Friday Update 4-5-20
April 05, 2020
April 05, 2020
Hey Network faithful, let’s get this issue of Friday Update started with a slice of excellence from Northern Mexico. Saddle up and get ready to ride with Los Viejones De Linares. Man, I am a sucker for some killer accordion… Enjoy Chiquilla Cariñosa, dust off your two-step, and then get to readin’ Friday Update, cuz we got work to do!
Most Important Reads of the Week
Virtual Technologies Work! Team-Based Supports and Planning
We are delighted to share the latest pearls of wisdom from John VanDenBerg, one of the pioneers of the Wraparound movement. As John writes, “When the COVID-19 virus appeared and was determined to be highly contagious, many individuals and community system of care leaders contacted me about what could be done to continue supports. My answers are summarized in this brief paper – I am convinced that as a field, we will respond like we always have, with innovation and dedication! This paper is not designed to teach details about each team-based planning and support process, but rather to share information about how to insert virtual technologies into these processes. Thank you, John!
A Rising Voice in the Peer Support Movement–Jammie Farrish
An excellent and well-deserved shout out to the incomparable Jammie Gardner, who continues to blaze trails in the peer support movement. Frequent Morning Zen contributor, Gina Gervase, gives a rousing tribute to Jammie’s work and a glimpse into a recent coauthored chapter “Youth Engagement and Empowerment Strategies” in the book Transforming Residential Interventions: Practical Strategies and Future Directions.
COVID-19 – Impact for Families
The Research to Policy Collaboration is actively collecting and disseminating research-
How I Use Light To Manage My Mental Health and Brighten My Mood
Check out the Latest Young Adult Blog Post on the Transitions ACR Website, which features a young author who takes us through how they use light to brighten their mood. Useful tips for all of us! I am so impressed with the Transitions ACR ability to be agile and adept during these most challenging times. Keep ’em coming, you guys!
Returning to Resilience: The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health and Substance Use
As governments race to contain COVID-19, it is vital to know the actions society can take to mitigate the behavioral health impact of the pandemic and economic crisis.
Ways to Promote Children’s Resilience to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Over four decades of research on resilience shows that protective factors can buffer children from harm and increase the chances they adapt positively to adversities, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Families and communities can work together to promote these protective factors.
Radio Garden!
Faithful readers know how much I love an eclectic assortment of musical genres. What if you had access to current music playing over the radio waves all across the world? Well, look no more. Radio Garden allows you to listen to thousands of live radio stations worldwide. Every green dot on the rotating globe on the website represents a city or town. Tap on it to tune into the radio stations broadcasting from that city. Have some fun exploring music from around the world while practicing social distancing with Radio Garden. Enjoy!
Coronavirus Has Upended Our World. It’s OK To Grieve
The coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe has not only left many anxious about life-and-death issues, but it also has left people struggling with a host of less obvious existential losses as they heed stay-home warnings and wonder how bad all this will get. To weather these uncertain times, it’s important to acknowledge and grieve lost routines, social connections, family structures, and our sense of security — and then create new ways to move forward.
NNED Virtual Roundtable – Communities Respond to COVID-19 with Innovative High-Impact Strategies
Thursday, April 23, 2020 | 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm EDT
COVID-19 brings new health, economic, and social crises daily. These crises especially affect lower-income, ethnic minority communities with job loss, food insecurity, and poorer access to health care. Information overload and cultural and linguistic gaps in information exacerbate anxiety, confusion, and uncertainty. Join the first session in this two-part series to learn about actionable and accessible strategies that diverse communities are initiating to move through these difficult times.
Hello, I’m Scott Bryant-Comstock, CEO and founder of the Children’s Mental Health Network. For the past 40 years, my journey as a mental health advocate has traveled from volunteering at a suicide and crisis center, professional roles as a therapist in an outpatient clinic, in-home family therapist, state mental health official, Board Chair for a county mental health program, and national reviewer of children’s mental health systems reform efforts. As the founder of the Children’s Mental Health Network, I lead the Network’s efforts to grow a national online forum to exchange ideas on how to improve children’s mental health research, policy, and practice.