Policy Research Associates is committed to the well-being and wellness of individuals with behavioral health conditions. To help spread information about the importance of the Eight Dimensions of Wellness in recovery, we created a podcast series to address each pillar of wellness. We are proud to release the first eight episodes addressing six dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, physical, and spiritual. PRA Program Area Director Terri Hay introduces each podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Soundcloud!

Emotional Wellness: In this three-part series you’ll hear from Betty Vreeland, an Advance Practice Registered Nurse to learn about mindfulness, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, and mindful eating. Ms. Vreeland will also take you through a guided meditation!

Environmental Wellness: In this episode, Dr. Margaret Swarbrick, an expert at Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, and Dr. Crystal L. Brandow, PRA Senior Project Associate, identify personal health habits and routines that can support environmental wellness and improve physical health.

Financial Wellness: In this episode, PRA Program Area Director Kristin Lupfer, Director of the SAMHSA SOAR TA Center, discusses the SOAR model. In addition, two SOAR beneficiaries along with their case manager discuss how focusing on financial wellness can transform your life.

Intellectual Wellness: In this podcast, Allie Middleton, Founder and Principal of Integrative Leadership Practices; Missy Stancil, the Regional Director of Carenet Counseling Central Region; and Dr. Jana Spalding of Setup4Success, LLC discuss the value of intellectual wellness in recovery and overall well-being.

Physical Wellness: In this episode, Dr. Marc Steinberg, a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, talks with consumer tobacco advocates Lisa and Diedre about smoking cessation.

Spiritual Wellness: In this episode, Dr. Crystal L. Brandow, PRA Senior Project Associate; Jimi Kelley, Behavioral Health Consultant and Advocate for the Inclusion of Spiritual and Faith Practices in Health Care; Claudia Debs, yoga practitioner, teacher, and life artist; and Michael Miriello, an individual with lived experience, discuss the science behind spirituality for positive health.

November is National Veterans and Military Families Month, an opportunity to honor the sacrifice, commitment, and dedication of our service members, Veterans, and military families. In celebration of Veterans and Military Families Month, we are highlighting some of our new Veteran-focused resources and technical assistance available from our projects.

This Veterans and Military Families Month, make a commitment to change how you and others talk to Veterans and military families. Community providers and peers can play a critical role in identifying SMVF of all generations who are accessing care in our communities and healthcare systems. SAMHSA’s SMVF TA Center recently hosted the webinar Asking this Critical Question Can Make a Difference: “Have you or a loved one ever served in the military?” The webinar archive is now available on YouTube. The webinar features the American Academy of Nursing's “Have You Ever Served in the Military” campaign and New Hampshire’s “Ask the Question” campaign.

Asking this Critical Question Can Make a Difference webinar archive

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center provides technical assistance to Veterans Treatment Courts across the country. The SAMHSA SOAR TA Center offers a number of resources and tools for SOAR benefits specialists working with Veterans. Check out the Online Library to review all of the resources. 

In October, PRA Senior Project Associate Jen Elder facilitated multiple learning sessions at two Rapid Re-Housing Institutes, hosted by the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development. The Institutes brought together housing program managers and crisis response system planners to develop creative strategies to overcome the challenges brought on by the national affordable housing crisis. Ms. Elder provided subject-matter expertise on income maximization for housing stability and systems-level planning for increasing access to income supports. 

Our technical assistance centers and programs have a number of open solicitations available. Review the solicitations below and apply today!

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center is accepting community applications for Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM) workshops focused on improving and expanding diversion opportunities at Intercept 2 and 3 of the Sequential Intercept Model. SIM Workshops are designed to allow local, multidisciplinary teams of people from jurisdictions to facilitate collaboration and to identify and discuss ways in which barriers between the criminal justice, mental health, and substance use systems can be reduced and to begin development of integrated local strategic action plans. 

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center is accepting community applications for How Being Trauma-informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses Train-The-Trainer (TTT) events. Awarded applicants will be provided with expert facilitation on how to deliver the training. The target audiences for this training program are primarily community-based criminal justice system professionals and human service providers who serve adult justice-involved populations. Special consideration is being given to applications that demonstrate inclusion of trainers who train drug court and/or re-entry program staff. 

The SAMHSA SOAR TA Center is accepting applications from criminal justice agencies interested in implementing the SOAR model in their programs. Eligible organizations are those that are not currently successfully implementing SOAR. 

The Social Security Administration is funding a new year of the Analyzing Relationships between Disability, Rehabilitation, and Work (ARDRAW) small grant program. ARDRAW grant recipients are awarded a 1-year $10,000 stipend to conduct supervised independent research designed to foster new analysis of work, rehabilitation, and disability issues, which may develop innovative and fresh perspectives on disability. 

Community service is a cornerstone of PRA culture—and it is just one of the reasons we were named the Number One Small Employer by the 2018 Times Union Top Workplace awards. PRA staff members are provided with a number of ways to give back to their local communities through an annual Month of Giving, opportunities to volunteer at a local shelter, a generous gift matching benefit, and more. Watch what community service is like at PRA!