Advocacy for Peers - How to Advocate for Yourself and Your Peers

Advocacy is one of the core concepts of peer support, yet navigating the waters of the mental health world can be tricky.  You want to be strong and assertive, but you also need to be heard.  This webinar will help you understand how to use the skills, knowledge and wellness tools you already have to advocate for yourself and your peers.  You will learn how to navigate the overwhelming bureaucracies of the mental health system and engage others - including your supervisors - to work with you to achieve the outcomes you and your peers deserve.


Bureaucracy challenges mental health consumers and their families at every turn. Advocacy bears witness to their struggle for wellness and recovery, enabling them to go forward.


Presented by:
 

  • Elisha Coffey, ICAN (Individual Consumer Action Network) Manager, brings training and experience in social policy and teaching group and individual advocacy skills to peers throughout Pennsylvania and at peer conferences throughout the country.
  • Fran Scullion Hazam, Adult Advocate has lifelong background in activism a wide variety of issues.  Fran provides support and expertise, while honoring a person's individual experience as they make choices regarding their self-advocacy goals.
  • Yvette Pate, CPRP, ALF, CPS trainer and supervisor is currently working as the supervisor to a peer program.  She has been honored with a leadership award from MHASP and was named a Transformation Champion by the Philadelphia Dept. Of Behavioral Health.
     
  • Elisha, Fran and Yvette are all long-term employees of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern PA.

View the recording here.