PPAL Pathfinder - May 2023

Hooray! It’s Children’s Mental Health Mon

Did you see that exciting picture on the fr

For the first time ever, PPAL had the p dressing the Boston Public Garden’s Mak Ducklings family in green to celebrate Mental Health Month. We had so muc were thrilled to spread the message of Mental Health Acceptance! A sincere an thank you to all that made it happen.

Did you know that the green ribbon is an international symbol for mental health support? Why green? Generally, green symbolizes nature, balance, and harmony. It is thought to relieve stress and promote healing. Interestingly enough, in healing and energy modalities, green represents the heart chakra. The chakras are believed to be main energy points in our bodies. The green heart chakra (in the middle of them all) represents our ability to love, show compassion, and connect with others.

Somehow, this seems just perfect for what our families are all about –love, compassion, connection. We seek balance, harmony, and healing for our kids with mental health challenges. So wear your green proudly, and channel the heck out of your heart chakra! We’ll all be better for it.

well,

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

SERIE DE SALUD MENTAL

miercoles, 10 mayo - 31 mayo, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

PRE-PLANNING FOR A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS: THE ROAD TO READINESS

Tuesday, May 16, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

USING COMMUNICATION TO ADVOCATE FOR YOUR CHILD

Tuesday, May 18 & May 25, 5:00 PM - 7 PM

THE INSIDE TRACK, A PPAL BRIEFING

Tuesday, May 23, 10:00 - 11:30 AM

FAMILY PARTNER/COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER PANEL

Tuesday, May 23, 1:00 - 2:30 PM

TRANSITION PLANNING AND POST SECONDARY OPTIONS

Wednesday, May 24, 12:00 AM - 1:30 PM

YOUR WELL-BEING MATTERS! with The Possible Zone

Saturday, June 3rd, 12:00 - 2:00 PM

VIRTUAL

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:

MR.TOAD’SWILDRIDE THROUGHTHEWORLDOF CHILDREN’SMENTALHEALTH!

Liz has worked for SAMHSA for the past 25 years as a Federal Health Advisor in the Center for Mental Health Services, focused on the issues families face while raising children with mental health challenges and on the systems that serve them. As a Mom, who, with her husband, raised a son with mental health challenges, Liz knows what it is like to try and find appropriate services for children and youth. Liz is the Gold Star Mother of Sgt. Thomas J. Sweet II of the Big Red One, 1st of the 5th Field Artillery Unit out of Ft. Riley, Kansas, who died in 2003 in Iraq as a result of suicide. In her current role at SAMHSA she continues to focus on issues of family involvement across the lifespan and all of behavioral health.

Thank You to our Title Sponsor

Elizabeth Sweet Mom with lived experience Public Health Advisor in the Office of Recovery, SAMHSA

Each year, PPAL presents awards to community members doing outstanding work in the field of children's

PPAL's own Irelsa Oliveras received the Champion Award from the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health for her advocacy work in the autism community!

PPAL looks forward to continued collaboration in the future!

PPAL's Question of the Month

We know how hard parents, caregivers, clinicians, teachers, and others work every day to ACCEPT, ADVOCATE & ACT for children’s mental health. Maybe you got a kid to school today? Maybe you got through the day?

a time you felt proud of yourself (or give a shout out to someone else)!

Each May, PPAL recognizes Children's Mental Health Week (CMHW). We have been busy around the state collecting proclamations from towns, asking locations to light up green, and participating in events in the community. This year, CMHW is May 7th - 13th. The theme is

ACCEPT, ADVOCATE, ACT

Because Awareness Is Not Enough!

Thank You To All That Issued Proclamations for Thank You To All That Issued Proclamations for Thank You To All That Issued Proclamations for Children's Mental Health Week! Children's Mental Health Week! Children's Mental Health Week!

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Attleboro

Cambridge

Charlton

Easthampton

Gardner

Holyoke

Haverhill

Leominster

Lynn

Marlborough

Maynard

Northborough

Swampscott

Waltham

Westborough

Westminster

Winchendon

Worcester

See the Westborough Selectmen Board declaring May 7th - 13th Children's Mental Health Week!

Make Way Make Way Make Way for Children's Mental Health! for Children's Mental Health! for Children's Mental Health!

PPAL Staff and families kicked off Children's Mental Health Week b d i the Boston Public Gardens' Make Way For Ducklings sculptur

Boston City Hall

Gardner City Hall

Westminster Gazebos

Patriot's Place (left)

Winchendon CAC

Winchendon Town Hall

Fitchburg Gazebos

Thank you to sculptor Nancy Schön for her gracious permission to do this!

A Nationwide History of Children’s Mental Health and Family Voice

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is established to support research on mental health issues, including children's mental health.

President Kennedy signs the Community Mental Health Act, which provides funding for community-based mental health centers. Many of these centers provide services for children and adolescents. The act also includes provisions for family involvement in mental health treatment.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act is signed into law, providing funding for programs to improve the education of disadvantaged children, including those with mental health needs.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is founded by families and individuals affected by mental illness, providing a platform for family voice in mental health advocacy.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) creates the Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP), which promotes family involvement in mental health services for children and adolescents.

The Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health is founded by parents and caregivers, creating a national voice for families of children with mental health needs. Learn more about it here.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is signed into law, providing protections against discrimination for individuals with disabilities, including those with mental health conditions.

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is created to provide health insurance coverage to children from lowincome families, including coverage for mental health services. The legislation includes provisions for family involvement in the development and implementation of state CHIP programs.

The Mental Health Parity Act is signed into law, requiring health insurance plans to cover mental health and substance use disorder services at the same level as physical health services.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) establishes the National Family Dialogue, providing a forum for family members to share their experiences and perspectives on mental health care.

The Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program is established to provide funding for community-based mental health services for children and families.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is signed into law, requiring health insurance plans to cover mental health and substance use disorder services and expanding access to these services for millions of Americans.

The Mental Health First Aid Act is signed into law, providing funding for mental health first aid training for individuals who work with children and adolescents.

The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act is reauthorized, providing funding for suicide prevention programs targeting children and adolescents.

The Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program is reauthorized, including provisions for family involvement in the design/delivery of mental health services.

The 21st Century Cures Act is signed into law, providing funding for mental health research, increasing access to mental health services for children and adolescents, and including provisions for family involvement in mental health research and treatment planning.

The COVID-19 pandemic leads to increased stress, anxiety, and depression among children and adolescents, highlighting the importance of access to mental health services during times of crisis. It also highlights the importance of family involvement in children's mental health care, as families are more involved in providing care and support for their children due to school closures and social distancing measures. Telehealth services provide opportunities for families to participate in mental health treatment from home.

Spotlight Staff

Meet Fabienne Eliacin, one of PPAL’s family support specialists, a fluent speaker in both English and Haitian Creole, and our Emergency Department (ED)/ Crisis Specialist.

Fabienne first learned about PPAL by taking one of our virtual Active Parenting of Teens classes. She’s been with us since! Fabienne, whose own daughter lives with mental health challenges, feels “a call” to help families whose children are struggling with mental health. When she was able to connect with other families, Fabienne realized that she was not alone, and used the connections she built to cope herself as well as to gain resources for her daughter. Fabienne now wants to make it easier for other families.

If you’ve ever taken your child to the ED for mental health issues, you know that Massachusetts, like many other states, is in a children’s ED boarding crisis, with some children spending weeks in the ED waiting for an opening for inpatient mental health treatment. Fabienne helps families navigate the entire process, from finding an inpatient bed for their child to helping their child transition from their inpatient stay to residential schools, other treatment options, or their own homes with a safety plan.

In addition to her ED work, Fabienne supports a number of Haitian families. Because speaking about mental health can be difficult or even taboo for some members of the immigrant community, Fabienne likes to mention her own family’s experiences to set an example of openness and acceptance. Fabienne also does outreach to the community, passing out flyers in libraries and working with IFSI, the Immigrant Family Services Institute. Fabienne says that for “families that are willing to do the work, the outcome [for their children] is amazing.”

Reach out to Fabienne by calling or filling out our family support request form and asking for support in Haitian Creole!

PPAL's phone: (866)815-8122

Family Support Request Form

Policy Team Update

Last month, we talked about the last 5 years in Children's Mental Healthcare reforms in MA. This month, we're talking about what you can do to support children's mental health at the state level!

Juvenile Justice Bills

An Act regarding the use of aversive therapy- Bill H.180

Bill Language

Facts & More Info

Petition & Protest/ Hill Day

School Related Bills

An Act relative to MassHealth reimbursement to schools- S.794

Bill Language

An Act relative to mental health education- S.240

Bill Language

An Act relative to juvenile fees, fines, and restitution- Bill S.1005

Bill Language

Fact Sheet

Raise The Age / An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults

Bill Language

Fact Sheet

An Act updating bail procedures for justiceinvolved youth- H.1494/S.993

Bill Language

What Can I Do?

Learn More About Children’s Mental Health Advocacy and Legislation!

Contact your State Senator and Representative

Ask them to support the bills that are important to you and your family, or thank them for their support!

Stay Informed: subscribe to organizations who report out on legislative updates, like PPAL!

Learn how the Massachusetts Legislature works!

Answer PPAL's Question of the Month

Attend PPAL’s workshop The Ripple

Effect: Using Family Experience to Inform and Influence Policy Change

Participate in Children’s Mental Health Week– May 7-13 2023

Register for PPAL’s Conference on May 19th to learn more about legislative advocacy, with a workshop by the Children’s Mental Health Campaign

Multicultural Outreach Updates

PPAL’s Multicultural Outreach Team has been working hard to make connections in diverse communities around Massachusetts. In the past month, PPAL Multicultural Outreach Coordinator Johana connected with our Asian communities through direct outreach to local businesses around Boston. She also connected to the Bolivian community through dance groups! PPAL is always looking to talk about mental health acceptance and advocacy and to continue to reach families who may benefit from peer to peer support navigating the children’s behavioral health maze!

Would you like PPAL to connect with your community or organization? Request a workshop, or reach out directly to us at Info@PPAL.net!

Upcoming Workshops:

In Spanish & English Your Well-Being Matte Let’s Talk About It!

June 3, 2023 12:00 - 2:00 PM

Learn More and Regist

Spanish Language Workshop: Transition and Post Secondary Options

More Information Coming Soon!

PPALISHIRINGA MULTICULTURAL OUTREACH SPECIALIST!

Do you know a parent, family member, or individual with lived experience in children’s mental health who would excel at bringing together people from diverse communities? Someone who is outgoing, inclusive, and committed? Click to find out more!

Juvenile Justice Team Updates

In April, PPAL had the opportunity to present at the monthly Family Exchange: Peer Networking for Family Leaders who Foster and Support Family Engagement hosted by The National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health (NTTAC).

Meri Viano, PPAL's Associate Director, presented “Put On Your Seat BeltIt Is Not What You Expect: Life In The Seat Of Courts, Probation And Arrests From A Mom And Grandmother” to an engaged virtual crowd!

Youth Move Updates

Youth Move Shines at Success-fest!

Success-fest is an annual inspirational conference held by the Central Mass Area of the Department of Mental Health for young adults to celebrate their resilience in mental health recovery. Success-fest features hands-on and creative workshops for youth, young adults, and their families and allies, and this year was no different! With a theme of Perseverance, the event highlighted the work necessary for young adults to achieve success while helping attendees understand and better prepare young adults for a successful transition to adulthood.

Youth Move Massachusetts Youth Advocates Mayra, Eden, & AJ attended the event along with Youth Coordinator Colby. PPAL’s Central MA Program Manager Kristen hosted an Empty Nest workshop that was interactive, hands on, and fun! Success-fest additionally boasted workshops focusing on skills needed for youth to build their futures, such as goal setting, coping skill toolboxes, and the benefits of talking about challenges!

A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE WERE BLOWN AWAY AND IMPRESSED WITH THE YOUTH ADVOCATES' PRESENTATION, AND HOW WELL THEY ELOQUENTLY RESPONDED TO IMPROMPTU QUESTIONS.

Youth Advocates Weigh In Federally YMM Youth Advocates had the opportunity to meet with Senior Policy Advisor for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services and friend of PPAL Kate Ginnis to talk about marketing strategies for reaching young adults across the country. Focusing specifically on the ongoing MassHealth redeterminations (see page #?), YMM offered innovative ideas for reaching youth and young adults nationwide about important, but not always exciting, changes in insurance coverage.

Are you a young person looking to find your community, get involved, and use your voice? Reach out! We’d love to have you!

KRISTEN SOLARAS PPAL'S CENTRAL MA PROGRAM MANAGER

Youth Move presenting on self-disclosure at Success-fest

's Spotlight Staff

We interviewed Meri Viano, PPAL's Associate Director. Meri is a parent, grandparent, and incredible advocate for children's mental health! You will find her hosting our Statewide and Inside Track monthly meetings, as well as various workshops and groups!

What brought you to PPAL?

My children! I started at PPAL in 2004. My oldest was 9 years old, and though I knew the disability world through DDS, it was impossible to navigate the children’s mental health maze. It was eye-opening and disappointing. I felt parent-blamed. So, I started searching for parents who understood. For 7 years, I was bringing my son to services across the street from PPAL, and was never told about them! I met Pauline Curry, a trailblazing advocate, and she told me there were parents like me out there. I was able to get connected to PPAL through Pauline and those connections with other families were everything! That's really where a peer to peer program, like PPAL offers, works. Family Partners and Family Support Specialists can tell you the ins and outs of the system because they’ve been there. They understand how to help you and your kids access the right services more quickly. That can really help stabilize families and keep children out of crisis situations.

What has changed in children’s mental health since you began working at PPAL?

A lot! There was always good work being done I came in right before the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI) services started Parents were rallying together to talk about how to help kids that didn't fit the mold - who were unique and different, and the overall lack of children’s mental health services Parent leaders began to grow, and the development of the CBHI services exploded the Family Partner role! I remember very clearly that the first PPAL parent groups I went to had maybe 18-20 family leaders from across the state With the development of Family Partners, attendance went to almost 100 people at the meetings! Families were starting to count. While my oldest son was too acute for CBHI services (a familiar story for many parents), they definitely helped keep my middle son in the community longer.

Youth and young adult voice is another thing that has developed since I’ve been with PPAL. Neither young adult peers nor youth advocates existed. I had the opportunity to walk with the state to create a space for young adult voice and develop youth advocates. This was groundbreaking and helped bridge the gap and build a relationship between youth systems and the children they served.

Youth and young adult voice is another thing that has developed since I’ve been with PPAL. Neither young adult peers nor youth advocates existed. I had the opportunity to walk with the state to create a space for young adult voice and develop youth advocates. This was groundbreaking and helped bridge the gap and build a relationship between youth systems and the children they served.

Thankfully, there has also been an impressive shift in the mindset of the State’s Department of Youth Services. While there is still work to do, DYS is emphasizing working with court involved youth and their families rather than charging and detaining them. Adoption and implementation of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative is a huge step in the right direction. We are actively diverting children and youth from court and CRA’s ( Child Requiring Assistance) - courts are not treatment centers!

What changes in children’s mental health do you still work toward?

So many. There is still a lot of work to do. I’d really like to see the Emergency Department (ED) boarding crisis solved. This has been a problem for 20 years. I’m excited about the ED diversion programs that have been established. Some believe that ED Boarding is a short term situation– I believe that's not true. There are always going to be families who go to the ER because they don't know where else to go Unless we can get strong, easily accessible community services and well-implemented ED diversion the crisis will continue

Mental health care in all settings needs to be held to the same standard as medical care. The whole person needs to be treated, which means considering an individual’s whole health history, including past trauma, communication disabilities (such as nonverbal individuals), and intellectual disabilities.

Foster youth need our support across the state Foster youth wait longer in Emergency Departments, they often are awaiting services longer and most of all are often pushed into the courts. We need interagency involvement to improve and look at the child/youth/family.

I am excited that communities, schools, and others are now willing to acknowledge the importance of mental health. But, I feel we’ve slipped backwards with parent blame and shame. I’d like to see us get to a truly unified partnership for ALL children and what they and their families need. We need to ASK and LISTEN to parents and youth. They truly have the best solutions.

And finally, do not send our kids to detention then adult jail! It does not help. I will work as hard as I can every day to get this message out!

Parent/Caregiver Support

No sign up required for most groups. Groups that do require registration or booking include an email but are not clickable

TUESDAY

School Related Issues VIRTUAL / PHONE BY APPOINTMENT

parentsupportgroup@ppal.net

School Problem Solving Clinic

VIRTUAL / PHONE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY 1:00 PM- 3:00 PM juvenilejustice@ppal.net

CLICK

Click support groups to get zoom link unless otherwise indicated

Parents Raising LGBTQIA+ Children VIRTUAL 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM WEDNESDAY

North Central MA Parents of Transition Aged Youth (PTAY) IN PERSON & VIRTUAL 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

North Central MA Family Support Group IN PERSON & VIRTUAL 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

PPAL.net/events/

FRIDAY

Parent Support Group

VIRTUAL 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Parents of Transition Aged Youth (PTAY)

VIRTUAL

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Join Our Community on Facebook:

PPAL'S PAGE

PPAL EN ESPAÑOL PARENTS OF TRANSITIONAGE YOUTH GROUP

Grandparents Connections

VIRTUAL

2nd Thursday each month 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Grandparents Connections

VIRTUAL 4th Thursday each month 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Sibling Support Program

VIRTUAL

1st Thursday each month

*Pre-Registration Required emily.rubin@umassmed.edu 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Parent Support Group

VIRTUAL 5:00 - 7:00 PM

Coffee and Connections

VIRTUAL

9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Support Group for Lynn Families IN PERSON For families and children

*Pre-Registration Required Email Dalene: ptahsw@verizon.net

Every Other Friday 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

PARENT/PROFESSIONAL ADVOCACY LEAGUE, INC.

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”

-John Lennon