NNED Launches New Community of Practice: Project Venture (posted 9/1)

The NNED is pleased to announce the launch of our second Community of Practice: Project Venture.  NNED Communities of Practice (CoP) are professional development opportunities for NNED Members to receive training on a specific promising practice that can be implemented in diverse communities. Members will ‘meet’ regularly using virtual learning platforms to receive training, discuss common practice challenges and successes, and share information about strategies and resources.

The NNED and the National Indian Youth Leadership Project have partnered to offer 20 NNED Members training and continued coaching on Project Venture, an outdoors experiential youth development program designed for high-risk, middle school-aged American Indian youth.  

Key Steps & Dates

• August 31st - Introductory NNED Forum Call on Project Venture.  Watch the recording.
• September 21st - First CoP Training Session at 1:00-3:00pm ET. 
  
• Training Sessions will take place every Tuesday from September 21-November 9th.
• Monthly follow-up coaching sessions will take place from December - June every second Tuesday of the month from 1:00-3:00pm ET.

Empowering Native Youth Through Experiential Education

Empowering Native Youth Through Experiential Education

 
This NNED Forum Call that took place on August 31, 2010 featured Project Venture, an evidence-based practice for high risk middle school-aged American Indian youth. Project Venture is an outdoors experiential youth development program that relies on American Indian traditional values to help youth develop positive self-concept, effective social skills, a community service ethic, internal locus of control, and increased decision-making and problem-solving skills.  This unique program has been recognized by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs & Practices (NREPP) as the first Native American model program. 

Video Recording:

• Watch the video recording of the live Forum Call that took place on August 31, 2010.

Slides:

• Download the slides from this Forum Call.

Presenter:

• Beth Wonson, National Director of Operations, National Indian Youth Leadership Project
  Ms. Wonson is also a trainer and consultant for sites seeking to implement Project Venture. Beth has nearly 20 years experience in youth development, juvenile justice, education, outreach and communications. A graduate of Salem State College, Salem MA, Beth has held positions both in special education and school administration, served on the National Alternative Education Association (NAEA) board of directors and was a member of the senior management team at Project Adventure (PA), an international non-profit training and consulting organization for 11 years and was responsible for development and implementation of whole-school and whole-agency professional development programs.  In addition to training, Beth oversees NIYLP’s replication, implementation, publications, outreach and communications and development strategies.

 
Interested participants can now apply to join the newest NNED Community of Practice (CoP) to receive further training on how to implement this program in their communities.

NNED Forum Call & New Community of Practice: Empowering Native Youth Through Experiential Education from Rachele Espiritu on Vimeo.

New Survey on Childhood Violence in Indian Country (posted 8/31)

A survey project believed to be the first of its kind is asking participants about their experience with childhood violence in Indian country. Dire statistics of violence and high rates of incarceration has led to two online surveys: One for young adults to share their perspectives of violence in their childhood, and a survey for caregivers and adults who are making decisions and affecting the lives of Native youth. It is hoped the data from these anonymous surveys will help improve the understanding of childhood victimization and its impact on juvenile delinquency to help reduce those experiences in tribal communities. The survey project, 'A Hand to Hold Onto' was launched in June during the National Congress of American Indian’s Mid-Year Conference in Rapid City, S.D. The two online surveys are now available for participants. To read the full article from Indian Country Today click here. For more information click here.

New Federal Website on Health Disparities Research (posted 8/31)

Check out the new web page for the Federal Collaboration on Health Disparities Research (FCHDR). FCHDR was established to engage a wide range of federal agencies in cross-agency research partnerships to promote more coordinated efforts that target health improvement in populations disproportionately affected by disease, injury and/or disability. Research developed through the FCHDR will lead to new or better programs, policies and practices to reduce or eliminate health disparities. FCHDR's new website features publications and reports on health disparities, online health disparities data and resources, funding opportunities specific to eliminating disparities in behavioral health, a calendar of upcoming events, and a discussion forum.  To visit their new website click here.

Foundation Launches National Initiative Addressing Mental Health Stigma (posted 8/31)

The National Black Nurses Foundation (NBNF) announces the launch of the community-based initiative, "Minding the Gap: Improving Mental Health - Eliminating Stigma." This Initiative examines the Clinical, Faith-Based, and Policy implications associated with mental illness, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, while connecting communities with leaders in each field, to address the issues.  This launch will take place in Philadelphia, in collaboration with the Temple University School of Medicine Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Temple University Health System, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health Office of Health Equity. This collaborative endeavor takes place on September 23, 2010 at 5:30 pm, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Temple University School of Medicine - Wendy and Solomon Luo, MD Auditorium (Medical Education Building, 2500 N Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19410). For more information click here.

Dr. Robin L. Smith, licensed psychologist, ordained minister, bestselling author, and national television personality featured frequently on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live, will serve as the Keynote Speaker for this event. Along with her appearance, Philadelphia health leaders, Calvin B. Johnson, MD, MPH (Vice President and Chief Medical Officer - Temple University Health System; Former Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Health) and Donald B. Parks, MD (Associate Professor of Medicine, Assistant Dean, Minority Affairs & Director, Center for Minority Health Studies - Temple University School of Medicine) will serve as the local hosts.

The Minding the Gap initiative is timely, and builds upon a model designed to bring together policy makers, academic experts, faith- and community-based leaders, and clinical professionals to discuss the improvement of mental health outcomes. NBNF launched this colloquium series concept in 2009 surrounding mental health, and is confident in the development of the Initiative to further the cause of eliminating the stigma related to mental health. Cities targeted in the 2009 pilot colloquium series included Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; and New York, New York. As stated by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, keynote speaker in the pilot series, "mental health is all of our problem." It is significant to bring the communities together to enhance mental health related services, i.e. counseling and treatment.

This mental health program was developed to:

• define mental illness and distinguish it from ordinary worry and unhappiness
• describe the partnership between the faith-based community, academia, clinical communities, and policy makers in providing an improved safety net to enhance mental health and its related services
• discuss the role of health policy in improving equality for mental health services
• provide resource information about mental health service

 

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