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The STAR Center provides Support, Technical Assistance and Resources to assist consumer-operated and consumer-supporter programs in meeting the needs of under-served populations.  Specifically, the STAR Center’s focus areas are cultural competence and diversity in the context of mental health recovery and consumer self-help and self-empowerment.  Although we are a national technical assistance center, the following regions have been designated as STAR Center focus regions/states:  Washington, DC, Rhode Island, and New Mexico.     

In pursuit of this mission we offer a broad array of technical assistance to consumer operated and peer run programs, including technical assistance materials and tools, informative newsletters and listservs, national teleconferences, consumer networking and resource sharing opportunities, and support in the form of mini-grant awards for creative recovery-based activities, scholarships for Alternatives conferences.


Meet the Staff | Contact Us

The STAR Center is funded by a grant from the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Please visit our partner TA Centers:

SAMHSA


With grateful acknowledgment to the federal Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS).
CMHS was established under the 1992 ADAMHA Reorganization Act, Public Law 102-321, which mandates CMHS' leadership role in delivering mental health services, generating and applying new knowledge, and establishing national mental health policy. CMHS is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (opens in new window), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (opens in new window).


Partner Links



National Leadership Council




The Recovery Group Online




Our Place DC




Real Economic Impact




Fundacion NuestraMente




STAR SNAPSHOTS!!!



The STAR Center is very pleased and enthused to invite you to discover and learn from a new and original short film by Juan Gabriel Vélez Court, a mental health consumer advocate from Puerto Rico, titled Pensar Eterno (Eternal Thought).









The Consumer Operated Service - Side by Side video is up on SAMHSA’s YouTube Channel. The video discusses the origins and evolution of the evidence based practice of Consumer Operated Services, the proven positive outcomes, and the overall benefits to consumers, supporters, and the overall mental health community.  



ALSO ON FACEBOOK: 


NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Therapy through expression: Art helping to dispel stigma of mental illness

By Susan Harrison Wolffis

Services, support can help eliminate tragedies
By Gregory D. Paffhouse


Recovery Resources

Self Help Affirming Quotes

Integrated Wellness Blog

Washington, DC

Washington DC

The STAR Center is proud to support two DC area consumer-run and consumer supporter organizations that are pioneering recovery work in the region.
 


The Recovery Group DC

http://therecoverygrouponline.com/

http://therecoverygrouponline.com/


Our Place DC was also awarded a STAR Center mini-grant to add a peer training component and establish an additional focus on improving literacy to their therapeutic writing group for formerly incarcerated DC women.    


Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The STAR Center traveled to the beautiful state of Rhode Island, one of our technical assistance focus states. Although Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country its residents are experiencing one of the highest unemployment rates. As a result, the state of Rhode Island has severely limited government funding for mental health recovery-based organizations and activities. Unfortunately, it is during times of economic hardship when communities need mental health support the most.

The STAR Center is currently mentoring and supporting an inspirational trio of consumer-leaders in Rhode Island that are pioneering a peer support model that uses supportive employment as a recovery tool. Their innovative model addresses the mental health needs of Rhode Island consumers while simultaneously providing them with supportive work opportunities and greater interaction with their community at large, thus also decreasing stigma and increase community inclusion

STARs

(L to R ) GAIL  PROUT, STAR Center Program Manager PHILIP QUALO, BRENDA OSIBIN, STAR Center Director STEPHEN KIOSK, and DEBORAH MARCOTTE .


Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

The STAR Center conducted an initial technical assistance visit to and community assessment of Puerto Rico.  Special thank you to consumer advocates Katy Castro and Juan Velez-Court for making STAR Center staff feel right at home!!! MORE ON STAR CENTER VISIT TO PUERTO RICO  


New Mexico

New Mexico

We are excited to announce The STAR Center was recently assigned the state of New Mexico as a new technical assistance focus area. New Mexico is a culturally distinct and diverse state that we look forward to supporting. The STAR Center will be conducting our first technical assistance state visit at the end of February and we look forward to developing new relationships as well as rekindling former ones. Although we will miss our dear friends in Louisiana, our former technical assistance focus state, we know they are in good hands with the good folks over at The Family Café , a newly established technical assistance center.

Star Center Teleconference Series

In Honor of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (July)STAR Center Hosted the Following Teleconferences:

Integration of Recovery and Peer Support Models in Latino Communities

STAR Center consultants Katy Castro and Juan Velez-Court discussed their efforts to integrate recovery and peer support services into community life in Puerto Rico. The teleconference included an open exchange of ideas on community outreach, advocacy, and social inclusion of underserved communities. 

Audio    

Free Cultural Competency Toolkit and Training: Cultural Competency in Mental Health Peer-run Programs and Self-help Groups

University of Illinois at Chicago - National Research and Training: Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy Professor and Director Judith A. Cook, Ph. D, Senior Program Manager Marie M. Hamilton, LCSW, MPH, and NAMI STAR Center Director Stephen R. Kiosk, M. Div., LPC provided relevant background and FREE training for the cultural competence tool available for free download under the resources section at www.consumerstar.org .

Audio     



COMING SOON TO THE STAR CENTER:


Peer Support Skill Training Curriculum and Leader’s Guide:
Responding to Urgent Situations


A tool developed by STAR Center in collaboration with the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation that will help students and peers develop more effective assessment and safety-action skills for urgent mental health-related situations.

Photo copyright Rev. Laura L. Mancuso

Click Picture for More Information 


Guidelines for Mental Health Consumers & Their Supporters Regarding Intense Spiritual Experiences: Findings from the NAMI STAR Center Workshop on Multicultural Competence, Intense Spiritual Experiences, and Mental Health

By Laura Mancuso, MS, CRC

The STAR Center is in the final stages of developing self-help materials and teleconference sessions on mental health and spirituality. The materials are based on a spirituality workshop attended by consumer leaders and spiritual healers who are pioneering this approach in their communities.

Star Spirit

CLICK PICTURE FOR INTIMATE AND PERSONAL VIDEO CLIPS OF PERSONAL SPIRITUAL AND RECOVERY WELLNESS JOURNEYS AND PRACTICES FROM WORKSHOP PARTICPANTS


THE RECOVERY WALL OF HOPE

The STAR Center is committed to providing a space where consumers can share their personal recovery stories, recovery-inspired affirmations, messages of self-empowerment and overall encouragement and support.  A fundamental principle of peer support recovery is the mutual sharing, respect, and understanding of diverse personal recovery journeys as well as the sharing of information, education, and wellness practices and resources.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SHARING YOUR RECOVERY-INSPIRED STORY, AFFIRMING MESSAGE, OR POEM ON OUR WEBSITE PLEASE CONTACT pqualo@nami.org

Stephen Kiosk sings "Caro Mio Ben" @ Miriam's House Concert




MJ, a consumer and friend to the STAR Center, shares an inspiring personal account of her struggle to achieve and maintain recovery.

Thank You Twin Rivers!


SAMHSA’s Recovery to Practice Initiative (RTP)

RTP is the most recent of the Federal Government’s efforts to promote recovery for all Americans affected by mental illness/mental health challenges.  It is a resource center and project to develop national training materials for Mental Health Peer Specialists, Social Workers, Psychiatric Nurses, Psychologists, and Psychiatrists.

Also available from the RTP Resource Center are/will be:

◊ Webinars
◊ Newsletters
◊ Listserv updates

If you have questions or would like information, please email recoverytopractice@dsgonline.com or call the RTP Technical Assistance Center at (877) 584-8535

Or visit for RTP Web site at:

http://www.dsgonline.com/rtp/resources.html

You can also receive the Recovery To Practice e-sends by signing up on STAR Center Listserv at

http://www.dsgonline.com/rtp/resources.html



RTP Weekly Highlight  


SAMHSA 10x10 Wellness Campaign

The Federal Government has spearheaded the SAMHSA 10x10 Wellness Campaign,launched in 2010, to promote the importance of addressing all parts of a person's life in hopes of increasing life expectancy for persons with mental health problems by 10 years over the next 10 years. More than 2,000 organizations and individuals have expressed their commitment to promoting wellness and reducing the disproportionate impact of preventable morbidity and mortality on people with mental health problems by signing the Pledge for Wellness , and the Campaign is guided by a multidisciplinary Steering Committee representing consumers, providers, and researchers.


Memorial

The Gardens at Saint Elizabeth’s:
A National Memorial of Recovered Dignity

The Gardens at Saint Elizabeth’s is a national memorial to remember once forgotten psychiatric patients. In addition to remembrance, it will also be a place of recovery offering dignity and hope to anyone living with mental illness.

Within this web site you can find out about the plans for a National Memorial , its history , a traveling exhibit , and how you can help .


New STAR CENTER RESOURCE:

Multicultural Competance

Creative Process

Gay Black Consumer November 2011


Technical assistance requests

Submit request for technical assistance...


New Cultural Competency
Guidebook and Tool

Guidebook
download PDF

The NAMI STAR Center and the UIC National Research and Training Center partnered to create a user-friendly guide and tool to help mental health peer-run programs and self-help groups assess and cultivate their cultural competency.

The tool guides users through a step-by-step process to identify strengths and limitations in meeting the needs of diverse program members. It overviews how to create action plans to enhance cultural competency in five key organizational areas. The NAMI STAR Center is supported by CMHS. The UIC NRTC is supported by NIDRR and CMHS.


STAR Center Newsletter

Recovering Together Newsletter

Spanish Version

What's inside:

  • Diversity, Wellness and Community: Talking with STAR Center Consultants
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recovery and Wellness Toolbox
  • Communities Corner: National Resources and Information

Sign up to receive the STAR Center's quarterly newsletter, Recovering Together, via email. Or read the newsletter online in the Recovering Together archive .


Find resources by community:

General

African American

Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders

Native Americans Alaskan Natives

Latino

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning & Intersex

Women

Coming soon:

Youth and Students

Veterans

Older Americans

Links to resources in languages other than English.

What is Cultural Competence?

Star Center Teleconference Series

 

To hear recordings of past/recent STAR Center Teleconference calls, please visit our Past Events page.

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