2025 Spring Registration Brochure

12 NJAMHAA's Spring Conference 2025 Connie Mercer CEO, New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness Mary Gay Abbott-Young, LCADC Board Member, New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness COURSE DESCRIPTION: The daily goal of people experiencing homelessness is always the same; survival. As they triage obtaining basic needs, mental illness or substance abuse often goes unaddressed, even though they frequently are the main barriers to changing their situation. Historically, overburdened shelters have struggled to meet behavioral health needs of clients. The New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness has piloted an innovative program, placing trained behavioral health specialists in four emergency shelters to assist clients in getting them connected to community-based behavioral healthcare providers while continuing to support them as they begin treatment. The premise of the program is to allow individuals to stabilize within the shelter system while connecting them to the critical life-changing treatment that they can continue once they are housed. These partnerships between each shelter and community-based providers actively support engagement of clients. The key piece of this system is the relationship that forms between each client needing treatment and a behavioral health specialist. The clinicians diffuse tense situations, they provide a safe space to feel and express emotions, they are cheerleaders who remind clients that they are strong enough to face their fears and engage in the treatment process and they help navigate the complexity of the medical systems. This human element is the difference between someone who makes an appointment and not showing up; and a friend who remembers that today is the big day, gives you encouragement and is waiting when you return to have a cup of coffee and process how it went. The relationship is the key lever to improving treatment adherence. This presentation will first speak to the role of the behavioral health specialists within emergency shelter settings. The presenters will discuss the success they found during their pilot study and what they learned about setting up this role. Secondly, the presenters will introduce ways that substance use treatment facilities and providers can partner with shelters in putting systems into place to support and assist clients with behavioral healthcare needs, as well as actions to take that increase the number of clients, both adult and children, seeking and remaining in treatment. Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, attendees will be able to: 1. Describe the social determinants of health affecting individuals experiencing homelessness. 2. Explain how the role of behavioral health specialist supports treatment. 3. Describe steps substance use treatment facilities can take to better serve people experiencing homelessness. Target Audience: Clinicians and other Medical Professionals Addressing Behavioral Health Needs of Unhoused Children and Adults Afternoon Session DAY 1 | APRIL 8, 2025 SESSION 2.4. ................................................................ 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Audience Target Levels: Intermediate Number and Type of Credits: Cultural Competency Addressing Behavioral Health Needs of Unhoused Children and Adults, Course #6193, is approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program to be offered by the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA) as an individual course. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE course approval period: 2/21/2025 - 2/21/2027. Social workers completing this course will receive 1 cultural competency continuing education credit. This course is approved by the NJ Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA), as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #87719, NJAMHAA is responsible for all aspects of the programming.