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The second Ohio Valley Health Education Council’s Current Trends in Community Health Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, March 11, at the Mountainside Conference Center in Bethany.
Workshop topics include “Self-Care for Helpers 101: Feed and Be Fed” and “Understanding, Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Children, Youth and Families,” presented by area social worker Chatman Neely; and “Project Lazarus: A Communitywide Response to Managing Pain” by Project Lazarus president and CEO Fred Wells Brason II.
A panel discussion on Ohio Valley substance abuse treatment and recovery services will wrap up the day’s programming.
Organizers say the workshop is intended for a variety of social service providers, healthcare workers and individuals working with children and families, including but not limited to: Birth to Three service providers; case managers; child care providers; counselors; doctors; domestic violence advocates; nurses; public health providers; social workers; and substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery advocates. Continuing education credits are pending in several disciplines.
Community members also are encouraged to attend.
The Current Trends in Community Health Conference is a grassroots effort spearheaded by Melody Osborne, who is the regional coordinator for the Adolescent Health Initiative in Marshall County. Organizations helping to plan the conference are the American Lung Association, Brooke County Health Department, Brooke-Hancock Family Resource Network, West Virginia University Extension Service and Partnerships for Success in Brooke and Hancock counties, which is housed and managed at Youth Services System Inc. in Wheeling.
Neely has more than 25 years of clinical exprerience working in residential, substance abuse, outpatient, inpatient and, most recently, domestic violence agencies, as well as private practice. He has provided more than 300 workshops in the U.S., Vietnam and Cambodia. He has taught social work at the undergraduate and graduate levels for 25 years and has published work in the areas of human diversity and Appalachian culture. He was honored as the National Association of Social Workers West Virginia Social Worker of the Year in 2011.
Neely’s self-care workshop is designed to help participants learn about and how to avoid burnout. His LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) workshop will help participants become familiar with terminology, explore recommended practices for providing services to this community and discuss strategies for becoming allies and creating safe spaces for those who identify as LGBTQ.
Brason was the co-chair of the expert committee for the formulation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Overdose Toolkit. He will present on Project Lazarus, a community-based opioid overdose prevention model that also presents responsible pain management and promotes substance use treatment and support services. Project Lazarus serves various parts of the U.S., as well as military and tribal groups. Project Lazarus has been recognized by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Strategies.
There is a fee for the workshop, and lunch is included. Full-time college students receive a discount. Registration deadline is Friday, March 4.
For information, call Osborne, 304-845-3300 or email her at AHICoordinator@comcast.net