Region 3 Public Forums

The Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities Region Three Planning Board Announces

2 Public Forums

Thursday, February 2, 2012

4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

T.O. Vinson Health Center Auditorium,

440 Winn Way

Decatur, GA 30030

 http://www.dekalbhealth.net/health-centers/t-o-vinson/

Primary focus:   To hear public input from the Behavioral Health

(Addictive Diseases & Mental Health ) community (families, self-advocates & concerned citizens)

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Thursday, February 9, 2012

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Teaching Museum South

689 North Avenue

Hapeville, GA 30354

http://www.fultonschools.org/admin_facilities_detail.asp?id=360 

Primary focus: To hear public input from the Developmental Disabilities community (families, self-advocates & concerned citizens)

These meeting are open to the public to solicit community input to help identify needs and gaps regarding behavioral health (mental health & addictive diseases) and developmental disabilities services so the Region Planning Board can make recommendations for the DBHDD Annual Plan. Region Three provide services to Gwinnett, Rockdale, Newton, Fulton, Clayton, and Dekalb counties."

We Need Your Voice!!!!

If you have any questions, please email Nichell Moore, RPB Administrative Assistant,  nimoore@dhr.state.ga.us or call (770) 414-3052.

Link to Report on Medicaid Redesign Assessment for Georgia

Report on Medicaid Redesign Assessment for Georgia

Article on Supported Housing in DOJ Settlement by Andy Miller

Not Just Shelter by Andy Miller Georgia Health News 1/23/2012

AJC Article on SOURCE Terminations

Some Mentally Disabled Lose Services, Misty Williams, Atlanta Journal Constitution, January 9, 2012

Book Signing at Carter Center

Tom Davis "A Legacy of Madness" Lecture / Book Signing Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 7:00pm Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater Free and Open to the Public

Tom Davis, the Jersey Shore regional editor for Patch.com and an adjunct professor of journalism at Rutgers University, traces his family through five generations of various mental health disorders, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and alcoholism. Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter says "A Legacy of Madness breaks down the barriers of silence that shroud mental illnesses within families for generations ... By sharing the story of his family history and his own personal journey, Tom Davis provides hope and inspiration to others.

Disability Day at the Capitol February 16, 2012

Register Now for Disability Day at the Capitol!

Register Here

Metro Atlanta Affordable Housing Directory from the United Way

Click here for the January 2011 Metro Atlanta Affordable Housing Directory from the United Way

A Tribute to Charlie Miller, May 2, 1952 - December 10, 2011

A Tribute to Charlie Miller, May 2, 1952 - December 10, 2011
By Talley Wells, December 14, 2011
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Atlanta disability activist Charlie Miller.  Charlie was a hero to the Atlanta Legal Aid Society's Disability Rights Project because he lived a full life in the community with quadriplegia for over forty years.  Everyone who came to know Charlie liked him.  They also felt the strength of his opinions and his will to live independently. 
In 1970, Charlie became quadriplegic after he stopped at a gas station where he was shot by a man who mistook him for someone else.  From that day forward, Charlie was not able to move below his neck.  Despite this limitation, Charlie spent only short stints in the hospitals and nursing homes during his life.  He spent most of his time in his own home.  
After his injury, Charlie went to college at Georgia Tech and Georgia State.  He received a degree from Georgia State in 1989.
A major part of Charlie’s story is the story of his sister Betty Rackley.  After Charlie’s injury, Ms. Rackley left her life in rural Georgia to live near her brother and provide him with assistance.  For most of his life, Ms. Rackley was there to assist Charlie in dressing, bathing, and all aspects of daily life.  Charlie could be cantankerous with his sister and she could give back to him as much as she took, but their bond was one of extraordinary love and devotion.
With the evolution of technology, Charlie was able to use a mouth stick to control his computer.  He was a frequent e-mailer, he loved to surf the web, and he had a voracious appetite for news and information.  Charlie volunteered with veterans, proof reading applications for medical assistance.  He was friends with all of his neighbors, the local police, and the local fire department.
Charlie was one of the first people to obtain an independent living grant through a pilot program at the Shepherd Center in the 1980s.  His independent living grant ultimately became the Independent Care Waiver Program, which has enabled hundreds of men and women with significant physical disabilities to live in the community.  Charlie was an activist who petitioned local leaders to increase services for people with disabilities.
One of Charlie's great frustrations was that he did not get the full amount of attendant care that he needed, particularly in the last years of his life.  His applications to the state Department of Community Health for more hours due to his advancing age and greater needs were turned down and he lost an appeal that went up to the Georgia Court of Appeals.  Despite not getting all of the assistance he needed, Charlie refused to move into a nursing home and insisted that he would rather die in his home than move into a nursing home.
Charlie died on Saturday, December 10^th at the age of 59.  He will be missed.  A funeral will be held for Charlie on Saturday, December 17^, 2011 in Montezuma, Georgia.

Carter Center Issues Report on Georgia Mental Health System

Carter Center Report: "Building a Vision for Community Services for Children, Adolescents and Adults with Behavioral Health Disorders in Georgia: Preliminary Report for Public Comment." 

In Florida, Mentally Ill Suffer Abuse And Neglect by Kenny Malone, National Public Radio

Click to go to NPR Story

Obama Administration Announces $749 Million to Fund Housing for Very Low-Income Seniors and Persons With Disabilities

The following press release comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development:
Obama Administration Announces $749 Million to Fund Housing for Very Low-Income Seniors and Persons With Disabilities
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-266
WASHINGTON – Thousands more very low-income senior citizens and persons with disabilities will have access to affordable supportive housing thanks to $749 million in housing assistance announced today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These grants will help non-profit organizations produce accessible housing, offer rental assistance, and facilitate supportive services for the elderly and persons with disabilities.  
The grant funding awarded under HUD’s Sections 202 and 811 Supportive Housing programs will kick start construction or major rehabilitation on more than 189 housing developments in 41 different states and Puerto Rico. When complete, more than 4,800 elderly households and persons with disabilities will be affordably housed with access to needed services. Read a detailed summary of each grant.
“The Obama Administration is committed to helping our senior citizens and persons with disabilities find an affordable place to live that is close to needed healthcare services and transportation,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.  “Recent bipartisan changes to these two supportive housing programs will allow us to better serve some of our more vulnerable populations who would otherwise be struggling to find a safe and decent home of their own.”
Enacted early this year with strong bipartisan support, the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act and the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act provided needed enhancements and reforms to both programs. Nonprofit grant recipients will now receive federal assistance that is better connected to state and local health care investments, allowing greater numbers of vulnerable elderly and disabled individuals to access the housing they need even more quickly.
Section 202 Capital Advances will provide $545 million nationwide to 97 projects in 42 States and Puerto. In addition to funding the construction, acquisition, and rehabilitation of multifamily developments, HUD’s Section 202 program will also provide $54 million in rental assistance so that residents only pay 30 percent of their adjusted incomes. Section 202 provides very low-income elderly persons 62 years of age or older with the opportunity to live independently in an environment that provides support services to meet their unique needs (see attached funding chart).
Section 811 Capital Advances will provide $137 million nationwide to assist very low-income persons with disabilities through 92 projects in 35 states. An additional $12.6 million will be available for project rental assistance contracts (see attached funding chart).  Most of the housing supported through the Section 811 Program will be newly constructed, typically small apartment buildings, group homes for three to four persons, or condominium units that are integrated into the larger community. Residents will pay 30 percent of their adjusted income for rent and the federal government will pay the rest.
HUD’s Section 811 program provides housing for households with one or more very low-income individuals with a disability. Under this program at least one person must be 18 years or older and have a physical or developmental disability or chronic mental illness. The program provides persons with disabilities the opportunity to live independently in their communities by increasing the supply of rental housing with the availability of supportive services.
HUD provides these funds to non-profit organizations in two forms:
           
  * Capital Advances. This is funding that covers the cost of developing, acquiring, or rehabilitating the development. Repayment is not required as long as the housing remains available for occupancy by very low-income elderly persons for at least 40 years for (under Section 202) or very low-income persons with disabilities (under Section 811).
  * Project Rental Assistance Contracts. This is funding that goes to each development to cover the difference between the residents’ contributions toward rent and the cost of operating the project.
Residents must be “very low income” with household incomes less than 50 percent of their median for that area. However, most households that receive Section 811 or Section 202 assistance earn less than 30 percent of the median for their area. Generally, this means that a one-person household will have an annual income of about $13,500.
You may view a table with the grant awards at the following link: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-266
HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and  transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov.

Advocates: State's mental health system improving, but gaps exist by Misty Williams, AJC November 11, 2011

Georgia Recovery Initiative Announcement

Community Listening Sessions
When:      November 30, 2011 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Where:    Decatur Public Library 215 Sycamore Street Decatur, GA 30030

The Georgia Recovery Initiative Steering Committee will be holding the first of a series of Community Listening Sessions on envisioning a Recovery Oriented System of Services and Supports in Behavioral Health and Addictive Diseases. We want to hear from you how you envision recovery and how a system that embodies and practices recovery would look.

The Georgia Recovery Initiative Steering Committee consists of Advocates, Consumers, Providers, and members of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse. Members of the GRI steering Committee will be present to listen and also to answer any questions about this initiative. The GRI is working on developing a strategy for designing, transforming, and implementing a Recovery Oriented System of Behavioral Health services and supports. This work recognizes and affirms the central role of the voices of those who use and depend on the services provided by DBHDD. The consumer voice, the voice of lived experience is the keystone to effective and comprehensive system change.

Please come on November 30 so that your voice can be listened to as we begin this work of system transformation.

The Community Listening Session is free and open to the public; we would appreciate your registering in advance if you plan to attend.

Call 800-297-6146 or 404-687-9487 if you plan attend

Refreshments will be provided.

You may also call Mark Baker, CPS, Director of Advocacy, DBHDD

at 404-803-1097 with further questions.

New York Times Articles on Living with Schizophrenia

Here is a recent article in a series by the New York Times on living with schizophrenia:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/health/23lives.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1

-Eric Neudel and Alison Gilkey, Director and Producers of Life Worth Living, a historical documentary about the Disability Rights Movement, will attending the screening at Shepherd on November 8th, Noon-1, (1-1:30, Q&A), 7th Floor Auditorium.

-Movie treats and drinks will be served.

-RSVP Requested (thanks to those of you who already have)

-Trailer: http://www.itvs.org/films/lives-worth-living

-NY Times Review: http://tv.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/arts/television/lives-worth-living-on-independent-lens-review.html