The 2018 ACMH Annual Conference Was A Huge Success!

Thank you to all who participated in the September 24th ACMH “We Are Family” conference!

This year’s conference was a huge success with over 100 participants including youth and families, community partners, advocates, friends and policymakers from across Michigan joining together as one family concerned about improving outcomes for children and youth with mental health challenges and their families.

As with any family, we all play different roles and have different points of view so this year’s conference was an opportunity to come together, share our individual knowledge and expertise and talk about how we can make things better.

The morning’s plenary session We Are Family- Roles, Responsibilities & Resources featured Lynda Zeller, former Deputy Director of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Services at the Department of Health and Human Services, and Lynda Gargan, Executive Director of the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health who shared their unique perspective on our roles, collaboration, the importance of hearing everyone’s voices as we work to use our collective wisdom and resources to increase services, supports and opportunities for all!

Other highlights of this year’s conference included an Anti-Bullying Session created by the ACMH Statewide Youth Advisory Committee, a We are Family – Creative Workshop where participants were able to explore what family means to through art and a Persuasive Storytelling Workshop.

ACMH once again welcomed our favorite relatives from MDHHS who chatted with conference participants about their views about the key needs of children, youth, young adults and families and to share information about exciting initiatives & projects at MDHHS including Intensive Crisis Stabilization for Children, Treatment Foster Care, Juvenile Justice Diversion, Wraparound and partnership efforts with Community Mental Health & Child Welfare.

Conference participants also had the opportunity to  learn how to Strengthening Their Voice for Change as well as learn about Restorative Justice for Students with Disabilities and Supporting Siblings and Children of Parents with Mental Health Challenges.

We appreciate you all taking time from your busy schedules to share your expertise and learn alongside others.

ACMH believes we are all family ~ and is so glad you a part of ours!