MHE & You Community

Hi everyone -

We've been kind of "dark" over here on this channel lately. So, an update. The advisory board at UMass SPARC that is made up of people with lived experience of a mental health condition is now called the weSPARC Insight Adult Advisory Board and you can find out about what we do here: https://buff.ly/3zDJtwb (we have some great resources there also.)
Going forward, stay in touch with us on Facebook by following us at UMass SPARC. If you are interested in young adult mental health, you can also follow our center Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research. Thanks, and remember the sun will rise again.

Registration Open! Join us at the 2024 Annual Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Research Centers of Excellence Conference
"Innovative Prevention and Treatment Strategies for Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges "
Date: May 13th, 2024, 12:30-4:30 ET
Agenda / Register: https://buff.ly/3v9Ixha

What: The conference is hosted by the two Research Centers of Excellence.
UMass SPARC in the Psychiatry Dept. at UMass Chan Medical School and
The Center of Excellence (COE) for Psychosocial and Systemic Research at Massachusetts General Hospital (https://buff.ly/3vbh9zq )

Who and Why:
This conference is for Massachusetts DMH clients, their family members, DMH staff, and providers to learn more about the work these two centers are doing, and for these centers to learn how their research can best support DMH, and its mission and the people served by DMH. The conference will be a virtual Zoom Webinar and will feature speakers from MGH, UMass, and a Peer panel discussing the latest innovations in prevention and treatment strategies for co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges.

NAMI Massachusetts Parent/Professional Advocacy League Vinfen and others encouraged to join us!
Massachusetts General Hospital UMass Chan Medical School UMass Psychiatry

Living with anxiety forces lifestyle changes on you, and they are not the good kind of changes. 😒 What lifestyle changes have you chosen to make to counteract anxiety? 🌼 Share in the comments.

Thank you to our friends at the Stoddard Charitable Trust for the generous grant to repaint and beautify the Chandler House training center. With their help, we can improve the experience of our world-class training program for visiting colleagues, and show some long overdue TLC to this historic Worcester building!

Announcing, A Better Closet. This is a new project from Kiva Centers that aims to support gender affirming clothing and gender diversity!

[Image Description: A white closet door is open to show a rainbow inside the closet. It has text across the rainbow that reads "A Better Closet". Below those words is a description of how to connect with this project and reads "Looking for a new wardrobe that better supports your gender expression? Need a custom wig, binder or other gender affirming attire? Kiva is dedicated to providing these items at no additional cost to you. Just ask any of our peer respite advocates or RLC staff members for support around placing an order.]

ADARA Conference 2024 Presenter Dr. Melissa Anderson

NEW TEAM MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT!

Please join us in welcoming Morrison, S. to DeafYES! Morrison is one of FIVE new Deaf Community Advisors joining our Signs of Safety research team.

Morrison identifies as a non-binary DeafBlind activist with disabilities. As a person with disabilities and an activist, Morrison recognizes the significant gaps in accessibility for all people within the disability community, including the DeafBlind community, especially in mental health services.

Morrison is particularly passionate about bringing about knowledge and resources on how DeafBlind individuals navigate and connect in this world. In recent years, they have become an avid activist to ensure accessibility and inclusion is present for our community with a sense of unity. In the field of disability rights, accessibility, and accommodations, far too often our DeafBlind community falls through the cracks due to a system that is not working or ignorant. Morrison drives to change that with collective action at heart as it takes a community to make changes happen.




ID: [Morrison with short hair, sitting with a smile. They have on a blazer and white button up shirt. Taken outside where hints of greenery is shown off to their left as they sit in front of a wooden building.]

Global pop star, actress, and mental health advocate Lady Gaga has always been candid about her mental health.

In 2012, Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, co-founded the Born This Way Foundation, an organization that prioritizes youth mental health. Since then, the singer has continued sharing her own story, speaking out about how her diagnosis of PTSD and, later, fibromyalgia inspired her advocacy.

Thank you for all you do, Lady Gaga 💜