This webinar is the fourth in a series of webinars that will highlight the overdose prevention efforts in Region 5. Today will highlight the key challenges associated with opioid misuse/OUD or unintentional fatal mixed stimulant/opioid overdoses within the Black/African American population. Presenters will provide community-informed practices for addressing opioid misuse, overdose and the prevention of OUD in Black/ African American Populations.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES   Provide recent data on prevalence of opioid overdose death rates in the Black/African American population in the U.S. Discuss contextual factors that impact the opioid epidemic and increase overdose deaths in these communities, including challenges to accessing early intervention and treatment. Understand the difference in the ways that Blacks/African Americans use opioids and other drugs compared to White and Latinx populations. Highlight new or potential innovative outreach and engagement strategies that have the potential to connect individuals with evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery.   Presenters today served as community experts and contributed to the development of this SAMHSA Resource: The Opioid Crisis and the Black/African American Population: An Urgent Issue was prepared for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by SAMHSA’s Office of Behavioral Health Equity. You can also see our research from 2017 Whitewashed   Presenters:  Kathie Kane-Willis  Director of Research and Policy for the Chicago Urban League   Kathie Kane-Willis is the Director of Research and Policy for the Chicago Urban League and she has been trending the opioid epidemic since 2003. Before joining the League, she co-founded and led the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University from 2005-2016 and has worked to pass harm reduction policies in a number of Midwestern states.     Kareem Butler  Director of Learning and Evaluation for the Research and Policy Center, at the Chicago Urban League Kareem Butler is the Director of Learning and Evaluation for the Research and Policy Center, at the Chicago Urban League. In this role, Kareem works enterprise wide to evaluate the performance and resource needs of programmatic departments through a client focused lens to help shape and support programming that is responsive to longstanding community needs and emerging trends. With a background in public health and health policy, Kareem has developed an appreciation and respect for the gathering of input, stories and quality data, to advocate more effectively on behalf of black families and communities in pursuit of racial equity in total health and wellness.    THE OPIOID CRISIS AND THE BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICANPOPULATION: AN URGENT ISSUE (samhsa.gov)  

Providing Culturally Appropriate Healthcare for LGBTQ Persons of Color Randall Leonard, LCSW-C May 13, 2021, 1-3:15 PM EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Due to social determinants of health and economic and other structural disparities, Black and Brown's individuals utilize healthcare and social services at higher rates yet show worse overall outcomes. Likewise, LGBTQ people frequently face poorer health outcomes due to discrimination, lack of access to competent providers, and well-justified medical mistrust. Those who live at the crossroads of these identities are particularly vulnerable to needing healthcare treatment and are far less likely to access it. This seminar will explore the unique demographics of LGBTQ communities of color, the colonial legacy of gender and how it impacts Black and Indigenous residents, barriers to seeking and receiving services, and best practices for bridging gaps in access and care. Join social worker Randall Leonard to explore evidence-based techniques to reach, connect, and serve this large and diverse group of clients in various healthcare settings. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Gain awareness with the demographic, historical, and cultural context as well as strengths, challenges and needs of LGBTQ people of color in health settings Explore evidence-based best practices for engaging and supporting queer and gender- diverse ethnic minority community members “where they are.” Identify three specific tactics to create a welcoming and affirming environment for LGBTQ clients of color. PRESENTERS Maryland native Randall Leonard, LCSW-C (they/them) is a licensed clinical social worker who has specialized in the care of LGBT individuals for four years. They currently serve as a Staff Therapist at the LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton, providing individual therapy as well as assessments for gender-affirming surgery. They also facilitate “Identity Talk”, a group for trans and gender-diverse people of color to process intersectionality between culture and gender. In addition, they work as a Behavioral Specialist in the Emergency Department of Union Memorial Hospital. Before joining the Chase Brexton team, Randall served survivors of intimate partner violence at Family and Children’s Services, where they provided individual therapy and a weekly support group. They started their social work career working with people with severe and persistent mental illness at Sheppard Pratt Health Systems. Randall holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work with a concentration in clinical behavioral health.  

Download the webinar presentation Presented by: Carlton Hall & Tracy Johnson Description: Participants will learn key strategies and practical method to implement prevention in the urban and black community. The presenters review African American history and how it impacts the way organizations learn and ultimately define what prevention is or is not for their targeted population. Participants will explore what the national data offers about African Americans drug and mental health concerns, learn specific prevention principles, and how to apply these principles within the African American/urban communities. By the end of the training participants will: Learning Objectives: Know the history of African American community as it related to substance misuse Learn Prevention basics to apply to African American communities.  Learn the SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework and how it can be an effective method for African American serving organizations . Identifying best evidence-based practice programs and organizations for African American serving organizations. About the Presenters Tracy Johnson Tracy Johnson is the Founder & Managing Partner of TTJ Group, LLC (2013-Present) with over 29 years of experience, he has worked closely with states, nonprofits, small businesses, universities, communities and coalitions in helping them with community organizing, environmental strategies, strategic planning, substance abuse prevention, and cultural competence.  Mr. Johnson provides interactive and resourceful trainings for participants. He has presented on Opioid Prevention strategies for communities (including faith based) and integrating cultural competence within opioid prevention strategies. Currently, Mr. Johnson is working with Ohio’s Partnership for Success Strategic Prevention Framework (PFS-SPF) SAMHSA funded statewide grant supporting twelve (12) rural Appalachian counties in developing coalitions to reduce the opioid crisis. His team has also provided training to SAMHSA Minority AIDS and HIV new grantees since 2010. Carlton Hall Carlton Hall is the President and CEO of Carlton Hall Consulting LLC (CHC), a multi-faceted, full-service consulting firm designed to provide customized solutions and enable measurable change for communities, organizations, families and individuals. Carlton Hall has been providing intensive substance abuse prevention focused and community problem solving services to the nation for the last 25 years. His responsibilities, unique set of skills and experience have made him one of the most highly sought after instructors and guides for community problem solving in every state and territory in the nation as well as internationally, with successful achievements in South Africa, Ghana, Bermuda, Kenya and others. Currently, Carlton and the CHC team provide executive training and technical assistance support to the Southeast PTTC (Region 4).

Structural racism affects every aspect of American life and society, but it can be confronted at an organizational level with anti-racist actions. These organizational action items will empower prevention professionals to incorporate anti-racism into the operational practices and community outcomes of their prevention work.

Webinar: Honoring Culture in Prevention - Cultural Interactions, Awareness, & Responsiveness Training   The goal of this webinar is to increase prevention professionals' understanding of how cultural humility and cultural standards can improve interactions with a variety of audiences. Participants will explore cultural humility and how to apply it, and the National Enhanced CLAS Standards (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care), in their profession.   Supplemental Resources: Presentation Slides An Implementation Checklist for the National CLAS Standards National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care CLAS ACTION PLANNING Worksheet   Learning Objectives: To apply cultural humility and the National Enhanced CLAS Standards (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care). Practice methods to overcome hurdles and avoid misunderstanding in cross-cultural communication, service delivery, and community engagement.   Presenter: Michael Browning, nationally recognized public health and Substance Abuse Disorder program developer, policy analyst, and trainer, has a passion for constituent-led community advocacy. He has provided support to several governmental agencies by providing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention proven practices in capability building, training, and day-to-day technical assistance to assist the departments in planning, grantee support and technical assistance and community engagement. Including and not limited to: US Federal government, State of California, District of Columbia, Atlanta, County of Los Angeles, Kern County, the County of San Bernardino, and other CA counties. He is a proven grant writer and program developer. He was a senior administrative analyst for the University of California, Berkeley - Institute for the Study of Social Change (now: Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, Prevention by Design. He is currently the Interim president of the Insight Center for Community economic Development. Browning was an executive director of a non-profit community coalition and deputy director at another. He has over 35 years of local, state, and national substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and tobacco control and prevention, early intervention and treatment, youth services, community organization, early childhood education, violence prevention, HIV/AIDS, public health, cultural proficiency development, program planning, development and evaluation, public policy advocacy, and strategic planning experience. His former employers include community-based programs in Pasadena, Inglewood, Los Angeles, and Michigan. Browning provided direct support to President Jimmy Carter’s “The Atlanta Project” and the Hilton Foundation’s Project Alert. Browning was a master trainer at CADCA for over 20 years. He is the former president of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council, member of LAPD’s Van Nuys Division Community Police Advisory Board, health chair of the San Fernando Valley NAACP, and chair of the USC COVID-19 Community Advisory Board. Browning is a graduate of the University of Southern California and was a fellow at Boston University.

How Past is Our Past? Unpacking and Mitigating the Impact of Structural Racism on Substance Use Part 1: Why Should We Care About the Impact of Structural Racism on Substance Use? Anam Siddiqi, MPH May 15, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Understanding the role structural racism plays in society and its relationship to substance use disorders is critical to prevention and promoting healthy behaviors. Part 1 of the two-part webinar series, How Past is our Past? Unpacking and Mitigating the Impact of Structural Racism on Substance Use, introduces a conceptual framework to link structural racism to substance use by identifying common systems, policies, and programs that negatively impact people of color and examining how stress from racism can lead to poor physical and mental health, which can in turn increase the risk for substance use. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Define structural racism, recognize its historic roots, and understand how it impacts the present day. Explain the connection between racism, stress, and substance use. Explain why racism should be considered another component of the social determinants of health model. Recognize and mitigate their individual and organizational roles in upholding racist systems, policies, and institutions. Explain why public health officials, clinicians, behavioral health specialists, and other healthcare providers should care about the impact of structural racism on substance use. PRESENTERS Anam Siddiqi, MPH is a Research Program Manager at The Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care. Ms. Siddiqi received her MPH in Health Policy Analysis and Evaluation from the University of Maryland. Her interests include reducing health disparities, advancing healthcare systems, and promoting community collaboration to improve health.  

How Past is Our Past? Unpacking and Mitigating the Impact of Structural Racism on Substance Use Part 2: How Should We Care About the Impact of Structural Racism on Substance Use? Anam Siddiqi, MPH May 22, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION As the nation moves more towards value-based care, it’s critical that public health officials, clinicians, behavioral health specialists, and other healthcare providers understand how to identify, prevent, and treat populations that have experienced structural racism. In Part 2 of the two-part webinar series, How Past is our Past? Unpacking and Mitigating the Impact of Structural Racism on Substance Use, we’ll examine racism as a seventh social determinant of health and how we, as healthcare providers, can prevent and treat substance use prevention. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Recognize how structural racism can manifest in the behavioral health setting. Develop tactics on how to prevent and treat substance use, as well as promote healthy coping mechanisms. List the risk and protective factors of substance use as it relates to structural racism. Understand how to implement and promote health equity, as well as how to keep developing their skills in the field. PRESENTERS Anam Siddiqi, MPH is a Research Program Manager at The Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care. Ms. Siddiqi received her MPH in Health Policy Analysis and Evaluation from the University of Maryland. Her interests include reducing health disparities, advancing healthcare systems, and promoting community collaboration to improve health.  

Liberation Approaches in LGBTQ Behavioral Health and The Crossroads of Racial and Sexual/Gender Identity Randall Leonard, LCSW-C, and Kate Bishop, MSSA April 5, 2023, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION A Liberation-focused practice seeks to meet marginalized people where they are, within their cultural, historical, and community contexts, and to support clients in healing from the impacts of white supremacy, homophobia, gender binary rigidity, and other systems of dominance and oppression. We know that substance over-use is a common tool used by marginalized community members to find relief from the continual soul-scraping of living with degrading experiences, microaggressions, exploitation, intergenerational trauma, and colonial legacies. Effective liberation prevention and treatment approaches are those that pull back from individual choices and focus on the underlying systems that create intolerable conditions for living. These frameworks engage structural and institutional analysis, including a critical look at the ways behavioral health care systems may act as a tool to reinforce systemic inequity, and offer community-nested, strengths-based, empowerment-focused healing approaches. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Locate substance use as an adaptive tool for managing minority stress. Apply a liberation framework to creative outreach strategies and prevention messaging. Examine the role of behavioral health providers and systems in maintaining oppressive care structures and apply new models to substance use treatment. Develop a liberation framework analysis of current treatment options available to BIPOC LGBTQ people. PRESENTERS Randall Leonard, LCSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker who has specialized in the care of LGBTQ individuals for four years. They currently serve as a Staff Therapist at the Center for LGBTQ Health Equity, a Center of Excellence of Chase Brexton Health Care, providing individual therapy as well as assessments for gender-affirming surgery. They also facilitate “Identity Talk”, a group for trans and gender-diverse people of color to process intersectionality between culture and gender. Before joining the Chase Brexton team, Randall served survivors of intimate partner violence at Family and Children’s Services, where they provided individual therapy and a weekly support group. In addition, they worked as a Behavioral Specialist in the Emergency Department of Union Memorial Hospital. They started their social work career working with people with severe and persistent mental illness at Sheppard Pratt Health Systems. Randall holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work with a concentration in clinical behavioral health. Kate Bishop, MSSA, Education Coordinator at the LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton, is a seasoned professional development trainer with expertise in working with LGBTQ populations, sexual and reproductive health care, adolescent development, intimate partner violence, and sexual trauma. She is certified as a trainer through GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) as well as SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders). Before joining the Chase Brexton team, she developed the capacity building program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s STAR TRACK Adolescent HIV program, providing cultural responsiveness trainings for agencies that serve sexual minority youth of color. Ms. Bishop holds a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies from Hiram College and a Masters in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University.  

Sheryl “Ms. Sherry” Branch-Maxwell, has been a driving force in Missouri for more than four decades. During that time, she has overseen the provision of capacity-building assistance to promote evidence-informed practices with state and local partners. For over 35 years, Ms. Sherry has embraced positive youth development, policy change and truly believes in the strength and ability of youth in the Missouri Bootheel. Currently, Ms. Sherry serves as Assistant Area Coordinator for Lincoln University Cooperative Extension in Charleston, MO and is innovative in leading partnerships, integrating youth programming, food and nutrition programs, while working closely with state officials to expand assistance to those in need. Ms. Sherry’s most notable project, is Kids’ Beat. At one time the organization had an enrollment of over 1,500 members across more than 30 clubs in all 6 Bootheel counties, including Butler and Cape Girardeau. She has served on several gubernatorial boards, including but not limited to, The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission, The Children’s Trust Fund, African American Task Force and the Missouri Commission for Volunteerism. Most recently, Ms. Sherry was the 2021 DeVerne Lee Calloway Woman of the Year Award recipient. *** Visit the SAMHSA store front where you’ll find hundreds of publications, including One Voice, One Community offers strategies for communities on collaborating with faith-based organizations to address the service needs of people living with mental illness, substance use disorders, or both. Here's a link to this resource...https://store.samhsa.gov/product/One-Voice-One-Community-Building-Strong-Effective-Partnerships-Among-Community-Faith/SMA13-473   The African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence was developed by SAMHSA to address the urgent need for greater equity and effectiveness in behavioral health services for African Americans. They are determined to help our field transform behavioral health services for African Americans.       Visit their website...https://africanamericanbehavioralhealth.org