ALTERNATIVES 2021

CONNECTING, ORGANIZING, ACTIVATING!

The National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery is excited to announce the 35th annual Alternatives Conference, to be held virtually over four non-consecutive days:

Thursday July 8th, Saturday July 10th, Thursday July 15th, and Saturday July 17th.

Hard Feelings Mental Health is offering a virtual peer support and self care group for mental health workers and therapists:

We have hard jobs; let's talk about. This group provides a safe, facilitated space to get the support you need, from people who really get it.

Peer support group facilitated by Hailey Goldberg MSW, RSW.

Please share news of our survey in your networks.

**Un message en français suivra**

So many of our siblings with disabilities are living in or near poverty. The Sibling Collaborative, wants to help you improve the financial security of your sibling with a disability – both today and in the future.

But in order to create relevant resources on topics like financial planning, disability benefits, estate planning and communicating with your family, we need your input.

Intro to Laughing Like Crazy is a workshop that introduces the therapeutic usage of comedy in mental health recovery.

The workshop is for those interested in using humour and comedy as a tool for mental health recovery. It will give a good insight into the Laughing Like Crazy program where participants write and deliver comedy routines based on their mental health and life challenges.

This two-hour webinar will examine challenging feelings associated with uncertainty and coping tools and handle uncertainty. This webinar is a snippet of the Managing your depression and Anxiety (MYDA) recovery program that can be used in your daily life and during the pandemic to navigate challenges.

Registration: https://app.acuityscheduling.c...:Recovery%20Programs

Hope + Me is pleased to introduce the Front-Line Workers Peer Support Group.  This is a new, monthly peer support program that helps health care workers to meet and relate in a safe, peer-supported environment.

We are Excited to Announce our Virtual Learning Centre and Resource Hub!

Hope + Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario is pleased to announce our next cohort of Peer Support training from June 23 to August 11, 2021!

Hope and Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario is happy to announce the return of the Men Peer Support Group. The group meets virtually every Thursday 1pm-3pm starting May 13th. The group is for anyone identifying as male living with mental health challenges and looking for support from a group of empathetic peers.

Join us online for Mental Health Week, May 3-7, and let’s Get Reel about how we feel for the first ever film fest at Stella’s Place!

We will be celebrating our community and bringing people together through the arts during this time of isolation. The films highlight filmmakers, young adults, families, and advocates in the Stella’s Place community and address mental health challenges and resilience. There will be several panels and workshops following the screenings each night, providing an opportunity for audience members to ask questions.

The Ontario Caregiver Organization (OCO) is proud to launch a new website to help young caregivers aged 15-25. The new website www.youngcaregiversconnect.ca was  designed in collaboration with, and for, young caregivers and offers information and resources that address their unique needs.

OPDI Call for Webinar Proposals

Do you have an idea for a webinar related to the field of Peer Support? Would you like to share your knowledge and experience on a particular topic?    Ontario Peer Development Initiative is proud to produce monthly webinars for our membership and the larger Peer Support Community, and we are currently inviting proposals for future webinars.    We welcome the creation of new webinars, as well as webinars developed from previous presentations and/or conference papers.

This 2-hour webinar will explore the topic of self-compassion and self-care along with tools to engage in healthy self-compassion and self-care practice. The webinar is a snippet of Managing Your Depression and Anxiety (MYDA) recovery program that can be used for managing daily challenges, especially during COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ontario Peer Development Initiative is looking for Peer Supporters who would be interested in sharing their personal and/or professional experiences with Peer Support as a part of OPDI's training program.

All participants will be compensated for their work.

The two distinct requests are detailed below.

Call for Written Stories

Deadline for Expressing Interest: 31 March 2021

Proposed Deadline for Completed Story: 31

Hope + Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario is seeking youth volunteers ages 15 to 25 to be part of the youth-oriented Peer Support Drop-in Group which will be held online every Saturday.

The role will require the volunteer to work on Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.  The start date is Saturday, April 3, 2021. Applications will be accepted to March 28, 2021 (inclusive).  

PLEASE SEE OPPORTUNITY ATTACHMENT

The Excellence through Quality Improvement Project (E-QIP) is hosting an amazing free virtual conference, QI Innovations: Understand-Pivot-Change, set for Tuesday, April 13.   I am going to attempt to do the keynote. LOL.

Keynote Presentation: Listen. REALLY Listen. (The Cornerstone of QI).

Our bi-weekly Saturday Peer Mental Health Support groups (Rising Together) seek to improve  or support the overall mental well-being of youth through empathetic, holistic and healing-centered conversation. Our groups adopt a person-centered approach to navigating through the circumstances and things that impact our mental health.