Southeast ATTC

          Substance use, addiction, and overdose are significant issues facing our communities. As faith leaders, it is critical that we are aware of and engaged in being a part of the solution through actively caring for the people both inside and outside the walls of our houses of worship. This virtual presentation is sponsored by the Southeast ATTC Regional Center and will focus on one faith community’s journey towards being a part of the solution and outline some practical steps they have taken to care for their community well in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina. Mental Health Specialists, Addiction Specialists, treatment providers, peer support communities, and faith community-based organizations in Region 4 are encouraged to register for free.     1. Identify stages of substance use in their local community and responses for each 2. List three ways their faith community could be involved in caring for those struggling with substance use disorder 3. Verbalize a way to differentiate those struggling with substance use in order to respond appropriately 4. Articulate the importance of how faith communities can effectively impact the community as a whole ..................................... Rev. Lance Rhoades  Dramatically touched by God as a teenager, Lance Rhoades has been a trailblazer in active ministry for over 20 years. He is currently the senior pastor at Tree of Life Open Bible Church in the Brookline section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He moved the church from Oakland to Brookline after renovating an iconic church building. This move leads him to oversee many community outreach projects, including a clothing closet, daily hot food programs, a preschool and recovery initiatives. He also serves as Open Bible East Allegheny District Director and now has partnered with key stakeholders in the South Pittsburgh region to lead the South Pittsburgh Opioid Action Coalition (SPOAC) to reduce opioid overdoses in this area.      

    In a trauma-informed organization, the clinical and peer workforce ensures trauma-informed clinical best practices address the effects associated with trauma while honoring the core principles of trauma-informed care. It is an organization’s clinical work that gets to the core of shifting the focus from What is wrong with you to What happened to you. This virtual presentation is sponsored by the Southeast ATTC Regional Center and will focus on the many facets of providing trauma-informed clinical best practices. Explore key components to trauma-informed clinical practice, the core competencies of a trauma-informed practitioner, and what it means to apply trauma-informed principles across all stages of treatment. Learn more about trauma-specific, evidence-based, and emerging best practices, including interventions, focused on the mind/body connection in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina.    1. Be aware of trauma-informed practitioner core competencies 2. Increase understanding of how to apply trauma-informed principles across all stages of treatment, from universal screening through treatment planning and discharge.   ............................................ Karen Johnson, principal at Trauma-Informed Lens Consulting, partners with organizations, systems and communities to promote individual and organizational resilience, using her knowledge and experience from 26 years working in behavioral health, community services and child welfare.  During her 5½ years on the National Council for Behavioral Health’s trauma-informed services team, Karen led the initiative with Kaiser Permanente, Trauma-Informed Primary Care:  Fostering Resilience and Recovery, to create a change package for advancing trauma-informed approaches within primary care.  Karen is certified in Dr. Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead and Daring Way and is trained in Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics.  She also developed numerous community-based programs during her 19 years at SaintA in Milwaukee, WI.  Karen combines the newest science around adversity and resilience to infuse hope and connection into every client engagement, moving organizations and individuals forward in their healing journey.

    This virtual presentation is sponsored by the Southeast ATTC Regional Center and will focus on the innovative ways that Tennessee has approached partnering with the faith-based community to combat addiction and mental health issues. The approach is to help the faith-based community volunteers build recovery support services/ministry work by using a best practice model that directly connects them with state and local initiatives. The goal is to build more recovery-conducive communities utilizing natural/organic resources in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina. Mental Health Specialists, Addiction Specialists, treatment providers, peer support communities, and faith community-based organizations in Region 4 are encouraged to register for free.      Identify two practical steps that were taken in Tennessee to partner with faith communities related to substance use and mental health recovery Verbalize two different stakeholders in their community Articulate one step they can take to help draw upon organic community supports in supporting recovery   ......................................................   Monty Burks, CPRS, PLC, Ph.D., serves as the Director of Faith-Based Initiatives for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, where his role is engaging and connecting Tennessee’s faith communities to the behavioral health care system, with the goal of expanding addiction and mental health support services across the state. He also oversees the Tennessee Lifeline Peer Project, a state program aimed at reducing the stigma associated with people who suffer from addiction, and the Tennessee Faith-Based Community Coordinators, who seek to help congregations build their capacity to combat addiction and mental health issues in their respective community. Dr. Burks earned his master’s degree in criminal justice from Middle Tennessee State University, his Doctorate in theology from Heritage, and wears the honorable badge of Certified Peer Recovery Specialist. Burks has more than 20 years of experience working with the criminal justice system in various roles, including adjunct criminal justice professor at Motlow State Community College, Criminal Justice Student Research Analyst at Middle Tennessee State University, and Criminal Justice Program coordinator at adjunct professor at Tennessee State University.