Colorado Connect CORE

Speaker Bio's and Background:

Sarah Serrar

Bio:

Sarah Serrar is the Training Specialist at Rocky Mountain Human Services. Sarah holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services and has worked in this industry for 22 years. Sarah holds two certifications as a Person-Centered Thinking Trainer and an Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD). Sarah has been trained in motivational interviewing. Sarah has worked with many populations from incarcerated youth, seniors, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and mental illness. Sarah has experience with direct care, case management, supervision, and training.

About RMHS:

Rocky Mountain Human Services is a nonprofit organization that serves over 6,000 Colorado residents through case management and direct service programs.

• Currently, we have the privilege of serving:
• Children with developmental delays and disabilities
• Adults with cognitive and intellectual disabilities
• Veterans who are homeless or in jeopardy of losing their homes
• ​People transitioning from a mental health institute, psychiatric hospital or substance use treatment facility to a community setting.

“Person-Centered Communication to Include Reflective Listening and Motivational Interviewing”

Presentation Agenda:

• Introduction/Objectives
• Core Principals
• Supporting vs Fixing, Important To/For
• Empathy, Reflective Listening, Two Minute Drill
• Relationship Map
• Wrap Up, Three Promises

Evan Caster

Coordinated Entry Administrator at CHP

Bio:

Experienced Board Member with a demonstrated history of working in the mental health care industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Microsoft Excel, Customer Service, Microsoft Word, and Editing. Strong business development professional with a Bachelor's degree focused in Environmental Science from Skidmore College.  Finished his degree in the fall of 2011 by studying abroad through SIT Tanzania: Wildlife Conservation and Political Ecology. Delayed semester due to taking the spring of 2009 off to volunteer and work through the non-profit NGO Mundo Exchange in Thailand.

About CHP:

Community Health Partnership (CHP) is a member-based community coalition whose enduring mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of the Pikes Peak community through collaboration. The coalition is built on a foundation of trust and respect aligned with mutual values and goals. CHPs membership includes the largest healthcare provider organizations in Colorado Springs and the greater Pikes Peak region. CHP’s Community Care of Central Colorado program—under a contract with the State of Colorado— coordinates care and delivery of services for more than 180,000 Health First Colorado Medicaid members.

“Overview of Coordinated Entry & Built for Zero”

Coordinated Entry:

Evan will provide an overview of the Coordinated Entry Process that is the primary database management and intake solution for the CoC or Continuums of Care Program that in place in Colorado Springs and El Paso County.  This coordinated entry process is a critical component to any community’s efforts to meet the goals of Built for Zero, which is a movement to Prevent and End Homelessness.   Provisions in the CoC Continuums of Care Program interim rule at 24 CFR 578.7(a)(8) require that CoCs establish a Centralized or Coordinated Assessment System.  This is what Evan works on at CHP.

HUD’s primary goals for coordinated entry processes are that assistance be allocated as effectively as possible and that it be easily accessible no matter where or how people present.   Most communities lack the resources needed to meet all of the needs of people experiencing homelessness. This combined with the lack of well-developed coordinated entry processes can result in severe hardships for people experiencing homelessness. They often face long waiting times to receive assistance or are screened out of needed assistance. Coordinated entry processes help communities prioritize assistance based on vulnerability and severity of service needs to ensure that people who need assistance the most can receive it in a timely manner. Coordinated entry processes also provide information about service needs and gaps to help communities plan their assistance and identify needed resources.

Built for Zero:

Built for Zero is a methodology, a movement, and proof of what is possible. Anchored in a commitment to driving to zero, cities and counties have changed how local homeless response systems work and the impact they can achieve.  Community Solutions is a nonprofit that leads Built for Zero, a movement of more than 80 cities and counties driving down the number of people experiencing homelessness — and proving zero is possible. 

By harnessing the full power of data, 11 of those communities have reached Functional Zero, a milestone indicating that homelessness is rare and brief for a population. In order to propel this movement toward an end of homelessness for all, Community Solutions helps communities use data to change how their homeless response systems operate, develop new models to close gaps in housing, disrupt homelessness from occurring altogether, and help communities create racially equitable response systems.  By harnessing the power of real-time, person-specific data and problem-solving skills from other sectors, more than half of those cities and counties have achieved reductions in the number of people experiencing chronic and veteran homelessness. Eleven of those communities have ended homelessness for a population by reaching a standard called Functional Zero.

SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families)

RMHS/VOA/SSVF - Team Members

Bio's:

SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families) awarded to Rocky Mountain Human Services and the VOA by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). The SSVF grant is founded on the principle that no Veteran should be forced to live on the streets and every Veteran has a right to safe, permanent housing. SSVF grantees are dedicated to ending Veteran homelessness by fostering a well-coordinated and efficient local community system that assures Veteran homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring. To support these efforts this program provides outreach, case management, and support accessing community and mainstream resources to more than 1,000 Veteran households each year who are experiencing literal homelessness or in danger of homelessness throughout the state of Colorado. 

https://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/

Section 604 of the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008, Public Law 110-387, authorized VA to develop the SSVF Program. Supportive services grants have been awarded to selected private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that will assist very low-income Veteran families residing in or transitioning to permanent housing. Statewide, RMHS and VOA are the local grantees that provide a range of supportive services to eligible Veteran families that are designed to promote housing stability.

Monica Lichtenberger

President of Phoenix Strategies, Inc.

Bio:

Monica Lichtenberger, President of Phoenix Strategies, Inc. Monica holds a Masters in Management and the following certifications: Collaborative Mediator®; National Association of Conflict Resolution (ACR) Advanced Workplace Practitioner; and Transformative Mediator™. With over 20 years of conflict management experience, Monica works as a mediator, conflict coach and trainer. Her expertise is workplace, faith conciliation, restorative justice and domestic conflicts. Her contracts have included: the Federal Occupational Health, Transportation and Security Administration, Bureau of Land Management, Better Business Bureau, United States Postal Service, Fourth Judicial District, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and School Districts.

Duane K.L. France, MA, MBA, LPC

Bio:

Duane K. L. France is a clinical mental health counselor, currently serving as the Director of VeteranServices at The Family Care Center, a private mental health counseling agencyspecializing in the unique needs of military service members, veterans, andtheir families. He is also the Executive Director of the Colorado VeteransHealth and Wellness Agency, a 501(c)3 Nonprofit affiliated with the Family CareCenter.

Duane is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer andcombat veteran, having served in deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, North Africa,and Bosnia-Herzegovnia. After retirement, he served as Program Director for theColorado Veterans Resource Coalition, a 501(c)3 Nonprofit that providesemergency and transitional housing to veterans participating in programs at thelocal Department of Veterans Affairs clinic. Since transitioning to full-timeclinical mental health counseling, Mr. France has provided mental health counseling services to the Colorado Fourth Judicial District Veteran TraumaCourt.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology fromExcelsior College of Albany, New York and a Master of Arts in Clinical MentalHealth Counseling from Adams State University of Alamosa, Colorado. In 2015,Mr. France was selected as one of five Military Scholars in the nation by the NationalBoard of Certified Counselors Foundation, and in 2016 was selected as theawardee of the 2016 NBCC Foundation Capacity Building Grant.

Duane is passionate about veteran mental health, andfeels strongly that those who have served in the military can continue toprovide value to their community long after that service has ended.

About Duane's Book:

Combat Vet Don't Mean Crazy: Veteran Mental Health in Post-Military Life

When it comes to veteran mental health, there are some preconceived notions about what it means. After over a decade and a half of sustained combat operations and high operational tempo, the topic of veteran mental health has emerged into the public consciousness.

This book is a collection of articles that first appeared on the Head Space and Timing blog, which can be found at www.veteranmentalhealth.com . They range from reflections on how to raise accurate awareness about veteran mental health, both in the individual and the community, to discussions about how to see veteran mental health as mental wellness instead of mental illness. Developing a greater understanding about the importance of and the need for stable and positive veteran mental health can lead to a post-military life that all service members desire.

“Starving at the Feast: Helping Veterans Navigate a Resource Abundant Community”

This two-hour presentation by Duane France will discuss some common mindsets when veterans find themselves in a position to reach out to community resources, and the corresponding situation that it is necessary for community support personnel to understand:

1. I’m not sure you understand: the importance of cultural competence in working with veterans
2. I’m not comfortable reaching out for help: understanding the stigma against help seeking
3. I should be able to do this on my own: the importance of understanding needs fulfillment in and out of the
4. military
5. I don’t know where to start: The importance of building a network of people to connect to when supporting a
6. veteran
7. I’m in a pretty bad spot: identifying and responding to potential danger signs in veteran clients

Practical Exercise: After the presentation, the participants will divide into groups of three to participate in an experiential activity that has been developed to increase cultural competence and awareness in community support workers who may have clients in the military population.