News

VALOR (Veterans Accessing Lifelong Opportunities for Rehabilitation) is a groundbreaking program that offers work opportunities and extensive treatment alternatives for felony and misdemeanor Veteran offenders who either face the prospect of incarceration or who are already incarcerated. This program is available for veterans from across the State of Texas. The program is an unprecedented collaborative effort between the North Texas Regional Veterans Court, Collin County Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD) and the Collin County Sheriff’s Office.

The VALOR Program provides Veteran-specific services and programming for offenders who need a supervised, intensive, and structured mental health/addiction treatment program to successfully reintegrate into civilian society. Treatment within the facility includes group counseling related to Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), individual counseling, life/parenting skills, anger management, substance abuse/addiction therapy, Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT), AA and NA support groups, Chaplain services and employment services.

The program was created by Judge John Roach of the North Texas Veterans Court. “While presiding over Veterans Court I realized that there was a gap in services for Veterans who become incarcerated,” Roach said. “Rather than having the Veteran just sitting there doing time, I wanted a way to provide substantive treatment for those struggling Veterans with invisible wounds. There is no doubt in my mind that the VALOR program will be a model for the Country.”

The VALOR program is rehabilitation (physically, mentally, emotionally, morally, spiritually) and reintegration focused and is designed to help Veteran defendants develop better decision-making and coping skills, provide them with the necessary tools to enhance their well-being, and assist with their reintegration into society.

Read more on PRNewswire.com.

The LEGO Foundation announced that it is awarding a $100 million grant to Sesame Workshop to ensure that young children affected by the Rohingya and Syrian crises have opportunities to learn through play and develop the skills needed for the future. Working in partnership with BRAC, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and New York University’s Global TIES for Children, Sesame Workshop will reach children affected by crises in Bangladesh and the Syrian response region with early childhood and play-based learning opportunities.

The grant from the LEGO Foundation will benefit some of the world’s most vulnerable children and call attention to the critical importance of learning through play to set them on a path of healthy growth and development.

The scale of the global refugee crisis is staggering—today, 68.5 million people are displaced worldwide. Among them are 25 million refugees, half of whom are children. As refugees experience displacement for an average of 10 years, millions of children are spending a significant part of their childhoods without access to adequate early childhood development opportunities. Adverse experiences like displacement can affect young children’s developing brains, with lasting effects on health and wellbeing. Engaging in play-based activities with responsive caregivers can help mitigate the detrimental, long-term effects of displacement and trauma, ultimately giving children affected by conflict the skills they need to thrive into adulthood and rebuild their communities.

“Research shows that not only is play vital for children’s psychological, emotional and cognitive health, and development, but it also hones the resilience they need to overcome adversity and build their futures. Early adverse experiences negatively affect the development of brain architecture, which provides the foundation for all future learning, behavior, and health. By providing play-based learning to children in crisis, we can help mitigate the detrimental, long term effects of displacement and trauma, ultimately giving a generation of refugee children a path forward,” says John Goodwin, CEO of the LEGO Foundation.

Read more on SesameWorkshop.org.

The “Let’s Talk!” conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) convened Pan-Asian college students, supporters and other educational leaders for a day-long forum addressing the success and well-being of Asian and Asian American college students across the country.

Now in its third year, the conference — created as a passion project by Dr. Josephine M. Kim, a faculty member at HGSE and licensed mental health counselor, and Marina Lee, executive director of Cogita Education Initiatives — has grown to address the direct mental health needs of Asian and Asian American students as they navigate their higher education journeys.

“‘Let’s Talk!’ is a conference that was intended for Asian Americans and Asians, thinking about biculturalism and what it means to live in one culture and go to another to function, to go in and out seamlessly through both,” Kim said in a video for the conference. “We don’t know if there are too many spaces where the conversation is [dedicated to being] all about that identity.”

Individuals who attended “Let’s Talk!” heard stories from graduate students about their mental health experiences and work and listened to a keynote presentation from Kim and a panel of mental health practitioners featuring Francis Chen, Dr. Karen Shih, Gureen Singh, Tri Quach and Nora Yasumura.

Fourteen breakout sessions focused on a variety of topics, including Asian and Asian American students’ understanding of self-perception, self-esteem and empowerment; racial identity; reverse culture shock as an international student; pursuing non-traditional careers; Asian American masculinity; and advocacy and support for LGBTQ individuals in the community.

Read more on DiverseEducation.com

The following was written by and from the perspective of Remezcla author Joe Rodriguez.

Every time I mentioned my anxiety or fears at home, most of my family dismissed my feelings. The judgment and criticism I’ve received isn’t uncommon within the Latinx community. Even when I openly talk about seeing a therapist, I’m met with misguided comments. While stigma surrounding therapy still exists, it’s more openly discussed than in the past. And even TV shows – in particular My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – have portrayed mental health in nuanced ways. But therapy is still misunderstood, and within the Latino community it’s (not unfairly) seen as a something that is intangible, a luxury not afforded to those struggling financially. This means many feel shut out of therapy, which is especially concerning for our community. As nonprofit Mental Health America reports, “36 percent of Hispanics with depression received care, versus 60 percent of whites.”

Taking ownership of my mental health has made a huge difference, but it’s also been an incredibly rocky process. I made the decision to find a therapist two years ago when I felt very lost. But I had no guidance, no way to figure out how to find a therapist, no idea how to wrap my head around the logistics with my insurance, and no answers about what steps I should take next.

If you’re just embarking on your mental health journey, it’s a scary and stressful time. But in hopes to make you feel less alone, I interviewed a Latina mental health activist, a woman who knows how intimidating the process can be, and a queer Latino therapist who have tips on how to get started. Read on to check out a six-step guide that will help you start your own journey including:

• How to find a therapist
• Figure out what’s right for you
• How to deal with families and loved ones
• What to expect
• Know that it’s a process
• What you should keep in mind

Read more on Remezcla.com.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is soliciting written comments regarding the Healthy People 2030 objectives.

Previous public comments on the proposed Healthy People 2030 framework helped shape the vision, mission, foundational principles, plan of action, and overarching goals for Healthy People 2030. In this public comment period, Healthy People would like your input on the proposed Core, Developmental, and Research objectives (pdf).

Read the objective selection criteria (pdf) prior to reviewing and commenting on the proposed objectives.

Some of the behavioral health-focused objectives are as follows:

• HIV – Reduce new infection rates, increase screening, linkage to care, and vial supression
• LGBT health – Increase representation in surveys, reduce bullying, suicidal ideation, and illicit drug use
• Sexually Transmitted Infections – Reduce rates of transmission
• Mental Health – Reduce suicide attempts and rates, improve treatment, co-occurring disorders, screening, mental health of people experiencing homelessness
• Substance Use – Increase and improve treatment, reduce underage drug use, reduce and treat drug use disorders, reduce tobacco use and increase cessation
• Opioids – Reduce deaths, use, misuse

Healthy People Overview

Healthy People focuses on critical health promotion and disease prevention topics. Since its launch in 1979, the initiative has grown substantially—increasing from 226 objectives in 15 topic areas for Healthy People 1990 to more than 1,200 objectives in 42 topic areas for Healthy People 2020. Because stakeholders have indicated a desire for a more specific and targeted initiative in the next decade, Healthy People 2030 will be a streamlined set of national health objectives guiding the Nation in efforts to improve health. While this translates to a smaller set of objectives, Heathy People 2030 will continue to represent critical public health priorities by addressing the leading causes of morbidity and mortality and driving action at the national, state, and local levels.

Members of the public are invited to submit comments on the proposed objectives from December 3, 2018 to January 17, 2019.

 Learn more and submit your comments on HealthyPeople.gov.

When Joyce Coleman brings up her family’s history of mental illness, her elderly mother likes to change the subject.

“If I try to talk to my mother about it, she’s always like, ‘shhh,’” Coleman said with a laugh. “She doesn’t want to talk about that. As quickly as possible, she’ll switch the topic and say something like, ‘You know what? I just baked some brownies. Would you like to try a couple?’ She’ll do anything to move on to the next conversation.”

Though her mother’s evasive tactics make Coleman chuckle, she understands more than anyone that avoiding conversations about mental health isn’t funny. A committed mental health awareness activist and a HealthPartners care coordinator for people and families receiving treatment for mental illness, Coleman is committed to encouraging more conversations and less silence around mental health.

As a black woman, Coleman knows that while her mother’s approach isn’t all that unusual, it can actually cause more harm than good: Because African-Americans are less likely than other ethnic groups to seek treatment, she says that they suffer at higher rates from the negative effects of mental illness.

During their childhood in rural Mississippi, Coleman and her seven siblings watched as members of her extended family struggled to cope with untreated mental illness and chemical addiction. Though many would have benefited from treatment, it wasn’t an option they’d ever consider, she said. Mental health care was for other people. Coleman’s family kept their problems to themselves.

When Coleman left home at age 18 to live with her aunt in Minnesota, she began to understand that mental health didn’t have to be a taboo subject. As she worked toward a degree in psychology and family education at the University of Minnesota, she saw that the lives of many of her family members could have been improved if they had felt more comfortable asking for help.

Coleman’s family isn’t alone it its avoidance approach. According to the American Psychiatric Association, only one in three African-Americans who need mental health care receives it. The historic mistreatment of African-Americans by social workers, psychiatrists and physicians has established an understandable wariness around mental health professionals. Even today, African-Americans are more often diagnosed with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder than whites and less likely to be diagnosed with more easily treatable mood disorders.

“There is a mistrust” of the mental health system, Coleman said. “It makes sense and I understand that.” But suspicion to the point of complete avoidance only hurts the very people who need help the most. Because of that fact, Coleman is committed to helping people in the African-American community understand that seeking help for mental illness doesn’t have to be shameful — and that it can result in receiving the needed help. And she’s willing to put her story out there to do that.

Read more on MinnPost.com.