Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate ADVANCED COURSE -- Now Accepting Applications for the Winter 2015-2016 Cohort

RAMS is excited to announce that the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Program is now accepting applications for its NEW 8-week Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Advanced Course, with classes set to begin on Tuesday, January 26th, 2016!

Funded by the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Program (part of the Division of Peer-Based Services at RAMS) provides training for consumers of behavioral health services or their family members who are interested in becoming peer counselors/peer specialists in the field of community behavioral health. In addition to the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Entry Level Course that is currently offered, RAMS has designed its Advanced Course to support and educate individuals who are providing, or have recently provided peer-based services to clients in the community (or possess relevant training, volunteer and/or educational experience), and would like to obtain more specialized peer counseling training and professional development opportunities.

We are looking for individuals who: 

• Are at least 18 years of age and a resident of San Francisco, 
• Have successfully completed at least a High School education or GED, and 
• Are able to attend 8 weeks of classes, which will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays (3PM-6PM). 
• This program is funded by MHSA through San Francisco Behavioral Health Services. As such, the course is targeted to individuals with personal experience with the Community Behavioral Health System of Care and family members. 
• Individuals with current or past work experience, education, and/or training (including volunteer and advocacy work) in the peer counseling field are highly encouraged to apply 

 Application and Course Timeline: 

• Friday, November 13th: Application Release 
• Thursday, November 19th & Tuesday, December 1st: Optional Program Open Houses 
• Wednesday, December 16th @ 5PM: Application Submission Deadline 
• Week of January 4th, 2016: Notification of Application Status 
• Friday, January 15th, 2016: Registration Forms Due for Accepted Applicants 
• Tuesday, January 26th, 2016: First Day of Class 
• Thursday, March 17th, 2016: Last Day of Class & Graduation 

Materials are available for download at: http://www.ramsinc.org/peer.php.

Please feel free to contact Program Coordinator, Kristin Snell, at (415) 579-3021 x102, or via email at kristinsnell@ramsinc.org should you have any questions or would like any additional information.

Community Voices: Stories From The Frontline

All RAMS staff, interns, and trainees are invited to this presentation & discussion at the 10th Annual Evelyn Lee Diversity and Cultural Competency Training:

Community Voices: Stories from the Frontline 

Friday, November 13th, 9am – 12pm 

State Building, Milton Marks Auditorium, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco

This presentation will describe grassroots efforts for community and capacity building, strategies for advocacy and community empowerment, and engagement with leaders and legislative groups.

PRESENTERS:  Gordon Chin, MSW, and Robert L. Okin, MD

Robert Okin, MD was chief of service at SFGH Department of Psychiatry; professor of clinical psychiatry at UCSF; and vice chair of the UCSF, School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, where he oversaw the development of crucial services for San Francisco’s most acute & chronic patients with mental health conditions, including the SFGH Department of Psychiatry’s culturally focused inpatient units and Emergency Department Case Management Program (which received the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems’ Safety Net Award in 1999). He has been quoted numerous times in the New York Times, was featured on ABC’s 20/20, and in 2009, he received the American Psychiatric Association’s prestigious Human Rights Award.

Gordon Chin, MSW is the founding Executive Director of San Francisco’s Chinatown Community Development Center, serving in this position until his retirement in October 2011. He has been active in San Francisco’s Chinatown community for over four decades, and has served on many community and civic boards including the national boards of the Center for Community Change, the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, and the SF Public Utilities Commission. Mr. Chin was selected as one of six inaugural fellows for the Fannie Mae Foundation’s James A. Johnson Community Fellows Award, and was one of the community development leaders honored at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s Silver Anniversary with a Mike Sviridoff Leadership Award.

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If you have any questions about this training, please feel free to contact Angela Tang at angelatang@ramsinc.org or (415) 800-0699.

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