MONDAY MEMO #14
- Resilient Georgia
- Jan 20, 2025
- 6 min read
Happy TUESDAY, partners! We hope you had a wonderful long weekend reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy of service, equity, justice, and community. This week, our memo arrives a day late due to the observance of this meaningful holiday, but it’s packed with valuable resources and opportunities. Before we dive into this week’s content, here are some updates and reminders from the RG Team:
RG Highlights
Georgia Health Policy Center’s 30th Anniversary Speaker Series! The Georgia Health Policy Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary with an inspiring speaker series featuring nationally renowned experts. We’re especially excited to announce that our very own Dr. Emily Anne Vall will be presenting on April 3rd at 2 PM on the topic “School Design with Mental Health in Mind.” Check out the full list of events and register here.
Help the Helper counseling and consultation sessions with Gabrielle Stewart: Gabby was a previous coalition lead with 20+ years experience in nonprofit leadership and she is offering various levels of support to our coalitions AT NO COST while she completes her Master’s program at Kennesaw State University this Spring. You don’t want to miss out on this opportunity! Appointments are available between 1 – 5 PM, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, based on availability. To schedule, please email her at gah4508@students.kennesaw.edu with your preferred 1-hour time block. All sessions will be virtual on Zoom. For more information, click here!
Peer to Peer Network: Thank you to everyone who joined our January Peer-to-Peer Network call and shared your valuable feedback on potential 2025 topics! Your input helps shape our discussions and ensures they address your needs and priorities. If you weren’t able to attend this month’s meeting, we’d still love to hear from you—feel free to share your thoughts here. Looking ahead, we’re excited to dive into Coalition Structure and Partner Engagement during our February call on Tuesday, February 4th, at 2 PM.
Regional Coalition Event Calendar: Our coalition event calendar is back for 2025, and we’re excited to continue showcasing and celebrating your events, trainings, and partner activities! All events submitted up to this point have been added to our webpage. As a reminder, you can now share your events using this Google Form. Submissions will be reviewed regularly, with monthly reminders to ensure our calendar stays up to date! If you have events planned, please submit them as soon as details are finalized! If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Nikki at nwarner@resilientga.org.
Coalition Spotlights
The Gwinnett Coalition: Congratulations to Kamesha Walker, Community Health Manager at the Gwinnett Coalition, for being selected to participate in the inaugural 2025 Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) program. With an emphasis on developing leaders to build collective impact in local communities, CLARE is a new leadership accelerator of the Collective Impact Forum designed to invest in the capacity and wellbeing of individuals leading collaborative work. Through CLARE, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their personal leadership journeys, explore their role in leading and working with others in their place-based collaboratives, and drive systems change.
In South Central Georgia, disaster recovery efforts are advancing with the formation of a South Central GA COAD under GA VOAD, supported by GVUW as the fiscal agent. This COAD is part of a larger effort to coordinate and strengthen disaster response through collaboration, as outlined by GA VOAD and CDP’s Long-Term Recovery Groups. FEMA and GEMA are hiring disaster recovery specialists and providing case management, while the Red Cross is offering grants and family assistance, with new support launching next week. United Way National has created a disaster response department, emphasizing community resilience. Additionally, Samaritan’s Purse and FEMA disaster locations remain active, and Second Harvest’s new facility, opening in 60 days, will serve as a hub for recovery efforts, training, and collaboration. Many thanks to the Greater Valdosta United Way and RUCSG for supporting these recovery efforts in their community.
Education
Beyond the Hardware: Keeping Kids Safe at School and Elsewhere on Vimeo: The recording of this Voices for Georgia’s Children event pulled stakeholders engaged in improving the lives of Georgia’s children. During this panel discussion you will hear from community leaders, elected officials and youth service providers about the state of child safety in Georgia and what each is doing to promote safety for children in their organizations, committees, and programs.
Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools | Trauma Conference (ATN): Join the largest gathering of Trauma-Informed Educators dedicated to building Trauma-Responsive schools gathering in Atlanta, GA February 16-18 and VIRTUALLY Feb 20-21. Register here.
Foster Care
Improving Access to Support Services for Teens in Foster Care - The Annie E. Casey Foundation: All young people deserve support as they pursue education, obtain employment, maintain stable housing and prepare to be successful adults. A Dec. 5 Instagram Live conversation featuring the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Todd Lloyd, senior associate for Child Welfare Policy, explored approaches to ensuring more young people get and benefit from these critical resources.
Shaping Identity: Racial and Ethnic Development for Young People in Foster Care: A new brief from Child Trends explores how time in foster care can
influence young people’s racial and ethnic identities. Foster Care and the Development of Racial and Ethnic Identity recommends how best to support the critical process of identity development for youth who may feel disconnected from their roots. Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the brief features interviews with young people who have experienced the child welfare system and highlights their need for information, resources and ongoing conversations as they embrace or shift their identities.
Professional Development
2025 Connections Matter Train the Trainer Sessions: The Connections Matter Georgia Train-the-Trainer (CMGA TOT) offers professionals the foundational knowledge and tools they need to train others, including parents, educators, child-serving professionals, healthcare, human services providers, faith leaders, and community members. Each TOT consists of one full in-person day, and one-half virtual day. 2025 Trainings will be hosted in Atlanta on the following dates: March 19th, June 17th, and September 18th
Prerequisite: Participation and verification in a Connections Matter workshop is a prerequisite. If you haven’t taken the training yet or need a refresher, click here for upcoming workshops.
29th Annual Child & Adolescent Mental Health Conference : This conference will be April 27th-29th in Duluth, Minnesota bringing together professionals and caregivers supporting children prenatal to age 24. Early bird registration rates are available until March 28th and Scholarships are available to reduce barriers, with priority given to BIPOC professionals, those working in rural areas, and dual-language speakers. Scholarship applications are due by Wednesday, February 26, 2025, and recipients will be notified by Friday, March 21, 2025.
Strolling Thunder: Little Ones & their Grownups Advocate at the Capitol: GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students is excited to announce the eighth annual Strolling Thunder. This kid-friendly event gives families from around Georgia the opportunity to speak personally with elected officials about the joys and challenges of raising young children. We’re bringing along our little ones in their strollers to send a clear message: To build strong families, vibrant communities, and a prosperous state, our lawmakers must prioritize families with young children. This year’s Strolling Thunder is a two-part event:
The first part of the event is a virtual training session where you will learn what to expect and empower you to share your story during your day at the Georgia State Capitol. There will be three identical trainings on Saturday, January 25th from 10:00-11:00 AM, Tuesday, January 28th from 7:30-8:30 PM, and Friday, January 31st from 12:00-1:00 PM. You only need to attend one training session.
The second part of the event will take place in person on Thursday, February 6th, 2025 from 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Your young children (infants through five-year-olds) are invited to attend this event with you. Expectant parents are also welcome to attend.
Substance Use and Recovery
Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force | Bipartisan Policy Center: Dr. Patrice Harris, a Georgia-based psychiatrist and the first African American woman to serve as President of the American Medical Association, has joined the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force. The task force recently released a new report featuring actionable recommendations to improve mental health and substance use services, addressing key areas such as licensing, funding, parity, data disaggregation, and telehealth access. Dr. Harris brings her extensive expertise in public health and her commitment to promoting equitable care to this vital initiative. Learn more about the report here.