Author: Mimi Tomei
The Community Engagement and Empowerment team meets at the Bath Building. From left to right are Stacey Harward, Suzanne Thompson, Brandon Rollings, Christopher Lewis, Wes Rider and Ken Schuesselin)
July 5, 2018 – Cultivating future leaders of consumer-operated non-profits. Developing mental health awareness and advocacy training. Supporting and empowering local mental health advocacy groups. Educating individuals, family members and communities on the power of self-determination.
These are just a few of the things Suzanne Thompson and her team at DHHS do to engage and empower people with mental health disorders, substance use disorders and developmental disabilities, their families and communities.
Thompson leads the Community Engagement and Empowerment (CEE) team, a group within DHHS’ Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services that works to connect communities with policymakers and help people advocate for themselves or for a family member. Thompson’s team is made up of Brandon Rollings, Stacey Harward, Christopher Lewis and Wes Rider. Ken Schuesselin, Associate Director for Consumer Policy, oversees CEE team.
The CEE team holds trainings on topics including substance use disorder recovery, mental health first aid, advocacy and community engagement. This allows for those most affected by mental health policy to have a hand in its creation.
“Families want their voices heard,” Harward said. “They want a seat at the table.”
The team is also involved in activities related to the development of the Peer Support workforce. Peer Support Specialists are individuals in recovery from mental illness or substance use disorders who are trained to support others in recovery. There are more than 3,000 certified Peer Support Specialists across the state.
One important component of the CEE team is lived experience. Every team member is either in long-term recovery from a mental health and/or a substance use disorder or has a family member who has faced these challenges. Several team members also have experience as social workers. This lived experience creates an opportunity to provide hope to those they interact with, reminding them that they are not alone and that recovery is possible.
Community outreach forms the backbone of everything the CEE team does. They support Consumer Family Advisory Committees (CFACs) which are grassroots groups that represent behavioral health consumers across North Carolina. They work with entities like the NC General Assembly, DHHS leadership, and local management entities and managed care organizations (LME-MCOs) that manage the care of individuals with mental illness, substance use or developmental disabilities for DHHS.
The CEE team has a local focus, which allows them to serve the needs of diverse communities throughout the state.
“Our approach cannot be cookie cutter when serving the community,” Lewis said.
By empowering those with mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, and educating those who haven’t experienced them, the team hopes to change how society views and treats those with behavioral health disorders and disabilities.
A new opportunity for the team involves working with the NC State University’s Institute for Nonprofits, and the UNC School of Social Work’s Jordan Institute for Families to support a unique executive leadership and development program. This program provides education and mentorship to individuals with lived experience to be leaders in human services nonprofits and communities.
“One of the best ways to reduce stigma is repeated exposure to the community,” Schuesselin said.
Though each team member has a unique role, they all try to keep in mind who they’re working for – North Carolinians with mental health disorders, substance use disorders and developmental disabilities.
“That is our goal,” said Harward. “To make their lives better.”