MONDAY MEMO #41
- Resilient Georgia
- Aug 4
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 14
Happy Monday, partners! Welcome to your weekly Monday Memo. This week we included a variety of healthcare and suicide prevention resources, as well as professional development opportunities and youth resources! But first, here are some
updates from the RG Team:
RG UPDATES
Important Dates!
August Peer-to-Peer Network: Join us tomorrow Tuesday, August 5th from 2–3 PM for an informal, connection-focused conversation on Trauma-Informed Training Across Sectors. It’s a great opportunity to build relationships, share ideas, and learn from each other’s experiences engaging different sectors around trauma-informed care.
Hope Givers LIVE! Opportunity and Info Session - Monday August 18th at 2pm: Resilient Georgia is excited to once again partner with the Pittulloch Foundation, Connected Content, and the HOPE GIVERS to offer HOPE GIVERS LIVE! to rural Georgia schools at a 50% discounted rate for the 2025–2026 school year. This Emmy Award-winning event helps jumpstart mental health conversations, connect schools to trauma-informed resources, and strengthen local coalitions. Public schools outside the 20-county Metro Atlanta area are eligible, with estimated costs ranging from $2,625–$3,600. To learn more, join the info session on August 18th or contact Alex English at aenglish@resilientga.org for an invite. Resilient Middle Georgia recently shared stats on the Hope Givers Live program and the impact it has had in their region. In addition, check out the Hope Givers survey results from over 2,000 6-12th graders after completing the HGL program. Please don’t miss out on this opportunity to bring this incredible program to your local schools at a fraction of the cost! First come, first serve!
New Blog! Helping Kids Cope with Back-to-School Anxiety: Resilient Georgia's latest blog written by Jody Baumstein, LCSW and Health Promotion Manager for Strong4life at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, offers practical tips for parents and caregivers to support children experiencing back-to-school anxiety. From creating routines to encouraging open conversations, this post provides simple, effective strategies to ease the transition and promote emotional well-being as the new school year begins.
Free Your Feels Back-to-School Toolkit: The Free Your Feels Back-to-School Toolkit offers mental health resources tailored for students, caregivers, and educators navigating the emotional challenges of a new school year. Whether facing social pressures, shifting routines, or classroom dynamics, this toolkit provides tools and support to help everyone feel prepared, connected, and emotionally supported.
Coalition Spotlight
Resilient Gwinnett: Gwinnett Nonprofit Coalition is hosting A Revenue Diversity Panel for Nonprofit Leaders on Wednesday August 20 at 9 AM- 11 AM in Lawrenceville, GA. The event will focus on how to help nonprofit and community leaders strengthen their financial strategies in the face of rising uncertainty around funding. The panel will feature a variety of panelists from nonprofits in Georgia. Admission is $20 per person and includes breakfast. Register here.
Resilient Middle Georgia recently released guidance on how to create a Trauma-Informed Onboarding Training Policy, as well as an example of what this can look like for organizations. This guidance offers a step-by-step framework for integrating trauma-informed principles into employee onboarding. It walks agencies through reviewing current practices, identifying gaps, developing a policy rooted in SAMHSA’s six key principles, and sustaining training through continuous improvement and leadership engagement. Designed for human service organizations, this resource helps create safer, more supportive workplaces for both staff and clients. Please use this as a model for your own regions to influence positive systems change!
Healthcare
Podcast: The Hidden Cost of Missed Care | Kid Pro Quo: In this Kid Pro Quo podcast episode, The Hidden Cost of Missed Care, host Polly McKinney speaks with Dr. Hugo Scornik of Conyers Pediatrics about the serious impacts of children missing medical care due to lack of insurance. Through real stories, Dr. Scornik illustrates how delayed treatment and missed vaccinations affect not only individual children but entire families—emphasizing the vital importance of Medicaid and strong public health policy.
New Survey Reveals Top Health Concerns Among Georgia Parents | Emory University: A recent Emory Rollins School of Public Health survey reveals top health concerns among Georgia parents. Researchers surveyed nearly 1,000 parents across the state who ranked education and school quality as their top concerns. Social media and bullying closely followed such concerns. When broken done by race, ethnicity, and geography Hispanic and Black non-Hispanic parents ranked gun violence as a top concern, and drug and alcohol use among top concerns for rural parents. Check out the full survey results and share with your networks!
Professional Development and Training
Addiction Prevention Conference: Save the date for Prescription for Prevention: Opioid Misuse in Rural Georgia. Mercer University is hosting a free conference on September 18 from 9 AM – 4:30 PM in Macon. The conference will cover recent DEA statistics, impact of addiction on medicine, opioid alternatives, and understanding prescription drug monitoring. Register here.
ACEs Literacy Training: The Essentials for Childhood Preventing ACEs Through Data to Action (Essentials PACE) team with Emory’s IPRCE is hosting a free two-day ACEs Data Literacy Training this August at the Loganville Health Department. This interactive and beginner-friendly training is designed for anyone working in child and family wellbeing who wants to feel more confident using data in their work. No prior data training is required. Sessions will be held Tuesday, August 6 - 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM AND Monday, August 19 - 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Register here.
Suicide Prevention
Listen to recent coverage by NPR on the What the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline offers and how it's used. The 12 minute podcast hosts Jonathaon Purtle, a lead researcher of a recent study by NYU and Johns Hopkins University on the usage of the line. The story follows what 988 offers in addition to 911. Listen here.
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has unveiled a new program to prevent suicide called “Promise to Call.” This effort asks individuals to make a promise to oneself to reach out to someone they know if they ever have thoughts of suicide. Write this promise down and share with others this promise and awareness of suicide prevention resources. Read more about the statewide initiative here.
The Suicide Risk Assessment Toolkit, developed by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) and updated in 2025, offers resources to support clinical social workers and behavioral health clinicians in conducting effective suicide risk assessments. It includes a Resource Guide for self-study, client-centered Practice Scripts, and guidance on ethical and legal considerations. Designed to enhance competency in screening, assessment, and intervention, the toolkit emphasizes personalized, compassionate care in clinical settings. Please share as you see fit!
Youth
A Florida counseling center has established a new mobile unit in Palm Beach County aimed to deliver essential mental health services to youth. The mobile unit is a prepared to provide trauma-informed care, prevention tools, and critical mental health services. This “moving healing space” addresses early intervention needs—offering group sessions, play therapy, and emotional support without requiring a formal diagnosis or relying on families to travel. The decision to deploy this unit was driven by real-time community data showing prevalent issues like anxiety, family conflict, and behavioral concerns among youth.
Surgo Youth Mental Health Tracker: A New Data Tool This free, interactive data platform was created to publish actionable mental health and wellbeing data for youth. It collects real-time data from over 10,000 U.S. youth to highlight both risk factors and strengths impacting their mental health. The tool features maps, trends, and insights that can support schools, coalitions, and policymakers in designing targeted, youth-centered solutions. Please explore and share!
The Solutions Journalism Network supports various initiatives and newsrooms to further news coverage on youth mental health topics. Student newsrooms at colleges and universities across the nation collaborate to report on student mental health, centering the lived experiences of the youth and supporting evidence-based responses that support youth well-being. Check it out!