Community Support Programs Branch

Examples of Statewide Consumer Network Activities

Educate the public that mental health care is essential to overall health by:

• Conducting education campaigns about mental health care; and
• Conducting leadership academies, BRIDGES programs, consumer and peer support activities that promote and sustain leadership skills.

Promote consumer- and family-driven care by:

• Writing position papers and/or impact statements to courts, local mental health councils, and state administrators on system needs and creative funding; and
• Providing outcomes-based training that strengthens organizational relationships, promotes consumer leadership, and develops local consumer councils throughout states.

Demonstrate interest in eliminating disparities in mental health services by:

• Developing regional partnerships that overlap with existing service needs; and
• Developing media and training materials that are culturally appropriate to consumers of various ethnic groups.

Promote recovery and resilience through self-help models by:

• Incorporating the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), leadership academies, and self-help models into training programs such as peer support services that sustain recovery and create employment; and
• Partnering with academic institutions to assist in developing and evaluating self-help models, vocational training, and innovative ways to promote mental health recovery.

Promote technology use to access mental health care and information by:

• Implementing technological advances to disseminate information statewide and nationwide;
• Providing updates on websites of legislation and news alerts that impact the mental health system; and
• Creating interactive websites that allow consumers to exchange information, learn about recovery, and sustain recovery in self-help models.

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