By:  Gretchen Behimer, Project Director, Clermont FAST TRAC 

In this issue of the FAST TRAC newsletter, the Peer Support Partner program is highlighted.   If you  asked Jean Houston and Brenda Cox , Co-Founders of Families Connected, 3 years ago if they ever thought they would see the day where families, youth and professionals are working together so closely, all for the same purpose, I bet they would have said, “No way.”  This has always been the dream of Jean and Brenda, something that they have worked tirelessly for, but wondered if they would ever see the fruits of their labor.  Well, I believe that they would honestly say that we have come a long way in the last couple of years in regard to having families as an active part of their child’s team and sitting at the table, along with the professionals, giving input and information to workgroups and Family & Children First Council.

It has been a pretty amazing transformation that our county has begun and much of the credit needs to be given to the Peer Support Partners.  So who are the Peer Support Partners, you ask?  They are parents of children with behavioral health challenges.  They have worked to navigate the various systems (i.e. mental health, schools) and have done so successfully.  I like to say that they have “Been there, done that.”  Sometimes this is the best way to provide support to someone else, just by sharing some of the same experiences.

Rebecca Bishop, Peer Support Partner
FAST TRAC

Rebecca was the first person hired by the FAST TRAC System of Care to support families enrolled in the Wraparound process.  She is always looking for information to support families and is open to any type of training and information.

Rebecca is the mother of 7 children.  One of her children is affected by Autism and another has mental health issues.  Rebecca’s husband, James, has battled cancer on two occasions during the past four years and has undergone a bone marrow transplant.

Rebecca states, “Because my family has had so many challenges, becoming a peer support partner appeared to be a good job choice, and believe me it was, although it has really challenged me!    I love working with the families and am always learning something new.  I feel it gives me the opportunity to give back to the community as so much support was given to my family in our time of need.”

By:  Danny Little, Clermont FAST TRAC Youth Engagement Specialist

Youth Voice is about the “perspectives, ideas, experiences, knowledge, and actions of young people” and is very valuable.  It is the agent for change in the way youth are looked at in their community and across the country.  Youth are now respected as important partners – all this because youth had the courage to speak up and use their voice.  FAST TRAC has many opportunities for youth to express and use their voice through workgroups, board meetings, and even sometimes speaking to local, state, or national representatives about things pertaining to youth.  Being a part of the FAST TRAC Youth Group, youth also get a chance to hang out with other youth that they may have something in common with.  For more information on FAST TRAC Youth Groups, email Danny Little, FAST TRAC Youth Engagement Specialist, at dlittle.ft@ccmhrb.org

Clermont FAST TRAC has begun planning for the National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day initiative, My Feelings Are a Work of Art, throughout the month of May 2014.  The initiative raises awareness of children’s mental health needs; demonstrates how children’s mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery, and resilience; and shows how children with mental health needs thrive in the community.

For the last four years, FAST TRAC has provided art supplies and support to youth in community programs and schools to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and to nurture the social and emotional well-being of children through art.  The My Feelings Are a Work of Art activities use art to help youth express their feelings.  Some activities last year included making and painting face masks and Child Focus Wasserman Youth & Adolescent Center’s “The Tree of Progress” where students talked about where they started and how far they have come with their mental health and a full size monster from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are from Milford’s Siepelt Elementary.  Clermont FAST TRAC had 1,200 children and youth across Clermont County participating in “My Feelings are a Work of Art” activities in May.  Partner sites included:  FAST TRAC Youth Advisory Group, Juvenile Court, Clermont Board of Developmental Disabilities, Genesis School, Boys and Girls Clubs, Child Focus Wasserman Youth and Adolescent Center, Foster Care, Head Start and Bilingual Preschools and various school partners, including Holly Hill, Williamsburg, Amelia and Siepelt Elementary, New Richmond Middle and Live Oaks Vocational School.

“National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day and Mental Health Month is really all about raising awareness that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development from birth,” said Gretchen Behimer, Clermont FAST TRAC Project Director. FAST TRAC is a System of Care initiative of the Clermont County Mental Health & Recovery Board, with the mission to provide a collaborative, sustainable system of care that is family-driven and youth-guided, providing community-based and individualized supports and services that are responsive to the cultural characteristics of Clermont County’s multi-need children, youth and their families, strengthening them with hope and supporting them to lead successful lives.

If your community agency or school is interested in participating in next year’s My Feelings Are a Work of Art activities, which will occur in May 2014, please contact Tara Keith, FAST TRAC Social Marketing Coordinator at 752-1555.