Department of Mental HealthCentral Mass Area

Motivating the Movement to Success-Fest!

March 18, 2016, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

MassBay Community College, Wellesley Campus

Call for Workshop Presentations

Applications are due January 29, 2016

The Department of Mental Health (DMH) Central Mass Area is seeking applications for workshops for the Area’s first Transition Age Youth (TAY) convention, “Motivating the Movement to Success-Fest!”which will be held on March 18, 2016 at the MassBay Community College campus in Wellesley.

The day’s format will include speakers who have great insight and experience with the young adult culture andparenting young adults, interactive workshops, an a live resource fair composed of local experts with community ties, awards to acknowledge the select work of committed individuals, as well as a lunchtime panel composed of both young adults and parents with lived experience who will lead the group in conversations about how to best support and understand this population.

Through this event we aim to:

  • Inspire hope amongst us all!
  • Provide a forum for young adults, parents, DMH staff, and community providers to network and share available resources and creative opportunities for Transition Age Youth and their families to be successful.
  • Emphasize the specialness of the transition-age family.
  • Highlight accomplishments of young adults and parents to inspire ongoing achievements.
  • Motivate our communities to continue progress in supporting success for Transition Age Youth.
  • Promote peer roles of young adults and parent partners.
  • Increaseknowledge about best practices relating to Transition Age Youth.
  • Provide a fun, exciting, and interactive event for everyone!

The target audience includes all stakeholders – ANY Transition Age Youth and parents of young adults (neither needs to be connected to DMH or any other services), Parent/ Peer Specialists, administrative and/or clinical providers, and other interested parties from the Central Mass Area’s provider network, DMH Site and Area Office, and state-operated programs.

Six workshops will be selected for two concurrent presentation periods -a morning and afternoon session. Workshops will be 60 minutes in duration, including time for Q&A. The selected presentations will be based on the project’s content and significance to the convention’s objectives,as well as the mix of applications. Workshop presenters are encouraged to provide handouts related to their project (e.g., handouts of resources, related articles, websites, etc.).

We are particularly interested in workshopsthat deliver,but not limited to:

  • Presentations by and with persons served and Peer Specialists.
  • Innovative practices with interactive experiences and hands-on learning experiences.
  • Inspirational and experiential narratives.
  • Talent events to highlight successesof young adults.
  • How to collaborate with parents of young adults to assist and prepare as well as “staff” (i.e. providers).
  • Initiatives that promote awareness, appreciation or understanding of the spirit of transitioning.
  • Initiatives to improve employment, education and other sustainable measures for Transition Age Youth.
  • Balancing the autonomy between Transition Age Youth and their parent(s).

Application Process:

Please submit your application to present a workshop on the attached form by email to Lexi Conrad at January 29, 2016. The primary contact person identified on the application will be notified by February 19, 2016 regarding the status of the application.

Questions:

Please contact Lexi Conrad at 774-420-3167 if you have any questions.