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Event Archive | Shared Resources (General)

Topic: Honoring the Past, Recognizing the Power of Now, and Taking Next Steps to Experiencing a Dynamic Future (In English)

Date: January 19, 2010

Time:  5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Please join us as we explore ways of creating a wellness toolbox that includes approaches from multiple cultures, with information and discussion that recognizes some time-honored practices and traditions. You are invited to take part in sharing, discussing, and learning together as we search for strategies to develop a personal wellness toolbox to identify what can work for us right now.

Lead Presenter/Facilitator:

John Aldam is a Licensed Practical Nurse who worked ten years as an emergency room, medical/surgical, and psych nurse. He is also a Certified Peer Specialist and Wellness Resource Consultant leading healthy lifestyle groups and workshops both within the mental health community and at private retreat centers. He has presented at Medical Grand Rounds at hospitals in Western Mass. He has facilitated workshops at local and national conferences on wellness and trauma-informed practices.

In 2005 John received the Advocacy Award from the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium, the 2005 Massachusetts State House of Representations Citation Advocacy Award, and the 2005 Outstanding Community Service Award from the US House of Representatives, presented by John Olver. In 2006 John received the NAMI Heroes in the Fight Award. He has served on the boards of the Berkshire County NAMI chapter and the Citizen Monitoring Committee, Transformation Center in Boston. John is currently an active member of the Health Initiative task force in Mass.

John does consulting work for local community mental health centers in Western Mass, as a peer educator, mentor of transitional age youth, and leader of recovery groups and a WRAP Facilitator. He is a member of the Recovery Task Force that promoted recovery services in Berkshire County, and since 2006, has volunteered as a peer supporter and recovery group leader in the inpatient units at local community hospitals, where doctors in training have been required to attend one of his groups as part of their rotation.

Other Presenters:

Mertice “Gitane” Williams is the Vocational Wellness Educator at Crestwood Behavioral Health and travels across the state to support and educate consumers, staff and families throughout the Crestwood network and beyond.  Gitane has over 20 years experience as a community self-help leader in California. Her expertise include housing, cultural competency, SSI and collaborating with others to build learning communities for all ages.  She is currently part of the Crestwood Leadership team, where she creates and designs pre-vocational and re-entry programs.

As a Vocational Wellness Educator and community navigator of the human race, having a spiritual experience, her deepest intention includes increasing her consciousness to enable transformational systems that are inclusive of everyone personal wellness and spiritual growth.  Her vision is to support and enhance client/family members in welcoming attitudinal changes to allow healing in all cultural communities.  Her prayer is that we also embrace the healing of the environment, inter-generational racial trauma, and leave peace as legacy to the next generation.

Can Truong does advocacy, educational training, and consulting on recovery, mental health empowerment, and spiritual/cultural healing.  He is alumni of the University of Chicago and Wright State University.  In addition to his recovery consultant work, he is a certified NexLeveL Business Plan Instructor, teaching entrepreneurial skills to support and strengthen small businesses and promote economic development.  He is also an advanced level WRAP trainer.

As one of the few Asian American mental health advocates in this country, he serves on numerous boards and committees.  In 2005, he represented the U.S. consumer movement at the World Federation Mental Health Congress in Cairo, Egypt.

Session Information:

In this presentation we will offer participants the opportunity to share:

• What does health and wellness mean to you?
• What has worked for you in the past?
• How are you doing/what are you feeling at the present?
• What can help you formulate a plan for the future that builds on or
  makes come alive your dreams and goals?
• How can you make progress in your recovery and wellness right now in
  manageable, realistic and meaningful ways?

Awareness is the key, how people maintain their personal wellness is often
dependent on cultural, spiritual, and/or attitudinal beliefs.

Let’s talk about what makes us all different. Let’s challenge ourselves to maybe try something new. Having an awareness of what you would like to do, or adopting a new way to approach dreams and goals offers many the
opportunity to chart a course on a continued journey of wellness that can be
exciting, dynamic and full of possibilities.

Our intention is to create a wellness toolbox similar to what others have used
and found helpful in the past, and through this workshop, have participants add to a “wisdom list” that can be updated over time to be a source of support and technical assistance to others in our communities.

We would also like to offer a list of resources that affirms health and wellness
through many different approaches. Having a menu of choices to keep things
fresh, informative and empowering—this is one of our goals.

We will offer some outlined materials to support you in creating your own
personal wellness toolbox, and you can create a wellness plan in any format
you choose.

We hope to create a rich and dynamic list of skills, practices, opportunities, and
personal stories &testimonials from those embarking on a self-directed future.
Please come and share with us as “Health and Wellness is the best gift of all.”

Audio

Outline

Resources:

• Wellness Tool Box Across Cultures
  Compiled and edited by Can Truong
• Developing Wellness Toolbox
  www.mentalhealthrecovery.com
• Wellness Inventory
  By Mertice "Gitane" Williams, Vocational Wellness Educator
• Questions for Change
  By Mertice "Gitane" Williams, Vocational Wellness Educator