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IN THIS ISSUE:

• Want to learn about Consumer Directed Services? Here’s your chance!
• Texas Housing Summit: Have you registered yet? There’s still time!
• News from DARS: Autism service providers and independent living centers
• DPC Member Spotlight: National Alliance for Mental Illness Texas

 

 

Texas Housing Summit: Have you registered yet? There’s still time!

There’s still time to sign up to attend the Texas Housing Summit. As you may recall, the Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) is joining forces with the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation and Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers to stage this first-of-its-kind housing summit focusing on accessible, affordable and integrated housing for people with disabilities.

People with disabilities, legislators, policymakers, housing professionals and advocates will participate in the two-day event at the Radisson Hotel & Suites on Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin.

For more information on the Texas Housing Summit, including registration, stipends and sponsorship opportunities, send an e-mail to summit@dpctexas.org or call the DPC office at 512-371-1783. The information is also available on the Texas Housing Summit website: http://ths.dpctexas.org

 

The Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) made a couple of significant announcements recently.

New autism program expected to start April 1

Of interest to families of children with autism spectrum disorder is news that DARS has “tentatively” chosen four agencies to serve an estimated 300 children in a pilot program. When the contracts are finalized, each organization will get $1.25 million to expand services to children aged three to eight who have autism. Services are expected to begin by April 1.

The providers and their services areas are:

• Texana Center will primarily serve Fort Bend, Austin, Matagorda, Colorado, Wharton, Waller, Harris, Montgomery and Galveston counties.
• Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County will primarily serve Harris County, in partnership with the University of Houston at Clear Lake Department of Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Easter Seals of North Texas will serve Dallas and Denton counties and the surrounding area, in partnership with the University of North Texas Department of Behavior Analysis.
• Child Study Center will serve Tarrant County and the surrounding area, in partnership with the University of North Texas Department of Behavior Analysis.

Laredo and Abilene get new independent living centers

DARS is also finalizing contracts with two long-time Texas independent living centers (ILCs) to create two new centers. The Valley Association for Independent Living (VAIL) in McAllen will set up a new ILC in Laredo. Lubbock’s Lifetime Independence for Everyone, Inc. (LIFE/RUN) will create a new center in Abilene. DARS expects to complete contracts by the end of March 2008, with operations beginning shortly thereafter.

The new ILCs will provide the four core independent living services: information and referral; independent living skill training, peer counseling and individual and system advocacy. Each new center will offer additional services, based on the needs of their respective counties.

The South Texas Advocacy and Accessibility Resource Services (STAARS) center in Laredo will serve eight counties. In addition to the core services, STAARS will provide relocation assistance for people with disabilities who want to move from an institutional facility into a community setting; American Sign Language classes; Interpreting programs and Social Security benefits and assistance counseling for consumers.

In Abilene, The Not Without Us center will offer services to help young people with disabilities transition to adult life and assist people making the transition from nursing facilities to independent living in a community setting.

More information about both announcements is available on the DARS website or by calling the DARS toll-free information line at 1-800-628-5115 or 1-866-581-9328 (TTY).

 

DPC MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: National Alliance for Mental Illness Texas

Contact: Robin Peyson or Kelly Jeschke
Address: 2800 South IH-35, Suite 140, Austin TX
Phone: 512-693-2000
E-mail: kjeschke@namitexas.org

Mission and/or purpose: The mission of NAMI Texas is to enhance the lives of individuals living in Texas affected by mental illness by providing support, education and advocacy through a grassroots network. Founded by volunteers in 1984 and affiliated with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI Texas has 38 active local affiliates throughout the state. NAMI Texas members are individuals with mental illness, family members, professionals and friends.

Organizational structure and service area: We are a grass-roots membership based non-profit 501c3 organization with a 15-member board of directors, the majority of which are consumers and/or family members. Our board is elected by our members. In our office we currently have a full-time executive director, a part-time educational director, a part-time office manager and a part-time bookkeeper/administrative assistant. Our fulltime education development director is based in Dallas. Our service area is all of Texas.

What were your three best achievements in the past year?

Despite our financial situation and limited resources, NAMI Texas is most proud of being able to grow the educational programs we offer in Texas to consumers and families, as well as find ways of advocating in new and creative ways.

• For the first time in Texas, we provided training to 15 consumers to teach and facilitate the Peer-to-Peer program, a consumer led recovery oriented educational program. Seven classes were taught in 2007.
• NAMI Texas now has 215 active Family-to-Family teachers across the state, and our affiliates held 29 Family-to-Family classes that offered hope, knowledge and support to over 330 family members of adults with serious mental illness. Two of these classes were in Spanish. Over 1,000 hours were volunteered through this program alone. Family-to-Family is an educational program for families who have an adult family member with serious mental illness.
• Visions for Tomorrow (VFT), our educational program for families of children with mental illness was updated in 2006 and we now have 50 active teachers in Texas. Ten VFT classes were provided in 2007. As a part of our Visions for Tomorrow series, we are also using our professional in-service training to reach out to other agencies and organizations (i.e., child protective services, juvenile probation, independent school districts and mental health centers) to teach staff about children’s mental illness, including Child Protective Services, Juvenile Probation, Independent School Districts and Mental Health Centers.
• In 2007, NAMI Texas collaborated with the Texas Center for the Judiciary and presented four mental health trainings at their annual conference. Over 200 judges participated. We provided free copies of two books: Pete Earley’s Crazy and Texas Criminal Procedure and the Offender with Mental Illness: An Analysis and Guide by Brian D. Shannon and Daniel H. Benson.

What are your three greatest challenges currently?

Our greatest challenge is educating the public about who we are. NAMI Texas was founded in 1984, yet many people have never heard of us. We are the best kept secret in Texas, when it comes to providing education, support and advocacy to individuals with mental illness and their families. I hear over and over, “NAMI saved my life, but it took too long to find you!” With one in four Americans experiencing mental illness, NAMI Texas needs to find more creative ways to reach out and inform people about who we are and what we do.

Our second greatest challenge is to stabilize our organization financially. After a very sudden loss of our primary source of funding from the state two years ago, we are in the process of trying to rebuild. To the best of our ability, given our current staffing levels, we continue to focus on our top strategic priorities: provide support to our affiliates, support our educational programs by training teachers and providing technical assistance, find creative strategies to outreach and build collaborations, and provide effective advocacy.

If your organization could change one public policy right this minute, what would it be?

Increase access to health insurance, with full mental health parity.

 

Let your friends know about the Texas Action Center: Tell-a-friend!

 

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