On July 2, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) staff, including Director LeeAnne Cornyn and Chief of Staff John Annarino (pictured above, center), visited the Magnolia Clubhouse in Cleveland. Clubhouse members and staff provided an overview of the international Clubhouse Model, explained how Magnolia Clubhouse provides necessary services to people living with mental illness in the Cleveland area, and described how they are helping to expand the model across the state.

Established in 2004, Magnolia Clubhouse is one of 300 such programs worldwide. The Clubhouse serves as a valuable resource for men and women with mental illness in the Greater Cleveland area who want to build a better life, find employment, or continue their education. The International Clubhouse Model provides people with mental illness opportunities for friendship, employment, housing, education, and access to medical and psychiatric services in a caring and safe environment. Members and staff work side-by-side to operate the Clubhouse. 

"We heard some incredible, powerful stories of individuals who have gone back to school or reentered the workforce, really demonstrating that recovery is possible. This organization is doing so much to make that a reality for more Ohioans," said Director Cornyn.

Members of the Clubhouse's Communications Unit interviewed Director Cornyn, who expressed her support for the Clubhouse Model and the organization's efforts to expand Clubhouses throughout Ohio. Click HERE to watch Director Cornyn's interview.

OhioMHAS Peer and Employment Services Manager Beth Knack was recently recognized by her Employment team and the IPS (Individualized Placement and Support) International Learning community for her hard work and dedication to improving supported employment across the state of Ohio.

Criteria for this award included demonstrating leadership in disseminating IPS and helping to build the infrastructure to expand access to IPS services, helping to identify additional funding mechanisms, policies, and regulations to sustain IPS by participating in committees, stakeholder conference calls, and attending annual meetings. Knack's  team has recognized the strengths that she possesses as a leader and noted the work she has been putting in with the Transition-Aged Youth (TAY) and First Episode Psychosis (FEP) populations. She has also advocated and dedicated time to work alongside community behavioral health agencies to begin integrating peer and employment services. 

Knack's team said in her nomination: "As a leader she encourages her team to be creative, empathetic, and collaborative in the approaches they take. She promotes advocacy and drives her team to continue to grow their knowledge and skill set through career development. Beth encompasses the picture of exemplary leadership while embracing the values and principles of IPS."

After 22 years of dedicated service to the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities (OACBHA), CEO, Cheri L. Walter, will be retiring from her position at the end of this week. Since being appointed as the first CEO of OACBHA, Walter has been integral in creating and leading the organization. Her retirement marks the end of an era, while opening the door to a new chapter and opportunities for OACBHA.

Walter’s service to OACBHA began as three former behavioral health associations merged into a single entity, ensuring a unified voice for Ohio's county ADAMHS boards. 

Throughout her tenure, Walter helped boards navigate the many changes to Ohio’s behavioral health system. This included seeing seven Community Mental Health, seven Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Boards, and 43 Mental Health and Addiction Boards become 50 combined Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Boards serving all 88 counties; the lifting of Medicaid from Boards to the state; Medicaid Expansion; dealing with Ohio’s opiate and addiction epidemic; and working to address Ohio’s mental health crisis. During her time as the CEO at OACBHA, she has helped Ohio's ADAMH Boards to continue to evolve and meet the demands of local communities.

Under Walter's Leadership, OACBHA with its member Boards, created the Culture of Quality peer certification program, that provides for Boards to be certified by ensuring that they are meeting over 150 standards that look at fiscal, program, and operational functions, setting new benchmarks for board operations. She also worked to establish a yearly, nationally recognized opiate conference, and an annual recovery conference that allows individuals in recovery to celebrate and strengthen their recovery.

Throughout her career, Walter has been open about her recovery, and has been an unwavering advocate for families and children needing help, along with celebrating individuals who have experienced mental illness and/or addiction who are now in recovery. She has also worked to reduce stigma and normalize recovery.

Walter's collaboration with behavioral health stakeholders and policymakers across Ohio has been instrumental in advancing OACBHA's mission and achieving positive outcomes for Ohioans dealing with mental health and addiction issues. OhioMHAS extends its heartfelt thanks to Walter for her decades of leadership and advocacy, and her outstanding contributions to Ohio's behavioral health care field.

CADCA, an organization that represents more than 5,000 community coalitions and has international reach, recently interviewed Dr. Holly Raffle with Ohio University as well as Mollie Stevens and Meagan Joseph with Impact Prevention. In an interview with Dr. Raffle, she emphasizes the evidence-based frameworks that guide the work and illustrates the value of the Ohio Adult Allies initiative and youth-led programs. Additionally, Mollie Stevens and Meagan Joseph, who co-authored a chapter of The Cambridge Handbook of Community Empowerment with Dr. Holly Raffle and Dr. Jessica Collura, shared the work of Impact Prevention and how they value partnerships between adults and youth for community change. Read more on their stories or other CADCA blogs HERE.

The SAMHSA Program to Advance Recovery Knowledge (SPARK) is collaborating with Ohio Recovery Housing to sponsor an upcoming technical assistance (TA) opportunity in Ohio. The TA will focus on operationalizing equity and cultural responsiveness in recovery residences, with a primary focus on creating inclusive and affirming recovery residences.   

This TA will be comprised of four sessions on Aug. 1, Aug. 8, Aug. 15, and Aug. 22. These sessions will be conducted virtually, via Zoom, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. The sessions will focus on the social model of recovery housing, and support participants to understand and incorporate cultural responsiveness across a range of issues – from understanding relevant definitions of equity and inclusion to operational strategies to assess and address equity gaps at the residence level.  

SPARK is a national TA center to support transformational, recovery-oriented change for every state, tribal, and territorial behavioral health system and promote equitable access to recovery supports in the United States. SPARK is supported by SAMHSA’s Office of Recovery and the Center for Substance Abuse treatment. 

Kicking off in August, the National Institute of Mental Health's (NIMH) Office for Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity is hosting a Disability, Equity, and Mental Health Research Webinar Series, which focuses on exploring the health disparities experienced by people with disability. These include disparities in mental health outcomes. Additionally, the series explores the notion of mental health conditions as a disability and considers the viewpoints of those with lived experience. Click HERE for more information and to register.

The International Community Justice Association will hold its 60th Anniversary Research Conference on Sept. 15-18 in Louisville, Ky. This year's theme is "60 Years of Doing What Matters: Creating Hope by Opening Doors Through Emerging Research." Click HERE to view the conference agenda.