MONDAY MEMO #9
- Resilient Georgia
- Nov 25, 2024
- 5 min read
Welcome to another edition of the Monday Memo, your go-to resource for updates, highlights, and opportunities to support resilience and well-being in our communities. Per usual, we are kicking it off with spotlights from Regional Coalitions around the state, followed by professional development opportunities and Georgia happenings. Please note: We will not be sending out a Monday Memo the Monday after Thanksgiving (December 2nd). We will resume on December 9th. On behalf of the Resilient Georgia team, we wish those who celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you all take a moment to recharge, reflect, and connect with what brings you joy with your loved ones. Thank you for the incredible work you do to strengthen our communities—we’re grateful for each and every one of you.
Regional Coalition Spotlights
Resilient Chattahoochee Valley’s Newsletter highlights the amazing work the coalition is doing to build community resilience including the Views and Visions Podcast at Shaw Highschool, the RCV Book Club featuring discussions about the powerful life story of Winfred Rembert, a Poverty Simulation implemented in partnership with Goodwill, Inc., and Speaking of the Basics: The Power Early Childhood Connections video. Check out their progress and all of the ways they are engaging in the community.
The very first Reaching Teens Summit will be Thursday, January 30, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM for the Reaching Teens Summit, a free, one-day training for professionals working with youth. This event hosted by Resilient North Georgia and Wellroot Family Services will provide strength-based strategies and practical tools for addressing trauma, mental health challenges, and behavioral risks. Led by renowned expert Dr. Ken Ginsburg, this summit provides strength-based strategies to address behavioral risks and mental health challenges in youth, providing practical tools to be the resilient, supportive adults our youth need. Lunch is included, but space is limited, so be sure to invite your network of youth-serving professionals to this impactful event!
Conferences
SAVE THE DATE! On February 18-20, 2025, DBHDD will host the 2025 Georgia Suicide Prevention Conference in Peachtree City, GA. This event focused on statewide learning and networking will bring together suicide prevention, mental health, and behavioral health stakeholders to examine emerging suicide data, learn about innovation prevention programs, and provide opportunities to engage with peers and subject-matter experts on practices and methods in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
Best Start Georgia is seeking applications for presentations at their 2025 Georgia Child Health Conference. Applications are to be submitted via their online submission form by 5:00 PM, February 1, 2025. The conference will be hosted in Atlanta July 12 – 15, 2025. Presentations should align with Autism, Babies Can’t Wait, Caregivers, Children’s Medical Services, Children 1st, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, Therapeutic Providers and Home Visiting audiences.
Internships for Students
PIN Summer Internship (PSI) This opportunity from PIN Georgia is open to all active technical college, undergraduate and graduate students from any accredited higher education institution, PSI offers students the opportunity to work in-person, full-time in intern pairs on innovative and impactful projects that are dedicated to creating a positive public impact across communities. Interns will gain valuable experience working with innovative organizations, leaders and projects while being paid $8,000 over the summer for the 12-week internship. Please share widely! Students can apply here by Feb. 5, 2025!
Georgia Happenings
The Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) A national study conducted by Americans for the Arts and facilitated by Georgia Council for the Arts, reinforces how arts and culture deliver meaningful direct economic and societal benefits. Georgia’s nonprofit arts and culture sector delivers a minimum economic impact of at least $1.27 billion and supports nearly 20,000 jobs. A new tool will allow local organizations and communities to determine their unique impacts within the sector. The “Impact Analysis for Planning,” known as IMPLAN, platform was created to serve the needs of the U.S. Forest Service and widely used by business, industry, and government to determine economic impact for over 40 years.
Insurance companies are bleeding rural hospitals and communities dry: Research was conducted with rural hospitals in Georgia concerning the impact of Medicare Advantage plans and other insurance industry practices. Since 2000, a dozen rural hospitals have closed. Medicare Advantage programs leverage federal funds to pay private insurance corporations, which reimburse hospitals for patient treatments. WriteOff Warrior found that insurance companies are requiring cumbersome approvals for standard treatments, while denying payments or delaying them for several weeks. Find out more in this AJC article.
Mindworks Georgia - Georgia Health Policy Center: As a reminder, Georgia DBHDD initially created Mindworks Georgia in order to implement an integrated approach to achieve collective impact in the child and adolescent system of care; the collaborative has since grown in membership, scope, and impact. Mindworks Georgia is a multiagency, public-private collaborative (formerly known as the Interagency Directors Team) that works to promote better child and adolescent behavioral health in the state. The Center of Excellence for Children’s Behavioral Health at the Georgia Health Policy Center provides backbone and organizational support services to Mindworks Georgia. Meet their team and learn more about their collective impact initiative on their website.
Trainings & Events
College affordability remains a critical issue for Georgia students and families. That's why the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and the newly-formed coalition, Georgians for College Affordability, are hosting a Critical Issues Forum entitled, “A Formula for the Future: The Case for Ensuring Affordable Postsecondary Education." Participants will examine the current structure of funding for Georgia's colleges and universities and explore the challenges students face in paying for higher education and discuss the broader implications for our state's economy and future workforce. Topics will include potential solutions, including policy changes, funding reform, and innovative models aimed at reducing financial barriers for Georgia students.
Join SAMHSA on Monday, December 2, from 1–2:30 p.m. for the webinar "Grief: A Simultaneously Unique, Yet Universal Experience" in honor of National Grief Awareness Week. This session will explore social, cultural, and community perspectives on grief, highlighting its universal and individual aspects. Panelists include experts from Renaissance Funeral Home, SAMHSA, Evermore, Sesame Workshop, and Kiva Centers. Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding of bereavement. Please share widely!
There are a variety of free Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) certification courses sponsored by Amerigroup. Virtual participants will receive CEUs for virtual or in-person attendance, approved by the American Psychological Association. For dates and registration information, click here. For questions, contact Andrea Elam at andrea.elam@amerigroup.com. Please share with your networks!
Consulting Services - Andrew Young School of Policy Studies: As 2024 wraps up, consider jumpstarting a stalled project by partnering with graduate students from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. These students, guided by experienced faculty, offer low-cost, 10-week research services tailored to the needs of public and nonprofit organizations. Projects can include program evaluation, policy analysis, strategic planning, and more. Proposals are due December 1st.