 Ableton on Air is sponsored in part by Green Mountain Support Services, empowering neighbors with disabilities to be at home in the community. Additional support for Ableton on Air is sponsored in part by Washington County Mental Health Services where hope and support come together. There's some testimony and I'm going to give this over to Julie Tesler who is one of the partners in making this all happen and you all know her so Julie. I work at Vermont Care Partners and one of the things that we felt was important today was to recognize people working in your communities, working as advocates, doing what you can to reduce stigma and so past years we've only really recognized legislative leaders for and more as well as the team too and this year we've said no people in the communities who do the work they are the grassroots work that's really critical too and so we recognize Julie Cunningham earlier, we have three other people we like to recognize for their work. And just to repeat what the criteria was, outstanding commitment to service to advocate on behalf of individuals with mental health and developmental disabilities, demonstrate passion and commitment to support individuals, advocate on state policy and funding to advance and improve community based system of care, active in community and local and state groups that work on these issues, supporting individuals to promote recovery and integration into community life, educating the community about these needs and certain services and the people we serve and using effective advocacy strategies to overcome challenges and barriers to individuals in the community. So all levels of work. So I would like to introduce her, would you like to okay Jenna? Jenna made one of the nominations and she's going to introduce the person and Kristi Everett too. Like many good health care team, health care providers we come in teams so there are two of us here. Kristi Everett and myself, Jenna Trombly work with the Clara Martin Center and it is an honor and a privilege for us today to shine the spotlight on Marla Simpson and have a chance to share with you a bit about Marla's contributions as an advocate. So I will just mention to work next to Marla as a professional side by side and both of us spent some time working at Second Spring in Williamstown. That was a good number of years ago but it gave me an opportunity to really understand who she was as a professional contributing back to the field and it was an honor to have that experience with you as well. I'll just want folks to know that Marla has dedicated her life to raising the bar on rights, on needs, on services, on policy language, on everything related to advocacy for mental health services she's had many impacts to us as an organization and perhaps to many of you and you may not have known that so we're going to share a little bit about that so you know a little more about her today. So Marla has been a strong public advocate in the support of mental health services in Orange County also the state of Vermont at large. She is a member of our board advisory committee and our local standing committee. She was nominated by the governor to be on the committee for the Vermont governor's council on pathways for poverty. She also serves in the Vermont adult program standing committee on mental health. I don't know where you find the time because that's a lot of committees and to get here today pretty amazing. Marla all of these committees provide feedback to the department to help ensure that the best possible care is being provided to the designated mental health agencies across the state. It's a tireless effort it's dedication and we recognize and appreciate that. Christie's going to share a bit more about some of your additional contributions as well the center and state of why I say there's two of us because she does so much that we needed to sort of talk about it in addition to all the work that she's done with communities Marla's changed our organization and changed our community. She has uh she comes with a master's degree to the work she does as well too so she has actually been uh beneficial and really influential in training some of our staff on how to we how do we work with mental health issues providing some training to staff on suicide awareness mindfulness pain management all those other areas too and it brings a different focus to what we have staff to do and where they learn from it's just that voice. She has spent time writing letters to local newspapers really to address the stigma in the communities to different avenues there and she works at pathways Vermont in their worm line as well too so I can only imagine that through that work she's also saved lives and the work she's done too um so we can't say enough about her and we are lucky to have her in our community I think Vermont is lucky to have her. Yes okay all right now the run at stand-up comedy at the at the Chandler theater in Randolph, Vermont at the Monty's intelligent this is my character Beatrice she's very funny very very funny we can I had three cups of coffee today I got two because a very coy knit dream from my mother in heaven awoke me I could not think what I was going to say today this is a serious matter as well um but but through the grace of God there go I am a native born and raised um we are in a global village uh in this brave little state of Vermont I embrace diversity I welcome diversity um as the John Ware play says we are all connected by six degrees of separation from the very very top to the very very bottom I myself have been to all levels and um like to stay more in the middle of the herd with a little bit more serenity and no sanity is not overrated um I am also psychic I have been since I was a child um I have I've learned a really big lesson in the last two weeks ask for help strength and independence and self-awareness and self-confidence are absolutely wonderful earn that own it but know when to ask for help I am independent but I am very very interdependent I have to honor the Department of Mental Health the wonderful spectacular loyal Clara Martin Center amazing pathways Vermont my team members on the pathways Vermont support line the state standing committee the local player mart standing committee all of the DA's throughout the entire state I've had the pleasure of knowing many commissioners uh formerly served on the governor's council I write but believe me if you want to get a message across go to the source consider the source I have called the White House when I was involuntarily locked up in a psych ward I called Bernie Sanders office they listened they helped Bernie for president 2020 Bernie's office listened when seemingly nobody else cared that I was in despair I was coercively forcibly treated now honestly I take psych meds twice a day I take a ton of vitamins um less than two weeks ago I almost had a complete nervous breakdown I was physically sick I was emotionally strong out it was like a bipolar meltdown and um but long story short um when I was first diagnosed with a serious condition let's let's eradicate mental illness let's not say mental illness anymore okay let's say we have conditions we are sensitive people we are gifted people a lot of us are empaths we feel we feel deeply we feel sorrow we feel pain pain is inevitable suffering is optional the Dalai Lama said that there is an I in illness I can't manage everything on my own there is a we in wellness we working together within the system with each other we can agree to disagree it makes the world go round but kindness and compassion and communication are free I have many advocates and friends and professionals and family and friends and heaven many many earth angels if you are here you are amazing you brave the storm uh everything from top to bottom is going on politically we are here if you have breath to breathe and eyes to see with some glasses um hands uh use use all of your powers I can't emphasize enough writing advocating doing working working working working it's very hard work but I love the work I I I wouldn't be rather be any other place in the world right now except maybe the red carpet in Hollywood thank you thank you thank you the next awardee is Melaka Huffer who is such an active person that she is not even in the country she but we would like to have George Caracacus and Kate oh we have a speech from her okay well George and Kate are going to introduce her and then we'll have a speech read but we'd also like why was she nominated so come on up and hopefully it'll bring her the award too okay we have a speech oh I'd love to hear it so um I don't know where to begin I don't have I don't have a prepared speech I have a lot of thoughts Melaka is our uh at HCRS some of you at healthcare and rehabilitation services in Wynnum and Windsor counties she's the manager of our peer support programs but she well first of all before I do this I just want to say I was so impressed with the passion and the dedication and the compassion and the heart and the vision of all the speakers it's just so it's absolutely remarkable and I really want to appreciate and that is what makes Vermont this state really incredible so I wanted I just wanted to say that but I also want to say that Melaka is really a part of that and I'm really honored and proud to be able to to be here and that Melaka was awarded that in the company of so many other amazing people and she has been active on the the statewide adult state standing committee for many years she's worked very closely with Vermont psychiatric survivors in really sending that message and ensuring that the voice of the people we serve is there and it's heard and she is so passionate about that she has brought that passion and that vision to our agency she she's the co-chair of our ethics committee clinical standards committee she's involved in our adult leadership she has provided training to our community around intentional peer support across the board her mad studies curriculum have really pushed the envelope and I have to say personally in my role I seek her counsel out and I I say Melaka what do you think in developing our philosophy of care one of the things that I know she really pushed was stigma and discrimination and oppression exist and we as a community need to do something about it as an organization as an agency and that is part of our philosophy of care and she brings that she brought that and continues to bring that and to bring that passion and that vision there and we are I just have to say that it's just it's been it's a great honor I know Melaka I do want to add that I don't is would have been here I probably should have said this to begin with but she is on her way to Kenya so clearly her advocacy has no bounds so she is she is really she's been she has really moved us to the place where our services in our system is a really different system and because of that vision and because of that passion and I know she couldn't do it without an amazing team Kate Lamphere nominated her and Kate there you are adult division director and we have members of her team if you could just raise so really after it means it's not just our team it's the community and really spreading the word whether it's with emergency services whether it's our with our local hospitals whether it's with the rest of our community through the hive and so many other things that she's been doing so and actually I'm really curious I there is a speech no there are none oh you want to say if you were okay I want to say a few words please do so he's going to be so in any event I just really want to on behalf of Malika Malika it's it's really an honor and I know um you're not a real texture let her know she knows she knows it's a long commute so yeah but anyway so thank you active and not always in this building when we want them so we have one more community advocate award uh was nominated by Kurt Postalway from Washington County mental health Sarah Holland is not here but Kurt will say a few words about her and share her award with her well unfortunately best laid plans sometimes don't exactly unfold but we're going to surprise Sarah with this award so she was in the room and she has proceeded to sneak out so we'll we'll be sure to give this to her later but I'll just quickly say a few things um although of course we're just words and the work she does um is beyond that but Sarah Holland is an amazing advocate she came into her role as an advocate over 20 years ago through advocating in her own life through her own experience of mental illness and now 20 years later what she does is share that experience to inspire others to reduce stigma and to build awareness about the challenges that people face with mental illness and more importantly how people thrive even when they have these challenges she demonstrates a passion for supporting the community-based work through serving on Washington County mental health's board of directors and she's our incoming president which we're very pleased about because again she's just such a strong advocate and a committed community member she's spoken publicly many times about her own experiences through local RAP recovery groups with our community-supported program and more recently at our 50th anniversary where she shared her personal recovery story which is very personal and very meaningful to her and yet she recognized that opening up about that was the key to helping other people feel that they can do the same so that we no longer have to keep these types of experiences in the shadows and let them impact our lives in negative ways she also was on the vpr podcast that many of you may have heard about which is called The Air Us she was the lead story so if you're interested in learning more about her really powerful experience of recovery you can find it there she also has been on local access tv vote for vermont again speaking to the community health system washington county mental health services and how instrumental washington county mental health was to supporting her to get to where she is today so she's really a perfect example of someone who thrives in recovery which i think is so important for us to embrace right despite her struggles that you know she has experienced and continues to experience she does not let that define her she's now not only a strong advocate for herself but her friends she's advocated for a friend who's a wonderful artist to get her work out into community galleries show her amazing creativity and therefore aid in her own experience of recovery recovery and you know now sarah is a successful business owner she owns rivers bend designed which is a wonderful landscape company she's a proud grandmother and she's a wonderful so sarah wherever you are congratulations award to senate president pro tem tim ash unfortunately he had a meeting in burlington but we'll be back at 115 he says 15 of us can come to his office so i'll just go to the front hall the middle there at 10 after one and anyone who wants to come let's crowd in and let him know how much we appreciate his support because already he brought together a meeting of leaders in the legislature both house and senate to talk about the need to shift resources to invest in community mental health we really have no stronger leader and he deserves our appreciation also some of you don't get to always talk to these folks here's a chance you can tell him what to think he will he is listening and i do hope that at lunchtime and throughout the day and when you leave the building you'll continue your conversations with legislators if you don't if you feel like you're inspired now and you want to do it but you didn't make an appointment just go to the sergeant arms office in the front hall on the left and ask them to locate a legislator for you with a note saying you want to meet with them at lunchtime meet in the cafeteria and then they have to fight to get the investment we need and the support we need for our services so each one of you being here today has made a big difference senator kitchell when she looked around and saw all of you she really did take note um february 25th there will be public hearings around the state budget another opportunity to talk with legislators and let them know what you think but you can call them at home you can email them there's all sorts of ways and if you want support to do that you can talk to me or talk to the executive directors that are here or nami vermont or vamhar and we can help you with your advocacy efforts and there's certainly lots of expertise here so we wanted to take the rest of our time and it's not as much as we had thought for folks to share their stories we know we have someone over here and nick from nami vermont is going to leave this part of the program programs are free come check us out as a matter of fact this saturday we have a mental health and recovery workshop scheduled in st johnsbury a couple weeks we have one in manchester and a few weeks we have one in burlington so to sign up go to nami vermont uh nami vt dot org um we're lucky in vermont we're connected in so many ways whether it be on social media or schools uh bumping into our neighbors at the general store or uh sharing a pint of ben and jerry's with a close love for yourself another way that we're connected is we're all here for mental health advocacy in a robust mental health system uh one of the best ways to advocate and share your passion is to tell your stories and so let's move on to into that can we hear um welcome with or jody garard how long i can be i'll be able to try to be sure um e commings said a quote that i kept since high school that said to be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best night and day to make you everyone else means to fight the hardest battle that any human being can fight and never stop fighting and so when i think about myself and i strive to be myself i think i'm a mother of three i'm a wife who next week will celebrate 30 years of marriage i of mental illness um i have been hospitalized over 40 times in my life i have been in dozens of programs day hospitals and i've sat doped up drooling in a lot of facilities um my writing has lifted me and being to be able to be myself and say yes this is who i am i um have induced trauma voices that i hear every day that command me to kill myself every day but i decide i am a writer i'm a mother i'm a poet i am a person trying to be myself trying to be nobody but me and so i had just a couple poems i wanted to leave with you the first one is called the light oh there you are light such a bright friend in the morning of night's end i lift my head to my great fate of warmth a date i've missed before because of sadness i smile into the shine such a design to overcome depression i am alive surviving in the fail of my need to keep going on i take it in feed on today for i am high flying with the golden wealth of health i retain that i contain for sensation i write it down forget times i frown dip down into despair it is enough to dare to be here in this life this morning so dear to be a wife a mother a writer a constant fighter soaring on the current currents of this sunshine a lifeline through an illness shaded for others the sorrow invaded in the spectrum my flow from high to low i know it is a disease partly my genes these high and low scenes but today today is wonder filled senses rolled away from past as i cast eyes to the sky my thoughts happy warm wondrous without the storm of recalled lows i know the holes i fall into pattern shaped draped about me in darkness i hold tight to the illusion of this good day the light protection a connection to my passion to lift others a gift of words to the world i have been formed made displayed this way so i write with the rays in days that overcome the gray beyond the way my life sometimes is curled beneath sheets defeated with tears fears thoughts of death and too many breasts but oh not now now when the bright whiteness happiness away from the mess holds my heart that wants to share with others this start i wrap myself in the brilliance of this journey meet in the sensations the elations despite the misery i escape into the embrace of a pen as i face forward in this morning sun the flowering peach leaf the dark soil feeding the water quenching and i could be okay to be okay i don't have to hurt over the years that the bush didn't grow didn't make a statement for the yard i cut and prune careful in my design in with the breath i cast off the unwanted like the trauma littering the ground with it molding my perfection i stand back to admire and realize there will always be more to take away but perhaps i can let it go back to the wild living creating its own way to be happy in the wonder of itself i close my scissors let them rust let the beauty be in its living i sit with sunglasses on protecting my view as i watch the natural order take care of my yard and it's okay first i'd ask for your indulgence i'm uh dealing with side effects from a medication tapering process so if i'm not completely coherent that's my excuse um thank you i'm my name is dan toll and my recovery story i want to offer my perspective on peer survivor support services just a level set i characterize peer support as people with mental health illnesses who are in recovery connecting with like individuals together they mutually share and assist each other with their wellness so what follows is first my story a case study for peer support and examples of what i think are ways to enhance the mental health care system in vermont through peer or some survivor support i was diagnosed over 20 years ago with a mood disorder i managed to raise two wonderful children and maintain a career in corporate america for three decades uh with a wife uh at home for most of that time three years ago i left Connecticut in corporate america moved to vermont during my connecticut years my treatment was the traditional western model medical model psychiatric meds from a psychiatrist talk therapy from a therapist however despite having my symptoms being controlled the majority of the time through this traditional model to mental health care i they still negatively impacted me in many ways my physical health my jobs my financial security and ultimately my 35-year marriage with the love of my life moving to vermont then changed my life here i was introduced to a broad spectrum of healthy alternatives to the medical model including mindfulness yoga herbalism and most importantly peer slash survivor support after moving to vermont i attended a peer support group and soon had an epiphany number one i'm not alone number two there are others suffering and enjoying the benefits of our individual mental health conditions they can help me and i can help them within a year i joined the ranks of mental health volunteers and professionals with lived experience becoming a peer supporter including i helped launch them facilitate a nanny vermont peer support group second thursday of the month four o'clock cdmc the board room i have business cards up there with the info so please come and join me secondly i uh like my very esteemed colleague who deserves everybody accolades she received marla i am a member of the adult standing committee i just i would argue and i'm very biased but uh in some ways better service can be delivered at a lower cost than the traditional mental health model as a nanny facilitator i volunteer my services um on the adult standing committee volunteer services so in summary in my peer support services roles i have learned that this mental health care model has not only been among amongst the most effective tools for me but i believe for many of the people that i've uh worked with and dealt with in my role as a peer supporter so again information on adult standing committee and the semper vermont uh she prepares on the desk thank you very much is shannon fox but first we'll hear from carolyn brosetti and i have lived with mental illness all my life um i was diagnosed and discovered while in school um and i've always been connected with the community which has helped tremendously i've had good days and bad days which most people do and when i have bad days i just backed off and i learned how to work with my mental illness and it hasn't been a curse it's been a blessing i've had opportunities that i never would have had if i hadn't had a mental illness i learned to do public speaking at conferences i never would have had that opportunity i had opportunities to help other people like myself which has been a blessing the trust that peers have between other peers and they will talk openly with each other in ways that they don't with other people because we experience the same thing um i have also always been connected with the community in that even though i may have been hearing and seeing things i would be active like in the red cross i joined the american red cross i work on the disaster team i respond to disasters i work with shelters up here voices and have seen things and people who had come in to the shelters who have been stressed out because of moving your homes and wanting to take care of their fats and whatnot and trying to help them to meet their needs at that particular time i've also had an opportunity to join the behavior mental health team for washington county which was really great i worked at um i also had opportunities to work uh i also had opportunities to learn how to come to the state health and talk to our legislature and to talk to other people to make them aware of what mental illness is that i could be a leader i never thought i could lead in anything i had a hard time in school i couldn't write that's why i don't have notes and um my spelling nobody could read it i could always communicate well verbally uh i was told i wasn't going to graduate from high school well i did um i mean i wasn't supposed to accomplish my design i mean i was going to be a probably a housewife or take care of a house or something but i wasn't going to do like mental health and recovery workshop um help to sort of take that um to peer support and i've also learned how to do rabies which which is an alternative care that some people are trying and some people have good success with that and i hope that it'll become a part of a tool that people can use i have tried different ways of keeping myself well and healthy i've done all kinds of things yoga meditation walking exercising and i'm even learning how to take care of dogs and cats and cleaning cages and being a person from very similar we don't have much contact with horses and i had just recently had my first contact with horses and i walked around the ring and if you can see me being afraid of the horse and the horse knows it you know and so i was like the horse is going to do what the horse does and i'm leaving my prop around the ring and i come back okay i did that one and i said phew it looks like they're over there now i can i know i can want the horse and so that's part of the recovery process and having relapsed this part of my life i have a month about every year to take me to recover and get back with all my feet i've had meds that didn't work and i had to learn how to advocate to get the right medicine because they want to stay with the same old thing so that's pretty much the story i have to tell and if anybody wants to talk about mental illness or have any questions feel free to ask me because i'm very open we're going to recognize one of the recipients of the award earlier so can we hear from sarah holman our nominee sarah we found her sarah would you please come on up here so you all yeah so you all already heard my true story about how great this one is so here she is we found her sarah basically i just told everybody you're wonderful how much you've shown us through your life and your experience to get to the place you are now you're going to be our board president of washington federal health you run your own business you're your grandmother you have friends that you support so she rocks so without further ado i would like to present this member health advocate award to sarah holman in the presence of many advocates this has been such a wonderful morning and i'm just humbled by this my goodness part of my recovery so it's like 20 i don't know what you told about me but like 24 years of hospitalizations and medication changes and uncertainty but relationships with my peers with people in the community mental health system uh with people in the inpatient hospital system uh with people having nothing to do with mental health but um that's what's been my recovery and um you can say i'm giving back um through my position on the board of washington county mental health services um both on i'm i'm getting and so uh this uh lifelong endeavor and um i'm uh trying to incorporate my recovery into my uh what i do every day my day job um and so my connection with employees my connection with vendors being honest not keeping secrets being um saying what happens to me and uh my struggles every day and uh just being um matter of fact about and so um anyway this is awesome first let's hear from shannon fox i'm from windsor county this is literally my first day advocating for mental health so i apologize for any missteps go big go home i guess um i know that we spoke a lot about stigma today and i feel the need to address my own identity to reduce internalized stigma i am a flat lander and i'm happy to say that i'm on the path to better living in the green mountain state um from mess uses um so i wanted to speak today to highlight the challenges of access to preventative services i've struggled with mental illness beginning my youth and throughout my adult life in january of last year after three months of partial hospitalization program for which i'm very grateful for and quitting a well-paying government job in colorado with full benefits because of its toxic environment and hostility sports mental illness i moved back to new england where the welcome my support system lives while unemployed in massachusetts i was either bigger to work i'm an arts administrator and advocate and working in the arts is a core part of my identity i also knew that work would provide structure and stability to my day day life and would aid in my recovery in march of last year i moved to white river junction to work at northern stage which is an amazing arts organization i'm proud to work for um overwhelmed by the process of transferring all my services to a new state i fell into a familiar hole for those in recovery relapse um i stopped my medications i lost interest in finding a new therapist and i became and i began posting by summer i was unstable again taking more risk falling behind in my work and having suicidal ideation in june i went to my local emergency room because i felt unsafe i talked through my safety plan was referred to my county's designated agency made a commitment to set up all my services and to get back on the tractor recovery and so i was discharged that night though i struggle with mental illness i take responsibility of my engagement in my own recovery i was committed to get on the right path i set up services with my designated agency got primary care physician white river junction got referral for psychiatric services at my closest hospital and began therapy again i felt energized excited hopeful and i was being a good doobie um my primary care my pcp was doing a great job they kept a close eye on me and we started some of my basic medications but they would be the first to tell you that they are not psychiatrists and not qualified to provide thorough assessment for their diagnosis and medication treatment i'm i did not qualify for psychiatric services for my designated agency so i waited on the list at my local hospital days turned into weeks weeks turned into months my therapist who recognized me as safe and stable and relatively stable began recommending that i just go inpatient to get access to psychiatric services i knew that the that going inpatient would impact my finances and maybe taking away resources for my peers who are in crisis by december i called my local hospital again to ask where i might be able to reserve uh receive access to psychiatric services they said i was on the list my heart left this was it the last piece the puzzle was finally falling into place then they finished their sentence you're on the list of people to call and inform that we will not be providing psychiatric services to the patient volume i began crying i was so frustrated i started calling every psychiatrist in the area and these were the answers i got we do not take vermont medicare or mvp we do not take insurance you need to pay hundreds of dollars up front and then try and get reimbursed through your insurance you cannot receive uh services at a different county's designated agency than the designated agency for your county we do not take referrals from outside our hospital network you need to move all of your health care services to our hospital network mind you these hospitals were 45 minutes to an hour away um i've spent the last month desperately seeking services all while struggling to shower to eat properly and not hurt myself last week i had an appointment with my pcp who had really developed a great relationship with they said that they would call the local hospital one more time but then i was going to have to change my care network to either springfield or central vermont in hopes of maybe getting a referral and starting all over again i was dismayed at the prospect of leaving a health care provider that i felt comfortable with and trusted this past monday while struggling through another day and avoiding my personal and work responsibilities i got a call from my local hospital to schedule an appointment with their psychiatric team i cried again my pcp had worked magic in that final phone call to the hospital i'm so lucky that had great support from my therapist and pcp who got me through the past seven months i am lucky that i have friends and family support and accept me i'm lucky that my employer was a comedy i'm lucky that i even have a job i'm lucky that i have the coping skills to advocate for myself i'm lucky that i had a car to get to my designated agency to get to my primary care to get or if i had to change my network to 45 minutes an hour away i'm lucky that i'm college educated i am lucky i'm privileged but this is not a success story this is a highlight of the gaps in services for remarkers oh while waiting for services i had to call crisis hotlines schedule emergency appointments with my primary care take time off work turn unhealthy risk and strive to survive through the endless cycles of negative self-talk depression and a desire to end my life i'm lucky that i didn't seek inpatient stabilization and put a strain on our already overworked crisis system i do not pretend to be the picture of recovery and i don't want you to think that i'm not deeply grateful for my designated agency and for my support network there are people here today who are better qualified to speak about statistics and policy changes i'm only qualified to tell my own story but if i have the capacity to tell my own story to articulate the challenges that we with mental illnesses face i feel i have the responsibility to tell my story for you all to realize how difficult it is for my peers who cannot be here today to tell their challenges my peers who normally face mental illness but are also faced with serious physical illnesses developmental or intellectual challenges my peers who don't do not have the economic educational or social status or skills to navigate a complex and frustrating system my peers who also face abledon on air is sponsored in part by green mountain support services empowering neighbors with disabilities to be at home in the community additional support for abledon on air is sponsored in part by washington county mental health services where hope and support come together