The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners is seeking applicants from the community to fill positions on seven citizen advisory boards, including the Adult Mental Health Advisory Council. This 32 member council advises the County Board on adult mental health issues within Hennepin County and monitors, studies, and comments on mental health issues at the federal, state, and local levels. Members serve three-year terms and meet monthly on the third Thursday from 2:00 until 4:30 p.m. The council meets at the Hennepin County Hosmer Library in Minneapolis. located at 347 East 36th Street. Volunteers must be a resident of Hennepin County to be eligible to serve on the council.

For more information or to apply for this volunteer position, please visit the Hennepin County website.

Applications will be taken through Friday, January 7, 2011.

What if you could help us win $1000 just by giving 10 bucks? On November 16, Give to the Max Day, you can. Last year we saw over $4,000 in donations through Give to the Max, so we’re very excited to be participating again this year.

Visit our page on GiveMN.org on November 16 to make a donation.

Overall last year, more than 38,000 donors logged on to GiveMN.org and gave over $14 million to more than 3,000 Minnesota charities and nonprofits in 24 hours during Give to the Max Day. This year, the goal for GiveMN.org  is to beat that record by engaging 40,000 donors during the second annual Give to the Max Day on November 16. The Mental Health Association of Minnesota together with GiveMN.org – a first-of-its-kind giving website for nonprofits in Minnesota – is working to create a stronger nonprofit community for Minnesota.

GiveMN’s Give to the Max Day amplifies your giving impact in a number of ways:

• Win a Golden Ticket! $1,000 will be given to a random donor’s charity every hour. You could be that donor! If you are up early or up late, increase our chances of winning that $1,000 by donating at time when there are fewer people awake.
• Put us on the Leader Board! Your donation on November 16, could put us on the leader board to win $10,000 or even $20,000 for the most number of donors for our nonprofit. Help us get “on the board!”

Visit the MHAM page at GiveMN.org to donate.

And thank you to all of our donors throughout the year. We appreciate  your support of our mission to enhance mental health, promote individual empowerment, and increase access to treatment and services for persons with mental illnesses.

Just a reminder that in recognition of Mental Illness Awareness Week, MHAM is hosting the Celebrating Recovery education event on Tuesday, October 5 at the Ramada Plaza in Minneapolis. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m. We would love to see you there! If you register before October 5, admission is $15. At the door admission is $20. Your admission includes presentations, a Wellness Fair, a Steps To Wellness self-care kit, and lunch.

This will be a great event for individuals living with mental illnesses, their family members and friends, and mental health providers. Michael Trangle, MD will speak about holistic care and staying healthy and Minnesota 10 x 10 and the DIAMOND program. Kim Lutes will share her experiences with the mental health system and the importance of self-advocacy. Brain Doran will discuss ways in which family members and friends can support a loved one who is living with a mental illness. Brett Dumke will provide an overview of the brand new Steps to Wellness self-care kits. Ed Eide will give examples of how individuals can share their stories to influence public policy.

The Steps to Wellness kits have been developed with support from an educational grant from Lilly USA, LLC, a charitable contribution from Janssen, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceutical, Inc., a grant from Park Nicollet Foundation Healthy Community, and a grant from Pfizer Healthcare. The kits contain tools to help individuals manage their health and learn skills to advocate for themselves when working with medical professionals and social service providers. After the event, the kits will be available for order from the MHAM website.

Tickets to this event are still available. Please see the Celebrating Recovery page on our website to register online. Scholarships are available. To arrange for a scholarship, please contact Ed Eide at 612-843-4868, ext. 1 or edeide at mentalhealthmn.org.

CVS CarePlus conducted many of the blood draws required when a person is taking clozapine.  On June 1, 2010 the company ended this service and those individuals using CVS CarePlus must find an alternative for the required blood draw.

There are several options available that can result in connecting with a provider that can conduct the necessary blood draws:

• Speak with your psychiatrist or prescriber and make sure that they are aware that the blood draw is no longer available through CVS CarePlus.  Your prescriber should be able to direct you to an alternative provider.
• Contact your primary care clinic and set up appointments for the necessary blood draws.
• An appointment could be made with an independent lab in your area.
• Contact a home care agency that has the capacity to do in-home blood draws.
• Contact a pharmacy that has the capacity to do the blood draws.

Without the blood draws, people will not be able to obtain refills on clozapine, so the blood draws are critical.  If a person is not able to find an alternative provider for the blood draws, the advocacy program at the Mental Health Association of MN would assist the person in finding a workable solution.