Office of Consumer
Affairs
Initiatives, Projects and Programs
Citizen Coordinators
20 are selected and
trained by the Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD)
to develop and implement a behavioral health project in their
community. One Family Liaison provides support and education
to family members of behavioral health and substance abuse
consumers.
Citizen Organizers
Ten are selected and
trained and are responsible for developing and implementing
their own behavioral health projects, as well as coordinating
community training efforts statewide.
Leadership
Academies
Consumer-driven, five
Regional 3-day trainings, are conducted statewide that educate,
and certify 100 consumer graduates annually for potential
leadership positions on councils and committees, advisory
boards or other decision making entities. Based on Boston
University Recovery and Empowerment Curriculum.
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Consumer Options
Program for Empowerment (COPE)
COPE offers technological
mainstreaming with bilingual potential of the rural and/or
ethnic consumer with the grassroots movement and the service
delivery system through this computer loan with Internet account
program to graduates from the Leadership Academy. GED certified
instructors are available for degree status courses.
Consumer Initiatives
and Activities
Consumer-Driven activities
are designed to create an incubator for encouraging stability
and support for the recovery of consumers in the program.
Activities such as conference scholarships; skills training
and empowerment workshops; self-help and special interest
support groups are created to destigmatize consumers with
their own mental health and substance abuse recovery.
NM Behavioral
Health Council on Consumer Affairs
A 15-member consumer
entity that is trained in an advisory capacity to the Office
of Consumer Affairs that represents the desires of consumers
the quality of and the accessibility to behavioral health
care.
NM Consumer
Satisfaction Project
This project is a quality
assurance activity for consumers by consumers. Consumers are
responsible for the design and distribution, completion and
analysis. This annual survey measures the quality and accessibility
to care.
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Jail Diversion
and DTR
Designed to create integrated
partnerships at the Federal, State, and local level to decriminalize
and deliver treatment for individuals in the criminal justice
system that have both mental health and substance abuse illness.
Anti-Stigma
Self-Advocacy Project (ASSAP)
Consumer driven provides
written materials training and education for consumers, families
and communities statewide based on Anti-stigma, Self-Advocacy,
and Recovery and Empowerment Curricula's.
Consumer Newsletter
Direct Service, distributed
to provide information on current topics of interest; updates;
announcements and schedules of conferences and includes community
reports from Citizen Organizers.
Double Trouble
in Recovery
28 groups statewide.
DTR is a self-help model for individuals with co-occurring
mental illness and substance abuse disorders based on recovery
and empowerment strategies - are effective components of community-based
treatment that enhances consumer tenure in the community.
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Wellness Recovery
Action Plan (WRAP)
A self-management recovery
system designed to decrease symptoms and increase personal
responsibility to improve the quality of life for people who
experience psychiatric symptoms.
Ombudsperson
Program
Under the Regional Care
Coordination (RCC) service approach used in New Mexico, each
of the five regions has hired an Ombudsperson. The major function
of the Ombudsperson is to advocate for the rights of fellow
consumers within their regional service provider system and
provide conflict resolution between consumer and service provider
in a confidential manner. All residents of New Mexico who
are eligible for or receive mental health, substance abuse,
and/or sexual assault treatment services under the RCC initiative
have access to an Ombudsperson in their region free of charge.
Five Regional Consumer Leaders receive extensive training
to advocate for and ensure the rights of mental health and
substance abuse consumers within the service provider delivery
system and act as regional host and support team leader for
projects such as the Consumer Satisfaction Project, Leadership
Academies, Double Trouble In Recovery, Wellness Recovery Action
Plan and other initiatives and activities.
The Consumer
Hotline
Responds to an average
of 35 calls per day employing a toll-free number (1-800-362-2013).
This service provides technical assistance and peer advocacy
consultation for consumers statewide. This toll free line
provides consumers easy access to other offices within the
Department of Health. Furthermore, the Hotline assists consumers
in dealing with issues, problems, concerns, and resolution
of complaints.
Guiding Principles
The
guiding principles of the consumer grassroots movement in
New Mexico:
- To offer consumers opportunities
to learn skills that will enable them successful integration
into their communities.
- To offer communities opportunities
to learn skills that will enable successful integration
with their consumers.
Successful completion
can occur through proactive participation and involvement by
the consumer and the community. Consumer and community must
legitimize grassroots initiatives and programs further by establishing
a retrospective methodology research effort, in order to substantiate
and validate performance which will empower the consumer and
community voice. Univocally the health care decision making
process becomes integrated, collaborative and holistic which
will in turn effect the communities' delivery of, and the consumers'
quality of and accessibility to health care. When opportunities
to acquire skills are readily available, we end consumer tokenism,
isolation, learned helplessness and stigma for the consumer
and community. To
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