Summit Results
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Community Wins!
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- More Nurses - California is having a nursing crisis and looking for creative ways
to encourage people to join this healing profession. At the Summit, Patty Daume was
impressed by participants’ commitment to quality mental health care, and the relationships
she formed helped her "to find her path in life". After the Summit, Patty left her
non-profit job for Cabrillo College’s nursing program with plans to serve our community
as a mental health care nurse.
- Hope and Support - The newest and biggest fan of the Summit process and
Appreciative Inquiry is the County Mental Health Director, Norm Wyman. Norm was not an
early supporter of the Summit, as he was concerned that the visioning aspect of the Summit
would create hope and "then nothing would happen". However, political pressure ensured he
and his key staff attend. At the end of the 2-days he said, "I finally felt supported -
moving forward from the Summit, my hope is for real and measurable improvement in mental
health care at all levels."
Norm has since invited in the Summit Project Director, Paula Comunelli, to bring the
strengths-based approach to his entire staff at County Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services
- Stigma Busting and Resource Availability - The Community Education Team’s goal is to demystify mental
illness through public education and multi-faceted Public Relations. Currently, they are
developing a Speaker’s Bureau and have been invited to their first two speaking
engagements in March; NAMI Santa Cruz County and the Calciano Crisis Symposium.
In partnership with the Access Team, Community Education is also working to ensure
quality mental health care information is collected, updated, and made public,
so anyone who needs information and/or services has access.
The Access Team is also working with the county to develop a comprehensive online database of services to be completed winter 2004/2005
- Psychiatric Training for Officers - Officer training provides improved
de-escalation techniques and better management of individuals displaying mentally
disoriented behavior. The Summit enabled County Sheriffs and City Police to recall
their intention to have Crisis Intervention Training for ALL law enforcement personnel
in Santa Cruz County; City police, Sheriffs, Park Rangers, Campus Police, and Probation
Officers. Within two weeks post-Summit, all Santa Cruz County law enforcement had
committed and scheduled 10% of their mandated 100 annual training hours for Crisis
Intervention. It is a community first for this much training time to be designated
in support of social services - a big community and Summit win!
- Jail Diversion - Summit participants from law enforcement, County Mental
Health, and the Monterey Bay Psychological Association are working together to develop
an integrated program to divert the mentally ill from our institutions and to create
"a better way" to serve an under served population. Collaboration between the County
Mental Health Department and local law enforcement gives each agency a broader
perspective from which to provide more accurate, effective, and humane help.
One part of the plan is to mobilize officers with clinicians in order to deal
more effectively with "5150" calls and the second part is to develop and provide a
pro bono therapy program for those in need without insurance or other resources.
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Results to Date
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Santa Cruz law enforcement tackles mental-health issues - February 9, 2004
Santa Cruz Sentinel Article
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Spring 2004 Mental Health Summit Report/Newsletter
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Fall 2003 Mental Health Summit Report/Newsletter
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Mental Health summit - October 28, 2003
Letter to the Editor, Santa Cruz Sentinel (third letter)
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Mending the Safety Net - October 15, 2003
Letter to the Editor, Santa Cruz Sentinel (second letter)
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October 13-14, 2003 Mental Health Summit
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New Approach to Mental Health - September 21, 2003
Santa Cruz Sentinel Editorial
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Community Leadership Meeting - August 8, 2003
Group reports and key themes
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Pre-Summit Meeting - May 8, 2003
Strengths, Wishes, Powerful Questions and Integrated MH Themes from the Community
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