SAMHSA’s updated Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit provides

guidance to a wide range of individuals on preventing and responding to an overdose.

The toolkit also emphasizes that harm reduction and access to treatment

are essential aspects of overdose prevention. 

The toolkit, designed to augment overdose prevention and reversal

training, provides guidance on the role of opioid overdose reversal

medications, including naloxone and nalmefene, and how to respond

to an overdose. It also contains appendices for specific audiences,

including people who use drugs (PWUD), people who take prescription

opioids, first responders, healthcare practitioners, and others.

School violence, including school-based gun violence, is a major public health issue that has negative consequences for students, families, schools, and communities (Basile et al., 2020; Peterson et al., 2021). One approach that schools have adopted to address school violence is behavioral threat assessment (BTA). Based on a request from our funder, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), we developed a report on behavioral threat assessment and its intersection with youth mental health.

1. Describe the problem of school violence and how BTA became a widely implemented school violence prevention strategy; 
2. Report on the current state of BTA implementation and its effectiveness; 
3. Discuss considerations for the fit and appropriateness of using BTA in schools; and 
4. Offer recommendations for schools, policymakers, funders, researchers, and SAMHSA on addressing BTA use in schools.

According to the collaborators the resource not only shows SCORE Orlando events, but events from other resource partners in Central Florida.

You can explore the website by clicking here.

If you have not registered for one of PENTAC's webinar series on peer entrepreneurship, you can still do so! You can find and register for the next event on our calendar.

Are you looking to write a business plan to jumpstart your business? SCORE has put together a series of webinars and resources to help you achieve your goal.

Click here for more information!

In this toolkit, we introduce what substance use disorder is, its impact in the workplace, and how to create and support a Recovery Friendly Workplace.

The goal of this toolkit is to provide you with practical tools and information. Too often, we ignore problems and do not provide resources to help people take action.

This is just a small sample of what you can do for your employees! 

Click here for full Toolkit

Get Ready For Back To School 2021 With MHA

Feeling safe is important. After meeting basic needs for survival like food, water, and sleep, feeling safe and secure is necessary before anyone can focus on relationships, learning or other opportunities for personal success.

A lot of kids and teens haven't been able to feel safe or stable over the last year because of the trauma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways it has disrupted “normal” life. Some have been stuck at home in abusive environments (and may not even know that their environments are abusive), while others are dealing with the fear of themselves or their loved ones becoming sick, or financial hardships being faced by their families. The potential for being physically back in school for the 2021-2022 school year may help some students feel more secure, but for others it may bring back fears of bullying, school shootings or unfair disciplinary action.

MHA’s 2021 Back to School toolkit, “Facing Fears, Supporting Students,” aims to help students, parents, and school personnel recognize how feeling unsafe can impact mental health and school performance, and what can be done to help young people who are struggling with their mental health.

Click here for official article and for the Tool Kit 

Our Fostering Opioid Recovery through Training and Employment (FORTE) initiative focuses on providing complimentary workforce solutions to support businesses and career seekers affected by the opioid crisis.

To help businesses meet challenges due to the opioid crisis – from recognizing signs of dependency to offering training and resources to foster a healthy and productive workforce, FORTE will provide HR training, NARCAN training, job readiness programs, and placement. These programs are designed to not only respond effectively in the workplace but also our community.

Career seekers interested in supporting the health and recovery community are encouraged to join our efforts by obtaining training in new and emerging career pathways that help combat the opioid crisis. Through FORTE, we provide scholarships for training and then connect you with local businesses to help achieve your career goals.

Click here for more info and resources

Click here 

The Wellness Guide to Overcoming Isolation During COVID-19 offers help and support for those suffering from isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being alone and lonely is difficult enough, but stay-at-home orders and social distancing make it even more challenging to overcome such feelings and make connections.

This resource will also help you discover ways to take action and create positive changes for yourself. It can be used individually, with friends or family members, or with groups.

Click here to download

NAMI developed a guide to support people experiencing mental health crises. This guide also provides information for friends and families that could be considered lifesaving information. This guide outlines what can contribute to a crisis, warning signs that a crisis is emerging, strategies to help de-escalate a crisis and resources that may be available for those affected. Also included is information about advocating for a person in crisis along with a sample crisis plan. 

These resources were created by the National Alliance of Mental Illness, an SMI Adviser content partner, and approved by the SMI Adviser clinical expert team for inclusion in the knowledge base.

Click the link for Resource Guide and Infographics

Many children who return to school will be lonely, having been isolated for months. Many who remain at home will feel even lonelier and more isolated as they see members of their peer group out and about.  Loneliness can translate to poor sleep, high blood pressure, greater risk of suicidal ideation, and even alcohol and drug use. Depression, anxiety, and fear can also increase. 

This is true for all age groups. It means this year, we all – parents, teachers, caregivers, students – need to attend to our mental well being more conscious than ever before.

Mental Health America (MHA) developed its 2020 Back to School Toolkit with this and more in mind to help students, parents, and school personnel navigate the uncharted waters of COVID-19.

This year’s toolkit includes:

• Fact sheets for parents/teachers;

• Fact sheets for children/teens;

• Key messages and statistics;

• Sample drop-in article;

• Sample social media post language and images; and

• Spanish language fact sheets and a worksheet (new this week!).

Click here for Toolkit in English and Spanish

What is compassion fatigue?

Compassion fatigue is defined as the emotional and physical exhaustion resulting from caring for and helping others in distress.

Over time, this leads to a reduced ability to empathize or feel compassion for others. It can imitate Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

However, Burnout and compassion fatigue are different. Burnout results from the stresses in the workplace. Compassion fatigue results from the work you do. 

Click here to view some of the symptoms of compassion fatigue

Self care

As mental healthcare providers, it can be easy to overlook your own needs while caring for others. It is important to find a balance between taking of others and yourself. One way to protect yourself from or to manage compassion fatigue is to practice self-care. Although self-care may vary from person to person, there are a variety of ways to engage in the practice. 

Click here to view the different ways to practice self care

Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook Resource!

As uncertainty continues to grow due to, COVID-19 here is a great resource workbook to help you build resilience during difficult times. Please follow the link to view this really great Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook. Stay safe everyone!


Coronavirus-Anxiety-Workbook