State of Mental Health in Bucks County

         The Community Support Program of Bucks County and NAMI Bucks County are pleased to announce a series of virtual talks entitled the “State of Mental Health in Bucks County”, designed to bring you up-to-date on current initiatives and programs in Bucks County to make better-informed advocates.  Please visit namibuckspa.org/advocacy to register for any event!

Upcoming Events

NAMI Smarts for Advocacy – Budget Advocacy Training (03/31/2022)

Grassroots advocacy is about using your voice to influence policy makers and make a difference.

NAMI Smarts for Advocacy is a hands-on advocacy training program that helps people living with mental illness, friends and family transform their passion and lived experience into skillful grassroots advocacy that will move policy makers. This training on Budget Advocacy is a 3-hour session designed to help you develop the following skills:

  • Telling a compelling story that is inspiring and makes an “ask” in 90 seconds
  • Writing an effective email, making an elevator speech and making an impactful phone call
  • Orchestrating a successful meeting with an elected official

The unique step-by-step, skill-building design of NAMI Smarts is effective with a wide range of participants, including those who are new to advocacy as well as individuals with years of experience.

Participants routinely share that they’ve never been able to condense their story or made a clear “ask,” but with NAMI Smarts, they are now able to.

Lobbyists who represent NAMI State Organizations or mental health coalitions also love this program—they see participants come out confident and able to share their story in a way that moves policymakers.

Past Events

How to Advocate for an Increase in Mental Health Base Funding

Past event. View recording below. Join the Bucks County Community Support Program and NAMI for a public health information session on “How to Advocate for an Increase in Mental Health Base Funding” This event will be hosted by Nick Emeigh, Director of Outreach and Development at NAMI and presented by Donna Duffy-Bell, MA, CPRP, CCDP-D, Bucks County Behavioral Health and Developmental Programs Administrator.

In this session, you will learn:

    1. What Mental Health Base Funding is and how long it’s been since it has increased
    2. Current data on staff shortages, wait times, and programs/services affected by a lack of funding
    3. All the information you’ll need to know to start a plan for advocacy within CSP.

Recording:

What is the Bucks County Co-Responder Program?

Past event. Please see the recording below Join the Bucks County Community Support Program and NAMI for a public health information session to answer the question, “What is the Bucks County Co-Responder program?” This event will be hosted by Nick Emeigh, Director of Outreach and Development at NAMI and Rachael Neff, Director of Human Services. Our presenters include Walter Bynum, Bensalem Co-Responder, Cara Gadzinksi, Falls Co-Responder, and Lt. Fred Schumann, Bensalem Police Department. In this session, you will learn:
  1. Background and purpose of the co-responder program with an introduction to the team.
  2. Current data and goals of the program with a road map for the future and Q&A session.
  3. All the information you’ll need to know to make a plan for advocacy within CSP.

    4. Recording