is offering at-home Covid-19 vaccinations for people who have difficulty leaving their home and need additional support to access the care and health resources they need. To schedule an at-home Covid-19 vaccination appointment, click here or call (414) 257-7468.

Health Connections is providing a list of free, pop-up walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Milwaukee. Visit their website to find a date and location near you to get vaccinated! Click here to see more.