MONDAY MEMO #79
- Jun 1
- 5 min read
Happy June, partners! This week we are highlighting a range of resources, including resources for parents and families, people with disabilities, youth-serving professionals, and workplaces. Before we dive in, here are a few reminders and highlights from the RG team:
RG Highlights
Our June Lunch & Learn will be Thursday, June 11 from 12–12:45PM featuring Whitney Griggs of Georgians for a Healthy Future and Sarah Phillips of The Carter Center. This session will provide a timely overview of mental health parity, its impact on behavioral health access in Georgia, and how coalitions and community partners can better understand and engage in related policy efforts. To request a calendar invite and virtual link, contact Nikki Warner at nwarner@resilientga.org.
FREE Trainings Sponsored by Red Cross! Resilient Georgia and American Red Cross are partnering to offer free Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and Connections Matter trainings to communities that were impacted by Hurricane Helene. Participants will learn the science of how stress and traumatic events impact the brain and nervous system while gaining six body-based, practical resiliency skills that can be applied in your daily life and in times of crisis. For more information on scheduling a training for your community, contact info@resilientga.org.
The Georgia Education Policy Fellowship (GEPF), sponsored by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, is a professional development program designed to equip leaders with the knowledge, leadership skills, and professional networks needed to advance education policy in Georgia. Applications for the 2026–2027 cohort are due June 19th. Tuition is $3,800 plus travel costs. Coalition partners who are accepted and need financial assistance are encouraged to contact a Resilient Georgia representative to inquire about possible tuition support.
The Youth Prevention Network (YPN) is a statewide initiative equipping youth and youth-serving adults with tools for mental wellness, substance misuse prevention, and leadership. The program offers two tracks: Youth Prevention Advocates (ages 13–19), who build leadership and peer support skills, and Youth Prevention Mentors, including educators and community professionals who support youth development. This interactive, evidence-informed training covers coping skills, healthy decision-making, and prevention strategies, and is designed to be flexible for schools and community organizations. Participants receive stipends ($15/hour for youth, $20/hour for adults), transportation support, and certificates of completion. Request Your 2026 Youth Prevention Network Training
Coalition Highlights
Resilient Northwest Metro: Cobb Collaborative is hosting a Capacity Catalyst training on June 12 from 11:30 AM - 1PM focused on using Google Workspace and Google Gemini to strengthen nonprofit operations and organizational capacity. Part of the 2026 Nonprofit Capacity-Building Training Series, the workshop will explore practical ways nonprofits can use digital tools, AI integrations, and collaborative platforms to improve efficiency and support organizational goals. Attendees are encouraged to bring laptops or devices for hands-on learning and idea development. Additionally, the coalition has also updated their Move Towards Resiliency Booklet for youth! Check it out and share widely.
Resilient Chattahoochee Valley and the Chattahoochee Valley Poverty Reduction Coalition, in partnership with Goodwill, are hosting a community-wide Poverty Simulation on June 30th from 1-4pm to increase awareness and understanding of the realities of poverty and financial insecurity. This interactive three-hour experience allows participants ages 18+ to step into the roles of individuals navigating economic hardship, helping attendees better understand the personal and systemic challenges many families face. Register here!
Parents and Caregivers
Greater Good Science Center Family Resources: As summer begins, parents can explore supportive resources that nurture both their own well-being and their family’s resilience: the Self-Compassion Meditation for Parents offers a guided mindfulness practice that helps parents respond to self-criticism with kindness, encouraging grace in stressful moments and reinforcing that challenges are a normal part of parenting, while research shows that self-compassion can reduce stress, improve parenting practices, and support healthier outcomes for children. Learn more about MSC here.
Alongside this, How Can Families Cope With Stress Together? highlights how chronic stress can affect children’s emotional regulation, learning, relationships, and health, emphasizing that children rely on caregivers to model healthy coping, and that self-care, open conversations, and supportive relationships can help families manage stress together and build resilience even in the face of adversity.
Protecting Kids with Safe Firearm Storage: As summer begins and kids are home, it’s important for families to prioritize safety at home. Many firearm-related injuries among children can be prevented by storing guns unloaded, locked, and out of reach, with ammunition kept separately and keys or access codes secured. This resource from Strong4Life encourages parents to have conversations about firearm safety, including asking about storage practices before children visit other homes, helping protect kids and teens from accidental injury and promoting safer environments for all. Please share widely!
Engaging Parent Researchers: Pilot Study Collecting Behavior Change Data in a Family-Community Education Program: This report highlights a pilot study led by researchers from Georgia Southern University in partnership with Parent University that explored how parents can serve as active “parent researchers” in evaluating parenting education programs. The study used the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework to assess areas such as parental resilience, social connections, and parenting knowledge. Parent researchers played a key role in adapting the survey to better fit community needs, including simplifying questions and creating more respectful approaches to literacy support. Findings showed improvements in parental resilience and social-emotional supports, while also demonstrating the value of participant-driven research in building trust, strengthening community partnerships, and increasing organizational capacity for future program evaluation and grant sustainability.
People with Disabilities
The Special Touch Ministry Summer Get Away is summer camp designed for individuals with intellectual or physical disabilities. The Georgia camp is scheduled August 17-21 at the Timber Lake Retreat Center near Forsyth, GA. It is a fun, supportive, faith-centered camp focused on fellowship, recreation, and community. Participants engage in traditional camp activities such as swimming, fishing, sports, games, crafts, and boat rides, with support from medical professionals and trained staff. For more information and costs, visit Summer Get Away FAQs.
Mental Health Resources for People with Disabilities: This Resilient Georgia resource curated by our partners at Cobb Collaborative highlights a collection of mental health and wellbeing supports specifically for individuals with disabilities. It connects individuals and families to organizations offering therapy, support services, educational tools, books, social media resources, and additional information designed to promote mental health, connection, and overall wellbeing for people with disabilities and their families. Check it out and share widely!
Workplace
Free Workforce Wellbeing Webinar! Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is hosting a free Continuing Medical Education (CME) session, Compassion as Strategy: Driving Workforce Well-Being and Member Experience in the Payer Environment, on June 9 from 4–5PM ET. The virtual session will explore practical strategies for integrating compassion into health plan operations, including care coordination, provider engagement, and member communications, with a focus on improving workforce well-being, patient experience, and healthcare outcomes. Free CME credit is available for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and case managers through the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning. Registration is available here.
Tend Collective: 7 Skills for Attuned Managers: This resource from the Tend Collective outlines practical, relationship‑centered strategies to help supervisors create supportive, emotionally healthy workplaces. It highlights key skills such as active listening, emotional awareness, clear communication, and fostering psychological safety—each designed to strengthen trust, reduce stress, and improve team well‑being. This guide offers a quick, actionable framework for managers looking to lead with empathy and attunement. Please share with your networks!
Youth
Online Clinical Training for Context‑Informed Youth Mental Health Care: The Lotus Project team is offering a free 2‑hour clinical training designed to strengthen culturally responsive, strengths‑based mental health care for Asian American & Asian Immigrant (AAAI) youth. Developed in collaboration with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma, this training uses real digital stories from AAAI youth to deepen understanding of cultural and contextual factors shaping mental health experiences. Participants will learn practical, culturally grounded approaches that move beyond standard care models. Registration is currently open and folks can complete the inquiry form to participate. Individuals interested in future opportunities may contact kfu@phi.org.
THANK YOU FROM THE RESILIENT GEORGIA TEAM!