There is a growing trend in Massachusetts: Meetings and committees forming to regulate peer support roles where people who have substantive experience working in peer roles are either dramatically under […]
Publications
Overview with links to articles, films, books, youtube, etc.
Western Mass Holiday Meals and Volunteer Opportunities
Amherst – Not Bread Alone Soup Kitchen offers a community meal on Thanksgiving Day, in addition to weekend and Wednesday meals. Anyone and everyone is welcome to be part of the holiday celebration, […]
World Health Organization (WHO) Releases Full Report:
Guidance on community mental health services: Promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches Last month, we let you know that the World Health Organization (WHO) would be releasing guidance on rights-based approaches […]
Open Letter to Holyoke Mayor
To Acting Mayor Terence Murphy, On May 25, 2020, Darnella Frazier documented the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, Minnesota police, dramatically amplifying the need to end […]
Beyond Possible Film
Beyond Possible: How the Hearing Voices Approach Transforms Lives is a 22-minute film produced as a part of the work of the Hearing Voices Research & Development fund hosted by Open […]
Low-Income Sex Work In The Era of COVID-19
By Caty Simon, September 2020 Low-income sex workers have suffered enormously during the pandemic. An in-person industry which consists of being in intimate contact with others by definition is one […]
Homelessness During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on so many people across our country and across the world. However, relatively few are considering the impact of the pandemic on several […]
RLC in Oprah Magazine!
The WMass RLC was recently featured in Oprah Magazine Read the article here
SPECIAL REPORT: ACCS Survey Results
“I never heard from my outreach workers and DMH worker about this change until last week because they were told not to talk about it to clients.” – Person receiving […]
A New Model Begins: Adult Community Clinical Services
ACCS replaces CBFS in July in Massachusetts, but what on earth does that mean? Some years back mental health residential services were reconfigured and became Community Based Flexible Services (CBFS). […]
The Problem with ‘Mental Health First Aid’
According to the Mental Health First Aid website it is an eight hour course that “teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance […]
The Problem with Saying Suicide is Caused by Depression
On June 5, Kate Spade, a famous American fashion designer, reportedly took her own life. Only a few days later on June 8, Anthony Bourdain, a celebrity chef and author, […]