MONDAY MEMO #33

Resilient Georgia
Jun 9
6 min read

Happy Monday, partners! Welcome to another edition of the Monday Memo. We are excited to share another list of resources, but first, here are some highlights from the RG Team:

RG UPDATES

New Sector-Specific Resource Guides Now Available! RG has expanded our sector-specific resource guides to better support various professionals across Georgia. Additions include guides for Healthcare Organizations, Faith Communities, First Responders, and Law Enforcement. These guides offer trauma-informed tools, training recommendations, and practical strategies to build resilience within each sector. Check them out and share!
We’re proud to share that "The Body Can Balance the Score: Using a Somatic Self-Care Intervention to Support Well-Being and Promote Healing" by William Chance Nicholson, Michael Sapp, Elaine Miller Karas, Ingrid Margaret Duva, and Linda Grabbe has been published in Healthcare as part of the Special Issue Beyond Words: Somatic Approaches for Treating PTSD and Trauma. We are honored to continually partner with such talented researchers and practitioners who are advancing the field of trauma-informed care. Read the full article here.
June Lunch and Learn: Community Resiliency Model (CRM®): Join us this Thursday, June 12th via Zoom, for our next Lunch and Learn featuring an introduction to the Community Resiliency Model (CRM®) in Disaster Recovery Efforts—a set of practical, body-based wellness skills that help individuals and communities manage stress and heal after crisis. Featured speakers Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, co-developer of CRM®, and Dr. Michael Sapp, clinical psychologist and CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute, will share practical applications of CRM® to support long-term recovery following disasters. Their work has supported communities across the globe in the wake of hurricanes, wildfires, conflict, and mass trauma. If you haven’t taken a CRM training before, we encourage you to check out these Medscape videos ahead of the session. Anyone is welcome to join our Lunch and Learn. To request an invite, please email Alex at aenglish@resilientga.org.
Mental Health Parity Toolkit Now Available: The Carter Center has released a digital toolkit to help metro Atlanta residents understand their rights under Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act of 2022. The toolkit includes sample messaging, social media content, FAQs, and more — all designed to spread awareness about equal insurance coverage for mental health care. A Spanish version is also available to help reach more communities. Explore the toolkit and learn more at georgiamentalhealth.com. Please download and share these on your organization’s socials over the next few weeks!

Coalition Spotlights

Resilient WEST is hosting a virtual Community Resiliency Model Training June 30th from 9am-12pm facilitated by Todd Wilcher, the Director of Youth Engagement and Street Outreach at Covenant House and a DECAL approved trainer. This training is geared towards professionals that work closely with young children and families, including, but not limited to, childcare and early childhood professionals. Register for the training here! Additionally, Resilient WEST is now on LinkedIn. Check it out and give them a follow!

Resilient Gwinnett is hosting multiple, virtual trauma-informed training sessions. Workshops are focused on building resilience, preventing adverse childhood experiences, and promoting community well-being. Trainings are free and between June and December and include Community Resiliency Model, Mandated Reporter, Connections Matter, and Human Trafficking. Register here!

Additionally, join Resilient Gwinnett for a networking event on Wednesday June 11 5:30-7 PM. This event is free, register here!

Child Development

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has key guidance on resilience and children’s development available to the public. Check out the pages on:

Toxic Stress - Covering the basic background and types of toxic stress and includes a resource guide
Guide to Resilience - Understand protective factors within children’s developmental environment which impact their ability to build essential skills for coping with adversity and well-being. Also includes various explanatory videos
Developmental Environments - Describes the importance of children’s environment on their development and incorporates a developmental environments resource guide

Grants

The Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health has funding opportunities! The Innovation Awards ($100,000 each) are open to all and Next Gen Innovation Awards ($25,000-$50,000) are open to nonprofits more than two years in operation founded by or led by leaders under 32 years old. Apply here by July 7th!

NAMI Georgia Training Opportunity – Now Accepting Applications: Thanks to new SAMHSA funding, NAMI Georgia is offering free, research-based training and certification for peers and family members to become presenters and facilitators in their communities. This includes programs like Ending the Silence, Peer-to-Peer, Family-to-Family, and In Our Own Voice, many of which are offered virtually. Certified participants receive stipends ($50–$250 per session) and travel support for community presentations. These trainings are ideal for individuals with lived experience who are ready to lead and support others. Upcoming June trainings include Ending the Silence (6/12), In Our Own Voice (6/28), and Family Support Group Facilitator (6/28–29). Organizations interested in partnering can contact grants@namiga.org. View the full training schedule and applications here.

Juvenile Justice

Georgia Voices Juvenile Justice Landscape Analysis: Last month, Voices for Georgia's Children released Punishment to Potential: A Landscape Analysis of Georgia’s Juvenile Justice System, offering a comprehensive examination of the state's juvenile justice landscape. The report highlights persistent challenges, including high incarceration rates—over 7,000 youths admitted to secure facilities in FY2023—and disproportionate impacts on Black youth and those with behavioral health or developmental issues. It also addresses systemic issues such as the automatic charging of 17-year-olds as adults and workforce shortages leading to increased use of solitary confinement. The analysis identifies five focus populations requiring tailored reforms and emphasizes the need for improved coordination among agencies, investment in preventive services, and incorporation of youth voices in policymaking. For a detailed exploration of these findings and recommendations, check out the full report here.

Professional Development and Events

PIN Regional Leaders Program – 2025 Cohort Opportunity: The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation’s Regional Leaders Program is now accepting applications for its 2025 cohort, supporting public, private, and community leaders in rural, small, and midsized Southeast communities. The program empowers collaborative teams focused on regional economic growth through innovation and tech-based development. Selected teams will receive up to $40,000 in grant funding, expert coaching, program support, and access to a regional peer network. Apply by July 3, 2025, at 5 PM to join this unique opportunity to build stronger, more inclusive local economies.

Georgia State Child Welfare Training Collaborative is hosting a free virtual event today Monday, June 9, 2025, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM about food insecurity. The event, titled Knowledge to Action Conversation from Trauma to Table: Empowering Through Nutrition, aims to educated attendees on how Grady Hospital’s ‘Food as Medicine’ program combines medical care with nutrition education and patient empowerment to create long lasting changes. Hosted by Dhana Blissett, MSN, LD, RDN the event will cover the relationship between food, insecurity, chronic illness, and trauma. Join to learn how Grady Hospital’s model equips patients, particularly those with high ACES scores and serious health conditions, with the education and tools to plan, cook, and eat with purpose and how to advocate in communities. Register here!

Rural Mental Health

Rural Minds hosted a webinar focused on mental health challenges for the youth in Rural America. Posted onto their website, this one-hour presentation features Asheton Medlin, a student at UNC, sharing her personal experience with stigma surrounding mental illness and barriers to mental health that are unique to growing up in a rural community. Additionally, Dr. Eric Arzubi, CEO and Co-Founder of Frontier Psychiatry in Billings MT talks about his observations as a psychiatrist treating adolescents living in rural communities throughout Montana, Idaho, and Alaska. Access the webinar here.

To learn more about rural communities and the mental health crisis, access Rural Behavioral Health Institute’s website on more information about suicide in rural areas and here to read about the work the organization is doing to incorporate suicide prevention and mental health screenings in schools.

Substance Use and Recovery

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has various educational resources on drug abuse. NIDA offers helpful information on proper terminology on drug abuse, particularly for healthcare providers. The organization additionally provides free lessons and activities on the science and consequences of drug use developed by scientists at leading universities and the NIDA. Lastly, the NIDA offers a compiled list of scientific journals and articles on drug addiction.

Georgia Society of Addiction Medicine 2025 Annual Conference: Join GSAM for its 2025 Annual Conference, taking place July 25th–26th at South University in Savannah. This event will offer up to 9.5 CME credits and cover key topics including medications for alcohol use disorder, pain and addiction management, ADHD and dual diagnoses, and treatment for pregnant patients. Learn, connect, and explore the latest evidence-based practices in addiction medicine. Register here!