Understanding service animals, Emotional Support Animals, and the law in Washington State for tenants is the focus of this 90-minute webinar. ABOUT THIS EVENT Service animals, trained to handle different tasks for their person, have been a boon for disabled persons for decades. In this presentation, we will examine and explain what makes an animal a service animal pursuant to Washington and Federal law. Service animals perform different functions than Emotional Support Animals (ESA)s. ESAs are protected, but to a lesser extent, under Washington law, and ESAs provide tangible benefits to persons in need of emotional support. A tenant cannot be excluded from housing on the basis of a service animal or an ESA, but there are additional steps needed to protect tenants seeking housing with an ESA. There are no additional requirements regarding a service animal, except possibly educating housing providers. Responsibility for the service animal and the ESA’s conduct remains squarely with the tenant, and we will discuss what this means. The Northwest MHTTC is proud to offer this webinar in partnership with the Tenant Law Center. Resources: Slides RA guide for medical professionals Washington Low Income Housing Alliance - want to get involved with WLIHA? Please email [email protected] King County Tenant Resource Line, open M-F (except holidays) from 9 AM to 1 PM: (206) 580-0762 Solid Ground classes: Webinars for tenants  FACILITATORS Kasey Burton, Senior Staff Attorney Kasey Burton is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Tenant Law Center, which provides eviction prevention and tenant advocacy services to King County. Kasey has spent several years practicing landlord-tenant law as both a right-to-counsel attorney for tenants facing eviction and providing eviction prevention assistance, which has allowed her to pursue her passion for housing justice.  Kasey attended the University of Washington for both her Bachelor’s in Political Science, with a minor in Law, Societies, and Justice, and her Juris Doctorate. She is currently working on her Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Colorado Denver and hopes to use this degree to facilitate her engagement in policy change that provides Washington citizens who are tenants or unhoused with the protections they deserve.

 While the NIH has identified sexual and gender minorities as well as racial and ethnic minorities as groups that are facing health disparities, what is often overlooked in research and clinical care are the people living at the nexus of those two communities. Health disparities are a particular type of difference in health in which disadvantaged social groups, such as people from lower social, economic status, racial, ethnic minorities, women, sexual minorities and other groups, have persistently experienced social disadvantage or discrimination and have systematically experienced worse health or greater health risks than more advantaged groups as a result of systems of oppression. An intersectionality framework can have a meaningful impact and potentially better outcomes in behavioral health care. This presentation will offer tools for behavioral health professionals.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe how systems of oppression such as racism and heterosexism create unique health disparities (e.g., addiction and behavioral health care inequities) encountered by LGBTQ+ People of Color. Individuals will also learn ways to increase their cultural humility in working with Queer People of Color.   CONTINUING EDUCATION Participants who fully attend this training or webinar will be eligible to receive 1 hour of continuing education (CE) certified by the Illinois Certification Board (ICB). CE certificates will be managed by the hosting agency and/or ICB.   PRESENTER Dr. David G. Zelaya (he/him/él) is an Assistant Professor at Brown University School of Public Health within the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, he is a research fellow at Harvard Medical School within the Department of Psychiatry, and an affiliated scientist at Yale University with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. Dr. Zelaya received his Ph.D. from Georgia State University in counseling psychology, he was a psychology resident at Harvard Medical School's Cambridge Hospital, and he completed his fellowship within the Alcohol Research Center on HIV at Brown. His program of research focuses on examining health disparities, from an intersectionality and minority stress lens, among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and sexual and gender minority communities and links to HIV risk, mental health, and substance use. Dr. Zelaya is the PI of an NIH funded K23 career development grant aimed to develop a behavioral health intervention for Latinx queer individuals to decrease hazardous alcohol use by targeting intersectional forms of discrimination. Clinically, he is interested in providing culturally competent behavioral health services to historically underserved communities (e.g., Spanish-speaking Latinx people; sexual and gender diverse people). He has been the recipient of numerous social justice awards, his research has been published in the flagship journals of his field, and he serves on the editorial board for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity journal. At Brown, Dr. Zelaya teaches Introduction to Health Disparities.   The Great Lakes MHTTC is offering this training for individuals working in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. This training is being provided in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders.

Description: With increasing overdose rates, a more lethal drug supply, and more prescription medications in many homes, it’s important to educate a wider audience about harm reduction and what it means: essentially, reducing the negative consequences of potentially risky behaviors. This workshop will present different definitions of harm reduction, highlight how we all practice harm reduction in our lives, and explain how harm reduction strategies are implemented in different settings, including syringe service programs and psychotherapy. It will also address community concerns and hesitations about harm reduction, ways to reduce the harms of stigma surrounding drug use, and opportunities to build bridges between harm reduction and treatment for people with substance use disorders Goals: Increase participants’ understanding of harm reduction principles and strategies, address myths and misperceptions about harm reduction, and explore how harm reduction can be part of the continuum of care. Workshop Outline: Different ways of defining harm reduction (National Harm Reduction Coalition, SAMHSA, NIDA). Harm reduction principles. How we all practice harm reduction (including bike helmets, sunscreen, designated drivers). Harm reduction services provided by syringe service programs (SSPs), overdose prevention centers (OPCs) and mobile units in some communities. Who harm reduction services may not be reaching (different population groups). Harm reduction psychotherapy (key practitioners and principles, including embracing goals like reduced substance use). Hesitations about harm reduction (traditional objections, like it “enables” drug use, vs. newer concerns, e.g. it’s “not enough” for people with complex needs). Building bridges between harm reduction and treatment for people with substance use disorders. Reducing harm by addressing stigma (types of stigma, avoiding stigmatizing terms). Trainer Bio: Susan Stellin, MPH is a writer, educator, and public health consultant focusing on health-centered responses to substance use and addiction. Since earning a master's in public health at Columbia University, she has worked on projects about ways to reduce overdose deaths, reform punitive drug policies, and expand access to harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support. Recent clients include NYU Langone’s Health x Housing Lab, the Northeast & Caribbean Addiction Technology Transfer Center, the Opioid Response Network, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Overdose Prevention Program at Vital Strategies, and the Vera Institute of Justice. She regularly leads training workshops for service providers working with people experiencing substance use, mental health, and housing challenges, and has also taught undergraduate courses about media ethics, collaborative storytelling, and the history of journalism. Other Session in this Series: Session 1: Addressing Myths About Substance Use, Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery Session 2: Current Substance Use Trends and Evolving Risks Session 4: Understanding Addiction and Options for Care

  Slides coming soon!   Learn more about this Learning Community: First Episode Psychosis Learning Community     Presented by: Angela Schindler-Berg, MS, LMHP Angela Schindler-Berg is a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner and has worked with primary care clinics and integrated community-based mental health services for over 25 years.   As the Nebraska Project Lead for HealthTeamWorks, Angie promotes healthcare delivery that utilizes evidence based mental health practices, effective team-based care, care management resources, quality improvement processes, and strategic population health to improve the quality of health/life for individuals.  As a practice facilitator Ms. Schindler-Berg has worked on CMS/CMMI initiatives such as the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC+) and with SAMHSA on the Primary and Behavioral Health Care Initiative (PBHCI).   Currently, Ms. Schindler-Berg supports the University of Nebraska Medical Center-Munroe Meyer Institute as a contracted Regional Trainer with the Region 7 Mid-America Mental Health Technical Transfer Center (MHTTC) She facilitates a collaborative network of supports, focusing on resource development and dissemination, training and technical assistance, and workforce development for the mental health field.  Angie received her Master of Science with Drake University in Rehabilitation Administration and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling. She brings expertise in integrated care, mental health, care management, crisis intervention and trauma informed care.       

The Central East MHTTC and HeadsUp collaborated to produce the video Availability and Accessibility of Coordinated Care in HHS Region 3. Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) is a recovery-oriented treatment program for individuals who have experienced a first episode of psychosis (FEP). The 10-minute video features interviews with family members, researchers and behavioral health professionals, who discuss their experiences, research, policy and practices and offer recommendations for addressing the issue. This educational tool, which targets secondary school professionals, highlights the availability of specialized FEP resources and treatment options in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC and West Virginia.

About this Resource: This product accompanies the Southeast MHTTC’s 4-Part Series on Forensic Peer Mentoring, ‘Ready for Re-entry’. It provides an overview of forensic peer mentoring services, describes the role of a forensic peer mentor, and reviews components of the forensic peer mentor training.