OhioMHAS held its Annual Veterans Appreciation Coffee on Nov. 7 to recognize staff who served in the military and to highlight the importance of veterans outreach, peer support, and mental health. OhioMHAS Director Lori Criss (pictured above speaking to staff) was joined by Ohio Department of Veteran Services Director Deborah Ashenhurst, Marine Corps veteran Tara Campbell from Highland County Community Action, and Army veteran Julian Walk (pictured at left) from the Ohio Department of Veteran Services.

Walk, who manages the State Opioid and Stimulant Response (SOS) grant initiatives at ODVS, talked about finding purpose after hanging up your uniform and increasing the number of veteran peer supporters throughout the state of Ohio. “There is no rule book, there is no manual for how to become a healthy veteran. But the people in here are the ones who are taking that initiative, taking those steps forward to make sure that veterans throughout the state of Ohio have that guidebook...those resources that they need to be healthy veterans.”

For more on how Ohio is supporting the needs of service members, veterans, and their families, visit: https://ohiocares.ohio.gov/.

The Ohio State Battelle Center at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs in partnership with Endeavors and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum are conducting an Ohio Veteran Needs Assessment that will help identify the issues facing military-connected communities in the region, contributing to the development of programs and services to meet those needs.  This survey is brief, anonymous, and open to all Ohio veterans & their family members. The survey has been extended through Nov. 17.

Results from a new clinical trial suggest that a group of brain regions known as the “salience network” is activated after a drug is taken intravenously, but not when that same drug is taken orally. When drugs enter the brain quickly, such as through injection or smoking, they are more addictive than when they enter the brain more slowly, such as when they are taken orally. However, the brain circuits underlying these differences are not well understood. This study offers new information that helps explain what may be causing this difference.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, but there are opportunities to intervene and save lives. Many people who die by suicide visit an emergency room in the weeks or months before, making them critical places to reach people at risk. Addressing suicide risk in these fast-paced, urgent care settings is challenging, but research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) showed that it is possible. Learn more about the study, known as the Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-Up Evaluation 2 (ED-SAFE 2), which significantly reduced suicidal behaviors among people at risk of suicide.

The OhioMHAS SFY 2024 Crisis Academy Series will continue on Dec. 8 from 9:00-11:30 a.m. with a virtual presentation of Ohio’s Crisis System Landscape: Stabilize & Thrive. This webinar will cover Ohio’s Crisis Systems Landscape Analysis and focus on the second two principles of building Ohio’s Crisis Services System: stabilize and thrive. Speakers for this session will include Kris Vilamaa, Owner and CEO of HealthCare Perspective, and Michelle Allison-Smith, OhioMHAS Crisis System Administrator. Additionally, this session will highlight three Ohio programs that focus on crisis intervention with observation, crisis residential services, and crisis residential-RESPITE. CEUs have been requested for Ohio social workers, counselors, and SUD treatment and prevention professionals. There is no cost to attend, however advanced registration is required. Questions? Please email Shelby Embrey at sembrey@oacbha.org or call 614.224.1111. 

Earlybird registration is now open for the 2024 Ohio Recovery Housing Annual Conference slated for March 20-21 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Columbus-Dublin. Themed, "Every Person, Every Family, Every Community," the conference will offer the opportunity to network with others in the Ohio recovery housing community, learn best practices, and gain information about innovative programs and services that can benefit residents of recovery housing. Conference planners are currently accepting proposals from individuals interested in presenting. The deadline to submit a proposal is Nov. 30.