Action Group CHARGE

The Action Group has been accomplishing a lot in its short two-hour monthly meetings. (See the January 2012 Action Group Minutes for all the details.) This group was formed for people to come together to share, make suggestions, give input, learn about volunteer opportunities, plan events, and help stop stigma. They are for people who want to “DO” things both within NLCMHA and outside of NLCMH. They now have a DRAFT charge written up to be able to better explain what the Action Group is and what it does. At next month’s meeting, this Charge will be finalized and put on our Virtual Recovery Center for public usage/information. Five main areas have been identified to use as standing agenda items and to prompt discussion each month. The five main areas are:

  1. Sharing
  2. Request and Input
  3. Volunteer Opportunities
  4. Anti-Stigma
  5. Leadership

Here is the 2012 Action Group Meeting Schedule.

At each meeting, I see more and more people grow to be better advocates for themselves and others in the groups. One person will mention an idea they have and it turns into a wonderful unknown path to new territory where others have the opportunity to help explore also.

We now have an official start to an Action Group member list which helps keep everyone connected across our six counties. The groups continue to expand and get excited about ideas they have through sharing, giving input and volunteering as mentioned in the charge.

At this month’s meeting, Nicole Ellens (NLCMHA Crawford/Roscommon Suicide Prevention Coordinator) attended, to bring information about the suicide prevention coalitions in our six counties and also share some opportunities for community action. Nicole will be sharing more information with us shortly so that we have a contact list of where coalition meetings are held so we can have a representative from our action group meetings attend to bring back volunteer opportunities.

All consumers and staff are welcomed and encouraged to attend these Action Group meetings as they have found to be very beneficial in helping others figure out how they may best get involved. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Cadillac, Grayling, and Traverse City offices (connected through videoconference). Hope to see you soon!