Grief and Healing August 9, 2018 | LaVerne Miller This time of year brings me back to some of the most meaningful milestones in my professional career. The last Wednesday and Friday of each July inevitably brings me back to sitting for the New York State Bar Examination. It also brings me back to the intense pride that I felt graduating from law school… Read More
Writing for Wellness: Intellectual Wellness August 1, 2018 | PRA Culture, PRA Work | Olivia Meunier Before I found my career path in behavioral health and social services, my life’s ambition was to live what my academic friends sometimes call “a life of the mind.” When I was in college, I found this turn of phrase (this preemptive epitaph) evocative and profound. As if I could somehow transcend the mundane, mindless… Read More
Making a Video for the SOAR State Team Lead Leadership Academy July 20, 2018 | PRA Culture, PRA Work | Rocco Farano Being new to PRA and its many projects (and being on the communications team, which requires me to work and gain familiarity with every project), I have spent the last 2 months in a flurry of memorizing acronyms, hunting down folder locations, and managing an inbox filled with large chain emails from across our network.… Read More
Seven Socially Conscious Films to Watch this Summer July 13, 2018 | PRA Work | Pam Heine, Suzy Sodergren In June, the SOAR TA Center’s Pam Heine and Suzy Sodergren attended the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Conference in Washington, DC for their professional development. Among the highlights was a Film Festival that featured award-winning socially conscious films. NASW expressed that, “Film is a valuable resource to promote civic awareness, global engagement, discussions,… Read More
Writing for Wellness: Social Wellness June 6, 2018 | PRA Culture, PRA Work | Deanna Beyer “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen Keller A few months ago, after a particularly challenging day, I called one of my best friends. Within a half hour he was sitting on my couch listening intently, offering words of support and encouragement while periodically passing… Read More
Professional Development Reflection: Housing First Partners Conference May 25, 2018 | PRA Culture, PRA Work | One of the benefits I have been most excited about since joining PRA in September 2017 is the professional development benefit. Each employee has the opportunity to attend a professional conference of interest to the individual employee once a year for the purpose of enhancing their professional development. On April 9, I flew to Denver,… Read More
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Veteran Wellness April 13, 2018 | PRA Culture, PRA Work | Greg Hitchcock Today, there are many effective ways to treat psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia and depression. But, who do we turn to when people living with mental illness are reluctant to seek help? In my experience, people can be afraid to turn to others for help. It can be even more difficult to ask for help… Read More
Peer Support – A Growing Tool in Recovery March 21, 2018 | PRA Culture, PRA Work | Kathleen Giarratano Have you ever had a new experience or been to a new event and felt as though there weren’t many people similar to you? Have you ever felt that you don’t share the same educational background or ideas as the rest of the group you are in? Or have you ever had a conversation with… Read More
Calling All Champions March 13, 2018 | PRA Work | Amelia Allen Our country is fragmented in sharp pieces. Everywhere and every day you hear of another atrocious act being committed, another derisive tweet sent out, and people all over our huge country getting more and more angry and submitting to their fears. What you don’t get to hear in your day-to-day is the work that seems… Read More
Intern Reflection: Family Engagement in Schools January 3, 2018 | PRA Culture, PRA Work | Natalie Moore I attended the Family and Youth Engagement in School-Justice Partnership: Voices from the Field webinar put on by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, and conducted by PRA’s own Jacqui Greene on November 28, 2017. The talk, which featured clips from NCMHJJ’s Family and Youth Engagement to Keep Kids in School podcast… Read More
DDP Small Grant Program Concludes; ARDRAW Program Blossoms December 29, 2017 | PRA Work | Margaret Lassiter The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Disability Determination (DDP) Small Grant Program, which provided $10,000 research stipends to graduate students in the area of disability, has successfully concluded. In total 55 research projects were completed, designed to assist SSA with its disability determination process. Research was conducted on the process itself, the Compassionate Allowance program, and… Read More
Financial Wellness December 6, 2017 | PRA Work | Crystal Brandow I regretted volunteering to write a blog on financial wellness while I simultaneously procrastinate recertifying my student loans and find myself ordering lunch at the office more than I bring food from home. Then, I was reminded (thanks to my super smart supervisor!) that writing a blog on financial wellness doesn’t have to be about… Read More
