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Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grantee Summit 2016

In May, Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) grantees from across the country joined the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Resource Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention in Rockville, MD, for a three-day meeting on sustainability and expansion of the SS/HS Initatives in states and communities.

Left to Right: Shawn Cannarile, MI Dept. of Education; Laurel Bear, Alhambra Unified School District, CA; Rebecca Ornelas, NRC; Barb Flis, Parent Action for Healthy Kids, MI; Stephanie Autumn, NRC

The purpose of this meeting was to help SS/HS grantee teams from state and local communities clarify their goals for sustainability and expansion of their Initiatives; build on their work by developing strategic approaches and action steps for expansion and sustainability; identify and implement next steps to ensure key stakeholder engagement; and identify strategies to strengthen youth and family engagement in their SS/HS Initiatives. 

Former NBA player and founder of Anxious Minds, Royce White, kicked off the meeting. He talked about his journey living with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and helped identify opportunities for SS/HS states and communities to help overcome barriers and support youth during difficult times.

Royce White giving the keynote speech at the SS/HS Grantee Summit

Over the course of the three days, SS/HS state grantees and their three communities from Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin attended multiple learning sessions and panel discussions on an array of topics to support their program sustainability work. Some learning session topics included trauma sensitivity, cultural and linguistic competency, communication for sustainability, and project evaluation. In addition to the learning sessions, grantees attended a young adult plenary session, where the youth panelists discussed their experiences living with behavioral health challenges. To end each day, the grantees met with their state teams to discuss the day’s key takeaways and brainstorm ways they can build upon their work.

Social media highlights of the event:

  • At the end of the first day, SAMHSA led a live Twitter chat with Royce White. Individuals and organizations across the country engaged in an online conversation about mental health, and Twitter users had the opportunity to ask Royce White questions. Read a full summary of the Twitter chat.
  • Live tweeting during the event allowed youth and organizations across the country to share messages promoting mental health. SAMHSA staff, Royce White, the young adult panelists, and the state and local communities participated in social media conversations each day. Take a look at the full social media summary of each day’s events:
Young Adult Panel Members
Left to Right: Ebony Saxton and Rochelle Alvarado 
Celebrating the Legacy of SS/HS
Left to Right: Laurel Baer, Alhambra USD, CA;
Meribeth McKean, Orange Co. Public Schools, CA; 
Brenda Hummel, Austin Independent School District, TX 
Pennsylvania Delegation with Royce White
Nothing About Us Without Us: Youth Voices
Left to Right: Royce White; Clay Baldwin and Anakin Frum, Washington Latin Public Charter School, DC

 

The contents of the National Resource Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention newsletter and website were assembled under a cooperative agreement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The newsletter and website are operated and maintained by AIR and supported by grant number 5U79SM061516-02 from SAMHSA. The content of this website does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of SAMHSA or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.