News
PEERS co-hosts second annual Walk/Move for Health
More than 550 people from the Bay Area braved a cold and foggy morning on Friday, May 10 to partake in the second annual Walk/Move for Health at Lake Merritt. The event, which aims to bring widespread awareness to the link between mental and physical health and encourage community support for healthy living, was held as part of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Sponsored by the Alameda County 10x10 Wellness Campaign, PEERS, and Children's Hospital Oakland, the day featured line dancing, tai chi, Zumba for disabilities, chair yoga, a free farmer's market with cooking demo,...
TAY Initiative honored with Alameda County Mental Health Board Community Service Award
By Shannon Eliot
Members of the Transitional Age Youth Initiative, a collaboration between PEERS and Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services that focuses on empowering young adults and actively involving them in systems change, were presented with the Community Service Award in the Child/Adolescence category on Wednesday, May 1. Granted by the Alameda County Mental Health Board at the Senior Community Center in San Leandro, the award is designed to recognize outstanding contributions to the mental health field in Alameda County.
Rachel Bryant, TAY Services...
PEERS hosts first celebration of Peace and Wellness Garden for Day of Unity
By Jenee Darden
For the past nine months, U.S. veterans, war refugees, and PEERS staff members have put in a lot of sweat and heart into the new Peace and Wellness Garden. On Saturday, April 27, PEERS and the community blessed the garden while honoring friendship during the Day of Unity celebration. The day was filled with drumming, dancing, song, and uplifting stories of mental health recovery.
“The purpose of the garden is to recognize that people heal from trauma by sharing their stories,” said PEERS Social Inclusion Program Manager Sharon Keuhn.
...
PEERS launches Empowerment through the Arts Series
By Shannon Eliot
As part of its expanding effort to promote personal empowerment among consumers, PEERS has launched the monthly Empowerment through the Arts Series. The series, which is part of the Social Inclusion Campaign, features an array of performing and visual arts activities designed to foster communication and self-expression and end internalized stigma.
"These workshops are designed to be a tool to enhance self-discovery, manage feelings, resolve issues, reduce stress, and improve self-esteem while promoting emotional health and overall wellbeing,"...
PEERS hosts 450 for second international WRAP Around the World Conference
By Shannon Eliot
More than 450 people across the globe gathered to exchange views on WRAP and meet leaders in the mental health field at the WRAP Around the World Conference in Oakland from January 27-29. Held over the course of three days, the conference featured more than 70 workshops and keynote addresses by industry leaders on what the future of the mental health field holds and how WRAP will fit into the new health care paradigm.
WRAP, or Wellness Recovery Action Planning, is an evidence-based practice used worldwide by people who are dealing with mental or...
PEERS appoints Lisa Smusz as new Executive Director
By Jenee Darden
PEERS is excited to announce that Lisa Smusz has taken the helm as the organization’s new Executive Director. Smusz has more than 15 years experience in the mental health field and is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) as well as an instructor at California State University, East Bay.
Smusz began working with PEERS as a contractor in 2001. She was later hired as the full-time Social Inclusion Campaign Program Manager in June 2010 and was subsequently promoted to the role of Associate Director.
Many years ago, Smusz heard a...
Hall: Changing relationship with feelings key to personal recovery, social change
By Shannon Eliot
Mental health advocate and schizophrenia survivor Will Hall freely admits that he still has suicidal feelings.
But instead of feeling ashamed or embarrassed, he sees those feelings as just another aspect of himself and how he lives in the world.
"Sometimes I do have feelings that life is not worth living and that I want to die," Hall said in his keynote address on Friday. "I'm committed to being here and not going anywhere, but I do have those feelings. And it still happens even though I'm in recovery and a functioning part...
Victorious Black Women brings hope, provides support to women of color
By Lisa Smusz
"We are about a movement, a shift, a change, one person at a time," said Sederia Lewis, summing up the mission of Victorious Black Women, an organization based in Oakland. "That one person reaching out to me made a world of difference, and now I can do that for someone else."
Victorious Black Women sprang from a simple but powerful idea back in 2009 that the path towards healing lies in the ability of black women sharing their stories with one another. Using the power of these individual stories, they encourage listeners to spread their...
Native American tribal communities provide hope for overcoming historical trauma
By Shannon Eliot
The key to recovery from historical trauma lies in restoring a community's "original instructions" and returning to cultural roots, according to Native American mental health leader Elicia Goodsoldier.
Historical trauma — which refers to a collective experience of one group experiencing repeated trauma over time — is neither immediately recognizable nor widely understood.
Perhaps nowhere is Native American historical trauma more apparent than on the...
Portland CBO: Honest, transparent efforts at cultural responsiveness critical to program effectiveness, buy-in
By Shannon Eliot
It's not easy being an organization that works with many cultures, but making and sharing an ongoing commitment to cultural learning is critical to effectively serving and gaining buy-in from consumers, according to Lynn Smith-Stott, Program Manager for Central City Concern.
The Portland-based organization is dedicated to serving people who are homeless and have mental health and/or addiction issues. One of their flagship projects is the Over Representation Program, or ORP, for African Americans.
Thirty percent of the homeless population and...
