2020 Q2 Newsletter

Panel Discussion on Social Justice Inspires at Q2 Coalition Meeting

As the Be Well OC movement continues to grow and gain momentum, more than 230 people joined the Virtual Coalition Meeting on June 23. In addition to updates on the great work across Be Well OC result areas and an update on the construction of the Be Well Campus North, the meeting focused on a Community Partner COVID Response Panel. The panel shared what coalition partners have been doing to support residents during the crisis and how they are preparing for the long-term impacts of the pandemic. This panel sparked a lively conversation about social justice and mental health equity in Orange County.

A recording of the Be Well OC Virtual Coalition Meeting, including the panel discussion, is available here and the slides can be accessed here. Prior to the meeting, we asked registrants to provide materials for a “virtual resource” table and those materials are available here.

Partner Highlight: MECCA

We are proud to highlight the Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA) as our featured Be Well OC partner this quarter. MECCA is actively creating culturally and linguistically responsive programs to destigmatize mental health and addiction, focusing on traditionally underserved multicultural communities and is a vital backbone organization of Result Area 1.

Learn more about the work of MECCA in Orange County here.

Stakeholder Engagement Critical to Success

While Be Well OC has had to pause large, in-person community sessions due to the public health pandemic, stakeholder engagement has continued to move forward through partnership with NAMI and availability of interactive virtual technology. This engagement and communication is central to the success of Be Well OC. As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure participation and input from a broad range of community members, Be Well OC is partnering with NAMI OC as a listener in their existing community support sessions. These valuable insights are then informing the work of various Be Well OC result areas and initiatives.

These sessions are held in the evenings for parents, family, peers and individuals managing mental wellness. They provide the opportunity to hear first-hand experiences of navigating and using the existing behavioral health systems. So far, the project has engaged with seven support groups and heard nearly 100 family and community member experiences. Participants have consistently voiced a sense that they find these listening sessions to be a welcome opportunity to share their input and be heard.

Be Well OC will continue to outreach to the community to plan and join additional work groups.

If you know of peer/consumer and family groups that would be open to participating in this listening session approach, please reach out to us at help@bewelloc.org. The feedback from those who have shared their experiences has been invaluable to continuing to shape and guide the work of Be Well.

Creating Access: Youth Medication Assisted Treatment

With funding from the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Be Well OC is leading the Orange County MAT for Youth (OCMAT4Y) project, a care collaborative devoted to facilitating greater access to Medication Assisted Treatment for youth aged 14-24 experiencing Opioid Use Disorders. During the past quarter, the Be Well OC Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Leadership Initiative has focused on supporting our clinical, community and Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) partners during the COVID-19 response.

For a full update on the work of the Be Well OC SUD Leadership Initiative and information on how Be Well OC is actively aligning prevention, education and stigma reduction activities, read more here.