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UPDATE: Up to 5 Continuing Education credits are pending for this program for social workers & counselors. No cost. Leaders of health & human services organizations: Please join us for a retreat providing an opportunity to reflect on your capacity to serve diverse populations. Through a keynote presentation, case study,…

Recovery Coaching is a recovery support service that is non-clinical and designated to engage others beyond recovery initiation through stabilization and into recovery maintenance. It is also known that long-term treatment and/or recovery outcomes are improved by assertive linkages to community-based recovery supports such as Recovery Coaching. The REACH OUT…

Last year the state of CT decided to privatize its Protection & Advocacy office. P&A is a federally mandated function. The new organization is being set up now but will use the same toll-free number as before. Please see the flyer below for more info and post in a public…

Public Act 17-178 was just passed! This law fights discrimination by removing the requirement that healthcare professionals with a diagnosed behavioral health disorder report their diagnosis to the state Department of Public Health. Please thank the Public Health Committee co-chairs Sen. Terry Gerratana, Sen. Heather Somers, and Rep. Jonathan Steinberg…

The Southwest Regional Mental Health Board will recognize State Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey of Fairfield at its Annual Meeting on June 22. This year's meeting features guest speaker Billy Bromage of the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health, who will discuss "Community Inclusion: Citizenship-Oriented Care in Behavioral Health." It…

The official legislative session ends Wednesday. While budget negotiations are going to have to continue in a special session, the legislature is busy now working through pending bills. Here's a quick update on a few bills of note & how you can help with mental health legislation: THE GOOD NEWS:…

We are pleased to invite interested community members to join us for our Annual Meeting on June 22, 3:30-5:30pm at Norwalk City Hall. Come hear Billy Bromage of Yale's Program for Recovery and Community Health speak about a community inclusion project in behavioral health known as the "citizenship" initiative. "Citizenship"…

People who hear voices or see visions are usually considered to have schizophrenia. In reality, such unusual sensory perceptions may occur in up to 10% of us; see Oliver Sacks article here. There are new paradigms for understanding these unique experiences. Below, Eleanor Longden's TED Talk describes an insightful way…

Are you a Marie Kondo follower, always tidying up, or more of a collector? When does collecting cross the line into a compulsion? The short video above shares the story of a man who is still working on his recovery from hoarding. And this slideshow uses an image scale to…

The first annual "Fairfield County Walks for Mental Health" was a big success! About 150 people participated, to the honks and cheers of passing cars. Walkers started on the Norwalk Town Green and finished back at St. Paul's on the Green, where many visited the beautiful labyrinth as a wonderful…

NFL player Brandon Marshall has a personality disorder that has been called "devastating." In this video, he speaks about the stigma associated with mental illness, which led him to found project375.org. Learn more as Mental Health Month continues! Join us on Monday, May 8 for the feature film "Borderline," followed…

One in ten people deals with an anxiety disorder each year. An anxiety disorder goes beyond regular stress, affecting daily life, performance, sleep and more. Coping strategies work, and help is available. In recognition of Mental Health Month, please share these videos and the resources in this email with your…

Join the region’s coalition of mental health advocates for the first annual Fairfield County Walks for Mental Health event on Saturday, May 6th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on the Norwalk Green (parking available on Park Street). Warm up with some laughter exercise on the Green just before Senator…

Several items of note: Our bill HB 6483 to create a task force to make recommendations around the shortages in the psychiatric workforce has been voted out of the House and into the Senate! Let your senators know that it's important to support this bill, which would create a multidisciplinary…

We're one month out from the first annual "Fairfield County Walks for Mental Health" event! We welcome all interested community members from across the county to join us on Saturday, May 6th at 10am on the Norwalk Town Green to kick off Mental Health Awareness Month. No fundraising required! Just…

TOMORROW is the public hearing before the Judiciary Committee on the legalization of marijuana and other related bills. The Governor's Prevention Partnership and other prevention groups are also holding a rally tomorrow: https://www.stoppotct.org/ All bill details can be accessed at www.cga.ct.gov. Please submit written testimony as an attachment (Word or…

Two rights issues in state news & legislation: (1) CT's Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons With Disabilities was slated to be disbanded and privatized, based on federal recommendations, and advocates have been wondering what the next step would be. The Hartford Courant reported yesterday: […] Now, after the…

We're so grateful to the 31 supporters who made donations to Southwest Regional Mental Health Board on Fairfield County's Giving Day yesterday. Contributions totalled $2480, which is amazing. These donations will be used to support our evaluation, education & awareness, and advocacy functions next year as our budget gets leaner.

A quick update on the bills arising from our CAC legislative forums in December (with our thanks to Rep. McCarthy-Vahey, D-Fairfield, for sponsoring them!): HB 6887 (click here), an act to expand insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse services, continues to move ahead! Following 2 committee hearings and…

​Since our creation by the State of Connecticut in 1975, the Southwest Regional Mental Health Board has been a part of the community. Our role is to engage all stakeholders in the mental health system in identifying needs, stimulating new initiatives, and advocating for improvements. Together with you, our partners,…

The Governor's proposed budget would "consolidate" the 5 Regional Mental Health Boards with the 13 Regional Action Councils in order to save $1.2 Million. Unfortunately, the math just doesn't compute. The funds remaining would leave just $87,000 for all 5 Regional Mental Health Boards (approximately $17K per region, little more…

On Tuesday, March 7th there will be a public hearing before the Public Health Committee that will include the following bills of interest: HB6695 (an act protecting LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy) SB445 (an act concerning pharmaceutical price transparency & disclosure) HB5569 (an act providing new patients with a psychotherapy…

On Thursday, February 23, hundreds of advocates from around the state appeared before the Appropriations Committee for more than 12 total hours of testimony on the proposed budgets for DMHAS and DDS. Click below to watch some of our testimonies here: SWRMHB Executive Director Margaret Watt SWRMHB Board member Vered…

The Southwest Regional Mental Health Board (SWRMHB) is pleased to announce its participation in Fairfield County's Giving Day on March 9, 2017. Hosted by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, Giving Day is a 24-hour online event to “Give Where You Live” in support of our work and the work of all…