Join us for welcome remarks from federal partners and a Q&A with NCOA’s CEO, Ramsey Alwin and Actress, Jenifer Lewis. Actress Jenifer Lewis will be sharing about her personal journey with bipolar disorder.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Jenifer Lewis, Known as the “The Mother of Black Hollywood” and co-star of ABC’s “Black-ish”

Andrea Palm, Deputy Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services

Alison Barkoff, Performing the duties of the ACL Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging, U.S. Administration for Community Living

Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Carole Johnson, Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration

Ramsey Alwin, President & CEO, National Council on Aging

The mental health needs of older adults are not being met. This population is unlikely to use mental health services in the way they were originally designed—going to a provider and asking for help. Suicide prevention programs and mental health services must be adapted to better fit the needs of older adults. One way communities can do this is by integrating mental health services into aging services programs such as senior centers. To learn more, check out our spotlight session at 1:00pm ET.

Older adults have an increased risk of malnutrition, food insecurity, and other nutrition-related concerns that can negatively impact their mental health. This session will provide an overview of the overlap between nutrition and mental health and examine solutions. An innovation in nutrition services will showcase a virtual diabetes education program that addresses depression, anxiety, and social isolation among their clients. 

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Nadine Sahyoun, PhD, Professor, University of Maryland

Heather Engelman, RD, Manager of Nutrition Services/Registered Dietitian, Apostle Group, LLC

Nigel Atherley, Past Participant, Apostle Group, LLC

Kathy Wilson-Gold, MS, RDN, LD, FAND, Nutrition Contractor, Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs, Administration for Community Living

Grandfamilies refer to grandparents or other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of raising children due to various life-altering events like parental death, mental health, and substance use disorders, incarceration, deportation, divorce, or military deployment. These situations often result in traumatic experiences that impact the mental health of both the children and their caregivers. Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, racial violence, and the opioid epidemic have compounded the impact of trauma. Yet grandfamilies face complex and often unique barriers to accessing mental health services and supports. It is imperative to address the mental wellness of grandfamilies. This presentation explores the complex mental health landscape among grandfamily caregivers by highlighting key findings from Generations United's 2023 State of Grandfamilies Report titled "Building Resilience: Supporting Grandfamilies' Mental Health and Wellness." The report examines the mental health challenges faced by grandfamilies as well as family strengths and provides policy and practice recommendations to address these issues.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Jamarl Clark, Assistant Director, National Center on Grandfamilies, Generations United

Larry Cooper, Executive Vice President of Innovation, Children’s Home Network

Mercedes Bristol, Founder and Executive Director, Texas Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Keith Lowhorne, Chairperson, Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG)

Attending to the needs of middle aged and older adults experiencing SUD is fraught with complications and challenges. For example, morbidity and mortality estimates associated with SUD may often preclude individuals from living into older adulthood. The Hope Pointe Crisis Center has developed to provide common services such as triage, temporary observation, and connection to community-based wrap-around services, including special attention to the needs of middle aged and older adults. This new collaboration stems from an ongoing HRSA-funded graduate clinical psychology education training grant that, since 2022 and in collaboration with the Tuscaloosa County Mental Health Court, Karen Jones, and Dr. Jennifer Cox, focuses on the needs of justice-involved individuals.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Rebecca S. Allen, PhD, ABPP, Professor and Associate Chair of Psychology Director, Alabama Research Institute on Aging The University of Alabama

Karen Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Indian Rivers Behavioral Health Center

Tony Sanchez, Co-Founder, Creative Collaborative Solutions

Nicole Cadovius, MBA, MSM, CAPS and FAAIDD, Director of Practice Improvement, National Council for Behavioral Health

Gain the knowledge needed to confidently recognize and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges in older adults by getting certified in Mental Health First Aid for Older Adults. Find a course near you via MHFA.org. 

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that suicide rates have significantly increased for older adults and generally increased with age, with men aged 75 and older having the highest rate of any age group. This session will present strategies that work to reach and help older adults.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Kimberly A. Van Orden, PhD, Principal Investigator, The HOPE Lab

Debra Darmata, MS, Program Manager, Oregon CSP Program

Tim Glascock, MPH, Statewide ASIST Coordinator, Association of Oregon Community Mental Health

Kera Magarill, Older Adult Behavioral Health Specialist, Washington County Disability, Aging and Veteran Services

Alison Cammack, PhD, MPH, Health Scientist, CDC Suicide Prevention Team

CDC’s Still Going Strong campaign speaks directly to older adults, ages 65 and older, and their caregivers. We want to raise awareness about preventable injuries among older adults. This campaign has two goals: 

• Educate about common risk factors for falls and motor vehicle crashes, as well as traumatic brain injuries that happen from falls and motor vehicle crashes. 

• Empower older adults and their caregivers to take simple steps that will help them maintain their independence and age without injury. 

Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARLS) is an evidence-based late-life depression program. Recently, the developers of PEARLS engaged in an Equity Study to improve equitable access among older adults, especially low-income older adults of color, linguistically diverse older adults, and rural dwelling older adults, recognizing that many older adults are multiply marginalized by intersecting identities. This session will discuss what was learned from the Equity Study and share experiences from an implementation partner and a past participant. \

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

KeliAnne Hara-Hubbard, PEARLS Coordinator and Research Coordinator, UW Health Promotion Research Center

Lanvin Andres, Executive Director, IDIC Filipino Senior and Family Services

Fred Valdez, Past PEARLS Participant

Lily Liu, Family Caregiver

People aging with serious mental illness (SMI) such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression experience complex health problems and challenges to quality of life. They are also likely to experience accelerated physical aging as compared to people without such conditions. Older adults with serious mental illness are also very resilient and have coped with many challenges to well-being.  They can experience healthy aging with supports. The Felton Institute will then share about a multi-disciplinary teams model that was developed to form deeper relationships between behavioral health and aging services providers.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Michelle R Zechner, PhD, Associate Professor, Rutgers

Catherine Spensley, MSW, LCSW, Senior Division Director, Felton Institute

Patricia Hayashi, Former Felton Institute Participant

Paolo del Vecchio, MSW, Director of Recovery, SAMHSA

Hoarding disorder can develop at any age, but the prevalence of hoarding disorder diagnoses increases by 20% with every 5 years of age. Individuals with hoarding disorder are also likely to experience other mental health conditions, and it can be a challenge to know what steps to take to provide support. This session will provide a better understanding of hoarding and what a task force is doing to address it.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Catherine Ayers, PhD, ABPP, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, UC San Diego

Tamar Cooper, LISW-S, Director of Behavioral Health Services, Benjamin Rose, Co-leads the Hoarding Connection

Bobbi, Participant, Benjamin Rose

Mary Dozier, Assistant Professor, Mississippi State University

Funding is often a barrier to both the implementation of older adult behavioral health services and Mental Health and Aging Coalitions.  An untapped and under-used resource, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) block grants, are a viable option. 

The National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging (NCMHA) is provided a two-part Learning Collaborative (LC) as an opportunity for States to better address behavioral health and aging. 

Please note: These videos are resources to supplement the OAMHAD symposium, and the videos from the Learning Collaborative are not eligible for CEs. We recommend that you view these videos after the live symposium.

Climate change is the biggest threat to human health. The effects of climate change such as extreme heat, wildfires, and flooding impact not only physical health, but there are significant mental health consequences as well. Older adults are especially vulnerable. This session will cover the most important mental health impacts of climate change and information on what communities are doing to support older adults.

Closing: 4:30 to 5:00 PM Eastern

Eligible for 1.5 CEU with live participation

Robin Cooper, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco

Dawn Baldwin Gibson, PhD, Peletah Institute for Building Resilient Communities

Steven Samra, Dedicated Specialist, C4 Innovations, LLC.

Ramsey Alwin, President & CEO, National Council on Aging

Elissa Epel, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco