Updates & Recent Events:
Youth Leadership Camp
The 2016 ACMH Youth Leadership Camp was a great success! 12 youth from across Michigan attended the camp along with several ACMH staff. Over the course of the two-day event the youth learned about various aspects of leadership and explored sharing their experience with mental health. Topics like personal leadership styles, strategic storytelling, and assertive communication were discussed in hands on group activities. There was also time for fun teambuilding and self-care activities like volleyball, basketball and a campfire (complete with s’mores)!
Here is some of the feedback that participants shared about their experience:
- “Great fun, felt like a family, very fun”
- “This camp was really an eye opener, and has taught me so many things, not just from the activities but from the other participants.”
- “I really love the experience of coming together and having fun!”
Many of the participants at the camp are also members of the ACMH Youth Advisory Committee. The camp was the kickoff event for the committee, and was the first event of a yearlong leadership experience for these youth. In the coming months, the committee will be working together to promote mental health awareness, advise ACMH and other state leaders and provide youth voice in decisions that impact young people in our state. We at ACMH are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with these incredible youth and look forward to the work that’s ahead!
Wraparound Conference
ACMH was pleased to attend the Wraparound Conference last month. It was especially great to meet and spend time with the young people at the event. Youth attendees and youth coordinators from around the state had fun exploring various forms of art, leadership and communication skills in the creative expression workshops. Youth also got to know each other and the coordinators by participating in teambuilding activities and games, such as life sized Jenga and checkers. On the last day, the youth shared the works of art they created in the workshops with conference attendees. Thank you to all the youth and youth coordinators who attended. We hope to see you next year!
Youth Leadership
The ACMH Youth Leadership Camp is coming up on August 13th and 14th. The camp will be held at the YMCA Storer Camps in Jackson Michigan. Youth with lived experience from around the state will come together to gain leadership skills, network with other youth and learn about opportunities for youth voice. The camp is also the kickoff event for the ACMH Youth Advisory Committee. We at ACMH are incredibly excited about the camp, and can’t wait to partner with members of the youth advisory committee! We look forward to updating you on our work soon!
_________________________________________________________________________
The 2016 ACMH Conference Was A Great Success!
On May 5th, ACMH celebrated Children’s Mental Health Awareness by holding the 2016 ACMH Annual Conference. This year’s conference theme was “Come Together”. Families, youth providers and community members joined together to share resources, information and personal stories related to Children’s Mental Health. A highlight for many attendees- along with the time tested Beatles tunes that played, and the brightly colored decorations that evoked a special, hopeful feeling in the room- was the incredibly powerful youth presence at the event. Youth from Easter Seals in Oakland County did an amazing job speaking out sharing their experiences with mental health in the Youth Leadership workshop. Here are a few of the comments that were shared from observers:
“Fantastic!”
“Youth advisory council-WOW! I would love more information about/from them. Very powerful young people.”
“The teen group was the best they gave me so much information. Great job to the teens. Glad they were here!
“I actually understood how my son may be feeling. I now can go back to him with what I learned.” ”
We are very thankful to these youth for attending the event. Your willingness to “come together” for Children’s Mental Health made all the difference!
Youth Peer Support at Michigan Annual Peer Conference
The 2016 Michigan Annual Peer Conference was held May 24th-26th in Lansing. ACMH was honored to have the opportunity to be a part of the “Unity and Community” and delivered a workshop on peer support for youth and families. We would like to give special thanks and recognition to the YPSSs who attended the conference this year. Here are some of the ways they helped spread the word about Youth Peer Support:
- Sharing their experiences and providing the YPSS perspective on a Youth and Parent Support Panel
- Facilitating and leading the Youth Involvement Vs. Youth Peer Support: What’s the Difference workshop
- Facilitating and leading the Self-Care support group
- Representing Youth Peer Support and attending conference workshops
Thank you again YPSSs for all that you do. We are so excited to have YPS as a part of the continuum of peer delivered services in Michigan!
Wraparound Conference
Wraparound is pleased to announce that the Eighteenth Annual Wraparound Conference will be held June 29th-July 1st at Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire Michigan. The theme of the conference this year is “Help for today; Hope for tomorrow”. The purpose of this conference is to build on successes and enhance Wraparound by exploring new resources and innovations. Special announcement to young people: don’t miss the youth track at this year’s event! Youth attendees are invited to participate in these interactive workshops that will bring youth together and provide meaningful skill building opportunities. We look forward to seeing you there and will update you about all of the exciting happenings after the event.
May is here and that marks the start of something special:
Children’s Mental Health Awareness Month
This annual event helps raise awareness about issues and causes related to children’s mental health. The National Federation of Families has announced the theme for 2016 as “Healthy Families, Resilient Children: Mental Health is a Family Affair!” We at ACMH agree that children’s mental health affects all family members in unique ways. We were excited to hear youth speak out on the importance of mental health in their own words. Here is how young people from Saginaw and Kalamazoo told us they are helping raise awareness in their communities and why this week matters to them.
Kalamazoo:
On May 5th, Calling All Youth M.O.V.E will host a booth at Kalamazoo Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (KCMHSAS)’s 11th Annual Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day Carnival. Carnival goers will be able to “Dunk Out Stigma” at CAY M.O.V.E’s dunk tank, where participants will wear T-shirts specially made by members of the group. Tasha Beischl talks about the significance of the activity: “We decorated shirts with a negative stigma on the front so people could come and dunk the stigma,” she explains. “It’s a visual for people helping people get rid of stigma”.
Youth and family members who visit the CAY M.O.V.E booth will also have the opportunity to create beautiful tissue paper flowers. The flowers will be used as centerpieces for the KCMHSAS annual Mental Health Breakfast the following week. CAY M.O.V.E member Arrion Hill is excited about the event. “The breakfast brings people together in the community to show that everyone is working together for one purpose,” she says.
When asked about the importance of the May events, Elmahdi Sprague says: “It’s important for people to be aware of it, to know other people out there are just like them and dealing with the same challenges. It brings them together to share a day and have fun and forget about some of their worries.” Elmahdi, Tasha and Arrion have made incredible contributions to children’s mental health awareness as long time members of CAY M.O.V.E. They are graduating from the program this spring.
Saginaw:
Saginaw MAX System of Care and the youth of Youth Breaking Boundaries (YBB) have planned a variety of activities and events for children and families this May including Fun on the Run, Show Me Nutrition and the Children’s Mental Health Awareness Celebration. Kolby Holden, President of YBB explains the importance of raising awareness for Children’s Mental Health: “It gives people with mental health challenges the opportunity to be to be noticed. And for us to show that we love them and that we embrace them as individuals… It shows appreciation and love and that we do see them.” YBB member Sierra Cortez also says “It is important that other people are aware because it lets kids know that they are appreciated and they are not any difference than we are.”
Long time YBB member Gaven Mersha is especially excited about the Show Me Nutrition class for youth. “People can come together and learn how to cook, and that is a great skill that is needed in the community,” he says. “If we eat better we can help improve the self-esteem of the community and come together more- we can see the inner sides of people instead of people being afraid. Everyone has something great inside them.”
TJ Holden, Transitional Peer with YBB talks about how YBB is making an impact in the community, saying “YBB is powerful because it shows that we are trying to break down barriers of stigma of people who are different, such as gender, race, and sexuality. We are bringing together people as one people. We are human. It is a powerful way to reach out and show people that we are all one at the end of the day.”
We at ACMH want to give huge props to all the youth leaders who are helping raise awareness for Children’s Mental Health, and a special thanks to the youth who shared voices and work with us this May. To learn more about activities mentioned here, please visit the links below.
https://www.facebook.com/SaginawMAX
Saginaw Max System of Care Website
Advocacy Services for Kids Facebook Page
Graffiti Wall
Submit your own photos, videos, and writing and have displayed on our graffiti wall. Create Graffiti »
