About Us:
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Mission Statement:
Meaningful Minds of Louisiana the statewide Behavioral Health organization advocates for communication, education and leadership enhancing self empowerment for independence opportunities.
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Vision Statement
The Vision of Meaningful Minds of Louisiana is to have anything that is available to others, be available for those with behavioral health options, to include safe affordable housing, transportation, suitable employment, education, socialization skills and opportunities and are recognized as individuals not as a diagnosis.
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Meaningful Minds of Louisiana Board of Directors Pledge to you
As members of the Board of Directors we are honored to have been chosen by our peers to serve as leaders for Meaningful Minds of Louisiana. We are dedicated to improving the lives of those of us with mental health needs and co occurring disorders. Plus we are commitment our Mission and Vision Statements. Our driving force will continue to focus on the needs of our peers with research and evidence based programs that have proven to be successful. We are also looking into new and innovated activities peer driven. We are striving to encourage and promote recovery and wellness for a better quality of life that empower our peers to live a better life.
As members of the Board of Directors we look to our peers to become self empowered and independent through peer led activities, education and peer to peer support. We are building and establishing the ground work for networking and collaboration on a local, state and national level. We support peer to peer function as an organization that desire to communicate, eradicate stigma of the myths surrounding mental health.
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The goals of Meaningful Minds of Louisiana are:
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History:
Meaningful Minds of Louisiana (MMLA) was created as a community initiative to establish a statewide Peer-run organization. MMLA began when 40 Mental Health Peers, from nine out of ten regions in the state met in Alexandria and Baton Rouge, Louisiana to express interest in forming a statewide Peer-run organization. As a result of these meetings, a five member management team was voted in by the stakeholders to make financial and management decisions for the goals and objectives that lead infrastructure development, organizational growth and sustainability.
MMLA is a statewide Peer-run advocacy organization that seeks to build the leadership capacities of mental health peers. Our goal is to have individuals become independent and self empowered through peer led activities, education and support.
MMLA holds an annual conference for members of the general assembly to vote on MMLA's by-laws, policies, procedures and other issues that are vital to the organization.
MMLA has created three major sub-committees to further execute the business of the organization. These committees include the Program Development and Advocacy Committee, Public Relations and Revenue Committee and the Membership and Nominations Committee.
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Our Acomplishments
Meaningful Minds of Louisiana (MMLA) was created as a community initiative to establish a statewide peer run organization. MMLA began when 40 mental health participants and family members from nine out of ten regions met in Alexandria and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The meetings was vital in expressing a need for a statewide organization that was run by people with psychiatric disabilities. As a result of those meeting a a five member management team was voted in by the stakeholders to make financial and management decisions for the organization as a whole. The management team which is now a Board of Directors meet monthly with the same objectives of the original goals and objectives that led the infrastructure development, organizational growth and sustainability of MMLA.
In 2004, 2005 and 2006 Meaningful Minds sponsored Mental Health Advocacy workshops around the state that was given by the Mental Health Reform Coalition. These workshops are used to strengthen the capacity of participants, parents, family members and supporters to impact system change in the delivery of mental health services on a statewide and local level. The workshops also strength the voices f those effected by legislative, state and local decisions and become better advocates for mental health issues. Notebooks was given to each participant with information on Louisiana State Governments, Office of Mental Health overview, Mental Health Rehabilitation services, Office of Mental Health Services by Regions, President's New Freedom Commission on mental health, How a bill become a law, Louisiana Legislative Website, Louisiana of Representative e-mail list, contact information and pages of other useful information to self advocate and advocate for others.
December 2004 Meaningful Minds sponsored a Leadership Academy training with the Consumer Organization and Networking Technical Assistance Center (C.O.N.T.A.C.). This training was in Baton Rouge Louisiana and consist of three days of training facilitators from the C.O.N.T.A.C. organization based in West Virgina. The leadership academy is an exemplary self-help practice with consistently applied methodology that has been utilized to improve outcomes for adults with mental health disabilities. This self -help model support and promote empowerment, leadership, organizational skill-development, citizenship rights and collective-advocacy. The Leadership Academy has been successful in offering recipients tools that raise awareness and teach skills for becoming and effective agent of change. Certificates were given at the end of the training.
April 2005, Meaningful Minds Bi Annual (2) day conference was very successful with 100 registered participants of mental health participants. Participants from all over the state gained information on the Ticket to Work program and the Medicaid Buy in Program. Other speakers were Dr. Cheryl Bowers-Stephens, Assistant Secretary of Office of Mental Health, Yakima Black, Executive Director of Mental Health Association in Louisiana, Jennifer Jantz, Executive Director of NAMI.
October 2005, Meaningful Minds sponsored a two (2) Crisis Trauma Peer Support training facilitated by Dr. Daniel Fisher, Executive Director of the National Empowerment Center in Cambridge, Mass. Dr. Fisher is also facilitator of MMLA advisory council, Louisiana Comers Organizing for Rita and Katrina,( LA CORK) which consist of National Mental Health Advocacies from around the country that was instrumental in acquiring FEMA funds after disasters as 911 and the Oklahoma tornados. The training was held in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The trainings consist of Modules such as Recovery is the Vision, Your Culture Matters, Peer Support at its Core, Disaster & Trauma, Warm Lines Really Work.
October 2005, Meaningful Minds became a 501c 3 status non profit organization with an Advance Ruling with the aid of Senator Charles Boustany Office. With our 501 c status MMLA was able to pursue grants and contracts what would help maintain and focus on the mission of our organization.
May 2006, Meaningful Minds sponsored a train the trainer for the participants in the original Leadership Academy. The train the trainer workshops consist of review of the previous training along with principals and techniques in organizational skills, networking, so the trainees would benefit from review and additional information. Certificates were given at the end of the training.
August 2006, Meaningful Minds was granted approval of a $100, 000.00 grant from the AmeriCares Foundation through the Baton Rough Area Foundation. The grant was approved to bring disaster relief and recovery from Hurricane Rita in Region% which is the Cameron area. The AmeriCares Foundation is a non profit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization that provides immediate response to emergency medical needs and support long-term humanitarian assistance programs. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a community Foundation, a non-profit organization composed of over 300 charitable funds with over $400 million in assists established by individuals, families, Corporations and organization.
2006 Meaningful Minds began to work with Office of Mental Health LA Spirit program to identify and train peers of the mental health system. The LA Spirit program was designed to work with Louisiana citizens having mental health issues that were affected by the hurricane Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The trainee that will be identified and trained by MMLA will have opportunities to become and Outreach worker to become employed by various mental Health agencies around the state. The participants will be trained in Trauma and Disaster Preparedness by Dr. Daniel Fisher to complement the previous training on Trauma. The training modules consist of Recovery through peer support, support through trauma and disaster, Psychological First Aid, role playing, interviewing sills using recovery principles and classroom discussion on recovery from trauma and disasters. Certificates will be issued after each training.
September 2006, May, June 2007, June 2008 trainings on trauma to employ outreach workers was conducted in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. A Total of 67 participants were trained during this time and 14 participants have been hired.
August 2008, Presentations on Trauma was given to MMLA chapters in Lafayette, Monroe, Rustin, Alexandria, Houma and La Place. A total of 106 participants were available to learn about trauma, signs of trauma, how to help others dealing with trauma and how to overcome trauma.
Dr. Walter Watson, III Ph. D Priority Populations Coordinator hired by LA Spirit to work with Meaningful Minds have been instrumental in utilizing his talent and skill to find the jobs for the participants for the Outreach Program around the state. It is his consistence and diligence that contributed to the success of the contract MMLA and LA Spirit program.
June 2008, our annual Conference was another successful conference with presentations of the Keys of the City to Dr. Daniel Fisher, by Dr. George Diggs Medical Director of Joseph Henry Tyler Mental Health Hospital. Dr. Fisher cam to MMLA right after the hurricanes, Katrina, Rita and Wilma and encourage us with financial help, creating the advisory council, facilitating most of the trauma training and just becoming a friend to us.
Our first project for 2009 was a phase down component of the Louisiana Spirit program; which were presentations on trauma. A power point presentation was created by two Board of Directors members for Meaningful Minds: Albert Jimenez and Daily Dupre. The power point was comprised of information on trauma, which included a definition, causes, results, signs, symptoms and information on recovering from trauma. This power point presentation was made are and the state at locations such as but not limited to resources, hospitals and clinics.
With the aid of Dr. Walter Watson, MMLA created a job sharing Model that will be distributed around the state and whose primary focus will be hiring people with mental health needs. This manual defines job sharing; and includes its advantages, flexibility, examples, and guidelines.
2009 With funding from the National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center, (NCSTAC) us wreable to sponsor three major projects.
First project, leadership trainings were held in each of the six chapters of Meaningful Minds. The information for the training derived from the Consumer Organization & Networking Technical and Assistance Center (C.O.N.S.T.A.C.) manual. The training consisted of topics such as : what is organizing, the history of the mental health movement, recruiting techniques, planning the first meeting, conducting effective meetings, role of officers, recording minutes and other topics.
Second Project: A trauma Peer Specialist training was the second project developed with the NCSTAC grant. The training was facilitated by Mary Blake, the Public Health Advisor for the Center for Mental Health Services, (CMHS) in the Division of Services System Improvement. She is assigned to the Community Support Programs and provides management and technical assistance of recovery-oriented and mental health support services programs for adults. At SAMHSA, Mary also serves as the Government Project Officer for Washington State's Mental Health Transformation state incentive Grant, the statewide Consumer Network Grant Program, and is actively involved in the Federal Partner's workgroups regarding employment and people with disabilities.
Dr. Walter Watson also was a facilitator for the trauma training. Dr. Watson is the founder of the agency Consumer's Choice, Inc., a Non Profit Corporation licensed by the state of Louisiana, Department of Health and Hospitals and the Office of Mental Health to provide Case Management Services as well as Rehabilitation Services to a diverse targeted population. Dr. Watson works with the Louisiana Spirit Hurricane Recovery Program as the Program Coordinator, Trainer and Consultant.
The MMLA trauma training was a big success with 85 people in attendance. There was representation from various community healthcare agencies such as: nurses, clinicians, social workers, case managers, ambulance services, teachers and other attendees including our mental health peers. The training included an overview of Trauma and its impact, Key Elements for Recovery & Healing and Overview of Trauma-informed Care. Participants were invited to take a stress test to help judge the status and amount of stress they were feeling.
The Third Project: Preparations for implementing statewide warm line using the MMLA toll free number. WE are currently working on training warm line workers to mandate the warm lines. Initially one warm line service will be implemented; as we learn more about daily operation and get more funding warm lines will be developed around the state and yielding more employment for our peers. Angel Moore Warm Line Coordinator from Community Counseling Solutions of Portland, Oregon is working with MMLA to help with the trainings, and implementation of daily operation of services.
2009 Meaningful Minds has become a resource for voter registration for our peers. We have voter registration cards at our events and conduct workshops and presentations on voter registration rights, how to cast a ballot and other vital information about voting. At one of the worksheets for people who are visually impaired or blind, a demonstration on how to use the voting machines was given in conjunction with the Lafayette Affiliation for the Blind agency. We have been successful in helping our peers around the state to register to vote for the first time.
2009 Meaningful Minds is providing support group session in the Lafayette Parish Jail System. One week we have support group with men and the next week a support group with the women inmates. The name of the Support project is " I Can Hel and is designed to offer people with mental health illness and emotional problems the choices of recovery. This sessions are going great and has been well received. We've received rave reviews from the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center Administrative staff.
We are also providing support sessions at Joseph Henry Tyler inpatient Hospital here in Lafayette. The support group is geared to recovery and based on the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) This is a eight or twelve week course and is being taught within the Lafayette Resource Center and at the Opelousas Community Clinic.
Meaningful Minds is a member of the Regional Intervention Suicide Education Coalition, (RISE) This coalition is a part of the Louisiana Partnership for Youth Suicide Prevention which is sponsored by LA Department of Health and Hospital with funds from the Office of Mental Health.
In February of 2009 Meaningful Minds sponsored a Suicide Prevention Summit in Lafayette. Teacher, Principals, social workers, counselors, parents, representatives from churches, Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scout, Boy Scout leaders were among that among over 90 attendees.
Trina Evans Williams MPH, of the Louisiana Partnership for Youth Suicide Prevention State Project Director was present to give the keynote address. She spoke about contributing factors to suicides attempts, solutions for individuals at risk and the latest data on suicides among adults and the youth of Louisiana and United States.
Denise Brito with Child Adolescent Response Team (CART) gave a presentation on the services provided by her team such as support services for children under age 18, parents and their families in crist. CART services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Daily Dupre and Carole Glover made presentations at the Vermilion Parish School Board in-Service for 30 High School Counselors and a PTA Meeting of an elementary school at risk kids. There were over 35 parents and facility present with many questions about mental health issues and how MMLA could be a resource.
Legislative Advocacy
Additionally, Joan Guillory-William a Member of the Board of Directors of MMLA work as a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) facilitator and Peer Specialist at the Opelousas Clinic. William Rinehart a member of MMLA mimics our esteemed aforementioned board member work at Les Bon Amis Resource Center in Lafayette to help promote the concepts of MMLA principals. Passion Taylor another Board of Director provides her services with the "I Can Help!" as a facilitator for the support group in the Lafayette jail system.
Meaningful Minds is committed to goals of our Mission and Vision statement for those of us with a psychiatric a disabilities.
What you will find here
*Mission Statement
*Vision Statement
*Our Pledge
*Our Goals
*Our History*Our Acomplishments
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