|
June 2025
Volume 14 | Issue 6
| |
IT'S OFFICIAL!
Back by popular demand!
Labette Center is proud to announce the 2025 Recovery Month Speaker will be Jimmy McGill!
If you missed last year's Recovery Month event, or you would like to hear more from Jimmy McGill, join us in celebrating recovery on September 9th.
Jimmy McGill is a dynamic force in the realm of recovery and advocacy, he sits as the Executive Director at the National Peer Recovery Alliance. Formerly the Director of Peer and Recovery Services for the state of Arkansas (2018-2023), Jimmy's personal journey fuels his commitment to advancing recovery services nationwide.
A founding member of the SAMHSA Region 6 Peer Support Advisory Committee and inaugural Chairman of the National Association of Reentry Professionals, Jimmy leads pioneering efforts in peer support and reentry advocacy. Emerging triumphantly from a lifetime of incarceration and a twenty-three-year battle with addiction, Jimmy has transformed into an esteemed author and speaker, fueled by an unwavering purpose.
Despite a challenging past, Jimmy has graced stages alongside presidents, influenced drug and reentry policies, collaborated with Arkansas's supreme court on program development, and addressed audiences nationwide. Honored with the "Jimmy McGill Peer Leadership" Award in 2019, the 2021 Trail Blazer award from the Department of Human Services, and the 2023 Arkansas Peer Legacy Award, his transformative journey is a beacon reshaping reentry and recovery efforts across the nation. Featured in numerous articles, Jimmy's narrative is actively reshaping perceptions and driving change on a national scale.
| Meet our Peer Support Specialist! | Labette Center is proud to have a total of 7 Peer Support Specialist on staff to provide support to the individuals we serve. A peer support specialist is an individual with lived experience with mental health and/or substance use disorders who have went through training to be able to provide support to others through empathy, respect and empowerment, helping individuals navigate their recovery journey. By sharing their own experiences, peer support specialists inspire hope and demonstrate that recovery is possible. |
| |  | Crisis Peer Support provider Lora Kelley is a Certified Peer Support provider through KDADS. She is trained in trauma informed care and mental health services including de-escalations, skill building, and psychoeducation. Lora supports individuals using role modeling, advocacy, accessing resources and life experience in managing symptoms of mental health. Crisis Peer Support services are focused on brief interventions and support during and in follow up to individuals that have mental health crisis events. The goals during crisis response and involvement with peer support is to help the individuals maintain stability and recovery in the least restrictive setting and means possible. The utilization of peer support during times of crisis can help people feel a sense of comfort and connection to de-escalate and stabilize the management of emotional symptoms impacting daily life with another person that has experienced mental health treatment and recovery. This work also enables individuals to have supportive services to work towards recovery in their home and community and extends beyond the isolated crisis event time. Many times, these are brief sets of services but also can be used to help with connections to more community support services or other programs within the LCMHS system.
"I’m blessed and thankful to have the opportunity to work with and give back to my community through crisis and peer support," state Lora. "We are all works in progress and worth the effort that progress requires!"
| Adult Services Peer Support | In our adult services program within the community, Labette Center has one part-time and three full-time peer support specialists. | |
Ari Haviland has been providing adult peer support for Labette Center for over eleven years. Ari is trained in an array of mental health supports including group services, crisis intervention, Seeking Safety, de-escalation, skill building and psychoeducation for mental illness. Ari is able to provide short- and long-term peer support assistance to adults in Labette County who are in recovery from mental health challenges.
"Peer Support is rewarding because they have a voice that someone can help them with," stated Ari. "Sometimes clients want to have that voice. And they often don’t know what to do." Ari also very much enjoys being the advocate for her clients.
| |
Ameila "Shantel" Collins has been providing adult peer support for Labette Center for two years. Shantel is trained in an array of mental health supports including group services, crisis intervention, Seeking Safety, de-escalation, skill building and psychoeducation for mental illness. Shantel is able to provide short- and long-term peer support assistance to adults in Labette County who are in recovery from mental health challenges.
Shantel stated, "Being a peer support specialist rewarding because you’re making bonds with people who have little to no support."
| |
Delona Burke has been providing adult peer support for Labette Center for a year. Delona is trained in an array of mental health supports including group services, crisis intervention, Seeking Safety, de-escalation, skill building and psychoeducation for mental illness. Delona is able to provide short- and long-term peer support assistance to adults in Labette County who are in recovery from mental health challenges.
"Being a peer support specialist is a very rewarding job. Peer support allows clients to connect with another person in the community with lived experience," stated Delona.
| |
Michelle Flory has been with Labette Center for a year and a half. The peer support services provided by Michelle are within the Center's Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program. Michelle provides those services in both individual and group formats for ACT clients. ACT is a program intended for those individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses and have not been as successful in other forms of treatment. Michelle is trained in an array of mental health supports including group services, crisis intervention, Seeking Safety, de-escalation, skill building and psychoeducation for mental illness. Michelle is able to provide short- and long-term peer support assistance to adults in Labette County who are in recovery from mental health challenges.
| Children Services Peer Support |
| | | Kami Lopeman is currently undergoing training to become a Kansas Certified Parent Peer Support Specialist, a role regulated by the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services. This certification process includes 90 days of supervised training under experienced professionals and obtaining Level 2 certification through the Kansas Parent Support Network. Upon successful completion of these requirements and passing the state examination, she will be fully registered and authorized to practice in this specialized role. As a Parent Peer Support Specialist, Kami leverages her extensive personal experience raising a child with a Severe Emotional Disturbance, (SED) and substance use disorder (SUD). Her firsthand understanding of navigating healthcare systems, educational accommodations, and community resources enables her to provide comprehensive support to other parents and guardians facing similar challenges. She offers guidance on accessing services, understanding diagnoses, and implementing effective coping strategies. Through sharing her story and professional expertise, Kami facilitates family healing and recovery using evidence-based practices and trauma-informed approaches. She empowers parents by strengthening their advocacy skills, enhancing parenting confidence, and providing practical tools for success. Her support includes helping families navigate the IEP process, accessing mental health services, helping in the development of crisis management plans, and connecting with community resources. By working collaboratively with families, she helps them establish achievable goals and create structured plans for long-term success while maintaining cultural sensitivity and respect for each family's unique journey.
Kami has successfully completed the Level I training and is currently able to provide up to 20 hours a week in direct support to families as a Kansas Certified Parent Peer Support in Training.
| |
Ashley Vines provides peer support services to individuals receiving treatment for substance use issues as well as providing Service Members, Veterans and Families (SMVF) support. Peer mentors work with individuals to engage early recovery skills, relapse prevention skills, and long-term sobriety support. Through these services a peer mentor shares experiences, insights, and knowledge to help navigate daily struggles with substance use.
| |
|
Download our app today and join the growing community of individuals who are taking control of their mental health care journey.
To access the LCMHS Patient Portal through the website, visit: https://portal.lcmhs.com/ - Be sure to update your current email address with your provider. Individuals can contact Labette Center at 620-421-3770 or check with your provider at your next visit. Download the app "LCMHS Patient Portal" from the App Store or Google Play or visit online through the website. Enter your email address and choose "Help, I can't sign in" to set up the account. Begin accessing YOUR information!
| | Sign Up TODAY for MHFA and QPR | |
Labette Center offers a wide range of courses to provide individuals in our community with the tools to assist a person who is struggling with mental health challenges or is a mental health crisis! Visit our website to find out more about Mental Health First Aid and QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) to sign up for an upcoming course or request a course for an organization or group.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an interactive public education program. Through the course, individuals are able to learn how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. Labette Center is proud to be able to provide both the adult and youth versions of this course as well as the brand new teen MHFA.
In QPR the general public is educated about the known warning signs of a suicide crisis: expressions of hopelessness, depression, giving away prized possessions, talking of suicide, securing lethal means, and then taught how to respond.
For more information about signing up for an upcoming course, visit our website!
QPR
Mental Health First Aid
| | | | | |
