2019 West Michigan Combat PTSD and Invisible Wounds Conference

The 2019 West Michigan Combat PTSD and Invisible Wounds Conference features three presentations by skilled mental health therapists trained in recognizing and treating military veterans and their families experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the invisible wounds of war. The conference will conclude with a panel discussion of Give an Hour experts, who will share their journey and commitment to serving military veterans and their families. Conference participants will also learn how they can receive special training to meet the unique needs of service members and their families and join the Give an Hour support network.

Attendees of the conference will receive four CEUs. Participants must arrive by 8 a.m. and attend the entire conference to receive the four CEUs (participants that arrive late or leave early will be ineligible to receive CEUs). Conference will include breakfast, lunch, parking and all training materials.

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Agenda:

7:30am: Registration and breakfast

7:50am: Opening remarks

8:00am-1:00pm: CEU eligible presentations from Michigan Department of Veterans Affairs, Forest View Hospital, Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan and Give an Hour

Sponsored by:

The SpartanNash Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SpartanNash, a leading distributor of grocery products to US commissaries around the world and one of the nation’s largest wholefood food distributors and grocery retailer. Patriotism is one of the SpartanNash Foundation’s primary areas of support. In 2018, the Foundation granted more than $400,000 to fund mental and rehabilitative therapy, critical assistance for military families, provide food and shelter to homeless veterans, honor and remember those who paid the ultimate price and underwrite additional vital support services nationwide. SpartanNash is committed to hiring, training and retaining veterans, Reservists, Guardsmen and their families in partnership with national and government organizations and initiatives. SpartanNash was named a 2018 silver-level Veteran-Friendly Employer by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency as well as a 2019 Military Friendly® Employer, recognizing the company’s efforts to hire, retain and recognize the vital role veterans play in our workforce. SpartanNash has more than 700 veterans working for the company. All are proud to serve those who served and continue to do so. To learn more about the SpartanNash Foundation, visit spartannash.com/foundation.

The Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan (www.benice.org) was founded in 1990 with the mission to create communities that have good mental health by inspiring people to recognize, understand, accept and take action. This language remains the same to this day. In 2010, the Foundation created the be nice. logo when challenged by the community to do something about a suicide that made headlines throughout the nation. Since that time, be nice. has become an Action Plan which MHF staff members use to educate the community to help others notice, invite, challenge, and empower themselves and their peers. Your words and actions can have an effect on the way people think, act, and feel – simply put, their mental health. The be nice. program reached over 150 schools during the 2018-2019 school year, and has expanded into workplaces and faith communities. be nice. continues to grow as community members, students, and employees take the pledge to be a mental health advocate in their community. It’s our goal to have one million people learn the steps of the be nice. Action Plan to help advocate for those struggling with our managing a mental illness and ultimately prevent a person from taking their life.

Give an Hour (www.giveanhour.org) is a nonprofit that develops national networks of volunteers who are capable and committed to responding to acute needs within our society. Give an Hour mobilizes a national network of volunteer mental health professionals to provide free mental health services to populations in need, starting with the mental health needs of military service members, veterans, and their loved ones in 2005 and beginning to add additional at-risk populations in 2015. In addition to direct counseling, Give an Hour’s staff and network of volunteer professionals work to remove the barriers to mental health care by participating In GAH’s Campaign to Change Direction; a collective impact effort to change the culture of mental health.

Forest View Hospital (www.forestviewhospital.com) has been a community leader in providing quality mental health services to West Michigan for over 45 years. Tucked away in the Forest Hills area, Forest View Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and fully licensed by the State of Michigan. Our hospital is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week offering no cost assessment and referral services. Specialties include:

• Inpatient Hospitalization
• Partial Hospitalization
• Eating Disorder Treatment
• Trauma Treatment
• Substance Use Treatment for those with a co-occurring mental illness