VOCAL CO-OP
Treasures, Tips & Tidbits for Peer-run Programs
April, 2007
Hi Everyone,
A little something for everyone:
For folks in Northern Virginia: Great news! Three new grants have just been announced for consumer groups &
recovery projects in Northern Virginia. The
deadline is soon (May 2!). Take a look below.
For folks in Southern Virginia:
You may have noticed that our recent list of grant writing trainings in Virginia included no trainings for Southern Virginia (couldn't find any!) Well, luckily, Radford University has just announced some
upcoming trainings that would be a great match for any program that wants to put
together a grant proposal. More details below.
For folks in Central Virginia (or anyone who would like to travel to
central virginia) - Do you have concerns or ideas about Mental Health that our Elected Officials should know? Come
speak, listen, and learn. There is a Mental Health Legislative Forum coming up,
read more below. . .
Embracing Wellness ~ from Yolande, Ann, and Byron, VOCAL Network
Due to a scheduling conflict, our dates for the VOCAL
Network Conference, "Embracing Wellness" have been changed to June
12-14. Please note that the deadline for workshop entries remains the same. We
look forward to seeing you all in June! Find out more or register at
http://vocalnetwork.org/conference.htm
Speak Your Mind
The Region Ten Community Service Board, the Quality
Community Council and the Virginia Organizing Projectare sponsoring a
Legislative Forum on mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse
issues on THURSDAY, APRIL 26, at 6:30 p.m. in Lane Auditorium of the Albemarle County Office
Building (401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville). All area state legislators have been invited to hear from
the public about these issues. Consumers, service providers, advocates,
families and friends are welcome to present testimony on these topics. Speakers
will have up to three minutes to make a presentation to the state legislators. For more information, call 434.984.4655 x 222.
Southern Virginia Trainings
These trainings are offered by Radford University.
Find out more at
www.gnac.radford.edu
Keys To Successful Grant Proposal Writing May 16, Radford, VA (near Blacksburg)
The Benefits and Basics of Strategic Planning June 6, Roanoke,
VA
Keys To Successful Grant Proposal Writing June 15, Roanoke,
VA
Outcome Measurement Basics June 22, Roanoke,
VA
Where to Find More Trainings
Looking for trainings in nonprofit or program management?
Here are two places to find trainings:
Search by date or topic: Check out this excellent new list: Center for Nonprofit Excellence List of Trainings in Virginia.
This list includes trainings by date or topic (Topics include: Board Development,
Finance, Fundraising, Legal, Leadership, Marketing, Partnership/Collaborations, Technology, & Volunteer Management)
Grants in Northern Virginia ~ From Raymond
Bridge, vice president,
Northern Virginia Mental Health Consumers Association (NVMHCA) and moderator,
VOCAL Yahoo list
Here is a wonderful opportunity to get funding for your
consumer group or to start a new one.Any group of mental health consumers in Arlington,
Fairfax, Alexandria
City, Prince William or Loudon Counties
can apply.There are actually 3 separate
applications: One for mini grants for consumer support groups.One for larger grants for consumer-run
programs.And a third for one-time
funding for any purpose related to recovery (for example to put on a conference
or purchase equipment.
When you read these grants you may have a lot of
questions.There will be a meeting on
April 19 at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute to answer all of your
questions.You can call into this
meeting, and it is important to hear answers to the questions. Meanwhile start
your planning now.The application
deadline is very short--May 2.
NOTE: In a few months the state mental health department
will offer their own grant application for consumer-run programs.Your group will be able to apply for that
one, too. The important that is to start immediately organizing your group and
your ideas on what to request.Remember
too, that if you are not incorporated as yet, you can find another organization
that is a "501c3" nonprofit that is to act as your fiscal agent.They will receive funds on your behalf.
VOCAL CO-OP
The VOCAL CO-OP (Consumer Owned & Operated Programs) is a collective of peer-run mental health programs. We are part of VOCAL, a statewide organization dedicated to mental health recovery, empowerment & peer leadership.
CO-OP News by Cassandra Nudel. Made possible through support from Virginia DMHMRSAS (Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation & Substance Abuse Services).
VOCAL CO-OP NEWS
VOCAL
CO-OP
Treasures,
Tips &
Tidbits
for
Peer-run
Programs
Hi Everyone,
We seem to be experiencing some
slight technical difficulties. Our
email newsletter service is using a
new template system. If you are
having trouble reading this email,
here are some suggestions:
Try subscribing
from a different email address.
If you have more than one email
address, try signing up for the
newsletter from one of your
emails. Sign up here:
www.vocalvirginia.org
There are no doubt some other things
you could do (like tinkering with
the HTML settings in your email?)
but this is beyond my scope of
understanding. If you would like to
contact our email newsletter service
to inquire more, they are here
www.constantcontact.com.
Also, feel free to drop me an email
to let me know how this is appearing
to you - Is the newsletter now
harder to read than it used to be?
Or is it now easier to read than it
used to be? Or something else? This
would be helpful for me to know -
I'm at
Cassandra@vocalvirginia.org.
VOCAL member meetings are
a place where VOCAL members, and people
interested in learning more about VOCAL
and the consumer movement, can get
together for sharing, planning, and
discussion. To find out more, contact
the
VOCAL Network. Mark
Your Calendars. Here's the schedule for
meetings in the upcoming year:
June Meeting - Held
during the VOCAL Network Conference,
June 19-21 in Richmond
September Meeting -
Thursday, Sept 20, location TBA
December Meeting -
Thursday, Dec 20, location TBA
March, 2008 Meeting -
Thursday, March 20, location TBA
Getting Ready for New Funding
Virginia DMHMRSAS
will soon be announcing a grant
application for funding for
consumer-run programs in Virginia.
If your group is planning to apply
for these funds, we recommend you
start preparing now, while there is
still time. Here are two things you
can do now, so you will be ready
when the time comes:
1.
Learn about grant writing. A
list of upcoming grant writing
classes is at the bottom of this
email. We've recently updated the
list to include more classes. Take a
look! You can also apply for a
VOCAL CO-OP Scholarship for all
or partial tuition to attend a grant
writing class.
2.
Find a fiscal sponsor. If
your group does not yet have 501c3
nonprofit status, and you want to
apply for a grant, almost all
funders will require that you have a
fiscal sponsor. What is a fiscal
sponsor? And where can you find one?
We've recently updated our guide on
fiscal sponsors. Take a look at
VOCAL CO-OP Guide to Fiscal
Sponsors.
VOCAL
CO-OP
The VOCAL CO-OP (Consumer Owned &
Operated Programs) is a collective of peer-run
mental health programs. We are part of VOCAL, a
statewide organization dedicated to mental health
recovery, empowerment & peer leadership.
CO-OP News by Cassandra Nudel. Made possible through
support from Virginia DMHMRSAS (Department of Mental
Health, Mental Retardation & Substance Abuse Services).
VOCAL CO-OP NEWS
VOCAL CO-OP
Treasures,
Tips &
Tidbits
for
Peer-run
Programs
Hi Everyone,
Groovy new layout for the CO-OP
News! Here's the news....
The Yale Program for Recovery
and
Community Health has developed a
new Recovery Self- Assessment
tool that consumer-run programs
might find useful, as well as
for consumers themselves,
advocates, family members and
other community mental health
providers.
It has four different versions,
each with a 36-question
assessment survey: Person in
recovery, Family
member/advocate, Provider & CEOs
and Directors. These surveys can
be found at
Recovery Self Assessment Tool
~ from Brian Parrish, VOCAL
CO-OP Program Director (with
thanks to Will Ferriss at the
Virginia Department of Mental
Health, Mental Retardation, and
Substance Abuse Services for
pointing out this resource).
HUD Grants
The Department of
Housing and Urban Development
will make available
approximately $2.4 billion in
funding through 38 different
grant programs. Find out more
at:
http://www.hud.gov
Job Opening:
Wellness and Recovery Program
Director
VOCAL's personnel
committee is continuing to
accept resumes for the position
of REACH Program Director. VOCAL seeks a
dynamic individual who is
self-directed, highly-motivated
and flexible to fill this unique
20-hour per week position. The
REACH Program Director oversees
VOCAL's mental health education
programs and provides leadership
and training to peers throughout
the state. Read more at
www.vocalvirginia.org
Making the Recovery Connection
Full scholarships
are available for consumers to
attend the Depression and
Bipolar Support Alliance DBSA
2007 Conference. August 9 - 12,
2007, Orlando, FL. Application
deadline: May 25, 2007.
Conference information is
available at:
www.DBSAlliance.org.
Scholarship information is
available from Lethia A. Kelly,
AFYA, Inc. (301) 957-3040,
consumerscholarships@afyainc.com
WeCare Article
Hi everybody,
WeCare made the front page of
the Martinsville Bulletin again
today. This time is for
possible funding for
transitional housing. Please
circulate this article and help
us.
http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=8461
~ from Robin Hairfield, WeCare
Director
VOCAL
CO-OP
The VOCAL CO-OP (Consumer Owned &
Operated Programs) is a collective of peer-run
mental health programs. We are part of VOCAL, a
statewide organization dedicated to mental
health recovery, empowerment & peer leadership.
CO-OP News by Cassandra Nudel. Made possible through
support from Virginia DMHMRSAS (Department of Mental
Health, Mental Retardation & Substance Abuse
Services).
Treasures, Tips & Tidbits for Peer-Run Programs
Winter, 2007
VOCAL CO-OP NEWS
Hi Everyone,
Many folks have been asking us whatever happened to the
funding for consumer-run programs that we wrote about last
Fall? Well, rest assured, plans for these funds are still
coming along, just taking a little longer than expected. As
far as we know, Virginia DMHMRSAS is planning to put out a
grant proposal application to fund peer-run programs
throughout the state. We haven’t heard a date yet, but we
will let you know more as soon as we know more!
The upside of this extra time is this gives your group some
more time to prepare. During this time, you may be
interested in learning some more about grant writing. I’ve
put together a list of upcoming grant writing classes in
Virginia (it is below). There are some great classes out
there, and this can help give you ideas for what you might
want to write, and how you might start putting all your
dreams for your program down onto paper. If you are involved
with organizing a peer-run program, you can apply for one of
our VOCAL CO-OP Scholarships to pay all or partial tuition
for one of these classes.
Apply here.
OK, on to the news. . .
Announcements
Consumer/Survivor Leadership Network Dinner
In honor of a guest from London, England - Dr. Jan Wallcraft.
April 3, 2007, 3141 N. 10th Street, Arlington, Va, (2 blocks
from Clarendon metro, orange line). 5:30pm - 9:00pm This
dinner will bring together advocates from DC, Maryland and
Virginia to honor one another, to celebrate our successes
and to warmly welcome Jan to the DC area and hear about the
exciting mental health recovery work she and others are
doing in the United Kingdom. Hosted by Lauren Spiro,
Recovery Advocate/Educator, Arlington CSB Please RSVP by
March 26, 2007 (seating is limited) to Lauren: Phone:
703-228-4870 or Fax: 703-228-5234, or email Lspiro@arlingtonva.us.
Free parking on-site, carpooling highly recommended. Please
double-park in our parking lot. Please refrain from wearing
scented toiletries, perfumes, etc.
Rockwood Leadership Training
This year, the Rockwood Leadership Program is coming to
Virginia. Rockwood trains non-profit activists to become
powerful and effective leaders. Trainings concentrate on
developing skills in communication, self-awareness,
presentation, emotional intelligence, team-building and
personal mastery: all the skills that help people move
issues, groups and missions forward with skill, grace and
strength. Upcoming training: The Art of Leadership, Northern
Virginia, May 8-11, 2007.
http://www.rockwoodfund.org
Statewide Peer Teleconference
~ from Ann Benner and the VOCAL Network, network@vocalvirginia.org,
1-877-862-5638
One of the important goals of the VOCAL Network is to
connect peers throughout Virginia. Virginia DMHMRSAS has the
teleconferencing equipment to allow us to meet with
one-another periodically, via TV. We can share information
about what's going on with consumers in different parts of
the state -- about local projects, system transformation
efforts, consumer concerns, learning opportunities, funding
opportunities, and so forth. We can present information and
answer questions about what VOCAL is doing; we can have
guest speakers. We are planning to conduct a first
teleconference meeting in April. It will be held at 4
locations around the state. I am sending this message to
determine who would like to participate in this first
meeting, to help determine where the sites will be. Please
let us know if you would like to participate in the April
teleconference. Reply to the email or phone listed above.
Job Opening – NAMI Executive Director
The National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI-Virginia, a
nonprofit grassroots advocacy organization seeks an
experience and committed leader to serve as full time
Executive Director. Ideal candidate will have a background
in mental health/illness, public policy issues, strategic
planning, fund raising, fiscal management and advocacy. For
more detailed information visit
www.namivirginia.org
Upcoming Trainings
Trainings in Grant Writing and related helpful topics:
March 21 (6 week classes)
Online
Piedmont Virginia Community College
http://www.ed2go.com/piedmont/index.html
Creating Your Own Nonprofit
A to Z Grantwriting
Get Grants!
Writing Effective Grant Proposals
Advanced Grant Proposal Writing
April 11
Charlottesville
University of Virginia.
http://www.scps.virginia.edu
434-982-5313
Strategic Planning for Non-Profits
April 12 & 19
Norfolk & Virginia Beach
Tidewater Community College
Academy for Nonprofit Excellence
http://www.tcc.edu/wd/academy Phone: (757) 822-1234
Principles of Grantsmanship: Getting Key Funders on Board
April 18 (6 week class)
Online
Piedmont Virginia Community College
">http://www.ed2go.com/piedmont/index.html Creating Your Own Nonprofit
A to Z Grantwriting
Get Grants!
Writing Effective Grant Proposals
Advanced Grant Proposal Writing
Ongoing enrollment
Online
JER
http://www.jergroup.com
Developing a Strategic Plan
Grant Writing Basics
Grant Writing Fundamentals for Non-Profit Organizations
Ongoing enrollment
Online
Capacity Building Grants
100 Absolutely Unfailing Secrets to Succeeding in Securing
Funds
www.Guidestar.org
End Note
Tools You Can Use Toolkits from the VOCAL CO-OP
Where to find assistance for peer-run programs. . .
Read more
Where to find low-cost nonprofit workshops. . .
Read More
21 Best Books for starting or running a peer program...
Read More
Toolkit for creating a new peer-run program. . .
Read More
Toolkit for becoming a 501c3 non-profit. . .
Read More
The VOCAL CO-OP (Consumer Owned & Operated Programs) is a
collective of peer-run mental health programs in Virginia.
We are part of VOCAL, a statewide organization dedicated to
mental health recovery, empowerment, and peer leadership.
This email newsletter (and all VOCAL CO-OP Programs)
are made possible thanks to generous support from the
Office of Mental Health Services at Virginia Department
of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance
Abuse Services (Virginia DMHMRSAS)
Treasures,
Tips &
Tidbits for
Peer-Run
Programs
March,
2007
VOCAL CO-OP NEWS
Hi Everyone,
Our program membership
application is now up on
our website. We welcome
your group to join the
CO-OP and be part of our
network. Membership is
free and open to all
peer-run programs in
Virginia (including
newly-forming groups).
This year, we hope to
publish a print
directory with member
programs, and to send
out free copies of
publications to your
groups. If your group
has not yet joined, or
if you would like to
update your program
information, we’d love
to hear from you. Find
out more:
Send us your letters
and news. We were
pleased and surprised
this month to receive
this nice letter from
the Maryland Department
of Health and Mental
Hygiene, AIDS
Administration:
We have searched far and
wide for appropriate
materials for our
workshop and your
booklet, "Blueprints for
Change: Part Two" is the
most complete and
compact text that we
located that addresses
every area of need for
our target audience. We
would like permission to
use your booklet as the
core text for our 1/2
day workshop with faith
leaders.
We would certainly
acknowledge Vocal's
authorship and ownership
of the material and
identify your agency as
a model for good
business practice. Be
assured that we will
also give credit to the
Virginia Department of
Mental Health for this
wonderful tool that our
folks will be able to
carry with them from the
workshop.
~ from Carmi
Washington-Flood, Acting
Chief of Office of
Community Relations &
Initiatives DHMH - AIDS
Administration
Interested to read this
guidebook? You can find
it here:
This message is for
Richmond area peers. We
are looking for one or
two volunteers to help
us in the VOCAL Network
office, with data input,
and phone and general
office work, over the
next few months. We need
volunteers who have
experience using the
computer and working
on-line.
The Network office is in
downtown Richmond, at
6th and Main Streets.
It's an enjoyable
working environment, and
we are happy to provide
a reference if you are
looking for employment.
We would ask that you
commit to working from 5
to 10 hours per week,
for at least 4 weeks.
Please contact Yolande
Long or Ann Benner.
yolande@vocalvirginia.org,
ann@vocalvirginia.org
(804)343-1777
FREE trainings on SSI
& WORK
Trainings topics: “Work
& Keep Your Benefits”- 2
hour training. “SSI/SSDI
& Work Incentives” – 2
day training.
Scholarships: vaACCSES
provides a travel and
housing stipend for
Friends, Family and
Beneficiaries who wish
to attend this or any
sessions in any Virginia
area.
March 6 - Lynchburg, VA
March 6-7 -Lynchburg, VA
March 8 - Harrisonburg,
VA
March 8-9 -Harrisonburg,
VA
May 14 – Williamsburg,
VA
May 15-16 –
Williamsburg, VA
June 5 – Ashland, VA
June 5 – 6 – Ashland, VA
I know about this job
opportunity at Crossing
Creeks. They are asking
me to advertise this to
my peers. To learn more
about Crossing Creeks
see
www.crossingcreeks.org.
Thanks, and Blessings!
Crossing Creeks is
seeking a couple or a
person to serve as
Resident Manager to live
at our Residential
Therapeutic Farm for
those suffering with
mental illness. The farm
is located in Rockingham
County a few miles south
of New Market off of
Route 11 It is a 156
acre farm with a large
home that can house
about 6-7 residents. It
also contains an
apartment for the
Resident Manager. Other
staff members include a
Clinical Director, Farm
Manager and part-time
Program Director. These
staff persons do not
live at the farm, but
are present during the
day.
The duties of the
Resident Manager include
household management,
resident supervision,
and program
participation/involvement.
Specific tasks include
being responsible for
household
sanitation/cleanliness;
supervising residents in
cleaning duties;
maintaining an orderly
environment throughout
the house; creating a
healthy menu; overseeing
meal preparation;
contributing to a
comfortable social
setting; hosting
visitors/volunteers;
transporting residents
to appointments/outings;
and participation and
assisting in resident
program activities.
