Solid Ground Social Justice Salon- MINDING THE GAP: Poverty, homelessness, and restoring our broken mental health system
Human services providers have long understood that behavioral health access is essential for communities to thrive. Barriers to accessing culturally competent care have led to agencies embedding services within our programs through partnerships and other initiatives.
MINDING THE GAP: Poverty, homelessness, and restoring our broken mental health system will explore how our community navigates the intersections of poverty, race, culture, social/emotional well-being, behavioral health, and homelessness.
Local experts from the human services community and program participants will discuss facts and myths impacting behavioral health – and innovative approaches to services for people facing housing insecurity, trauma-impacted families, and other aspects of poverty.
Confirmed panelists:
Johnny Bousquet, Participant Support Specialist Supervisor, CoLEAD, PDA
Phillip Carr, Founder & CEO, Good Intentions Counseling
DeAunte Damper, Moderator, Co-chair of WA Therapy Fund, Community Organizer, VOCAL WA, Host of Converge Media’s We Live in Color
Susan McLaughlin, Director of the Behavioral Health & Recovery Division, King County Department of Community & Human Services
Paul Park, Senior Director of Programs, Solid Ground
Alix Van Hollebeke, Director of Nursing, Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC)
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 | 4-6pm
Town Hall Seattle Forum
Tickets are $10; refreshments will be served
Johnny Bousquet, Participant Support Specialist Supervisor, CoLEAD – Purpose. Dignity. Action. (PDA) After facing his own addiction journey, Johnny has become an expert in survival support services and navigating complex and contradictory requirements to access help. He brings this expertise to CoLEAD in order to walk with participants as they navigate these systems.
Phillip Carr, CEO & Clinical Director, Good Intentions Counseling Phillip’s expertise embodies a variety of complex concentrations and mental health challenges, including autism spectrum disorders, personality disorders, trauma, teen issues, mood disorders, anxiety, psychosis, and domestic violence.
DeAunte Damper (Moderator) – Co-chair, WA Therapy Fund, and Host, Converge Media’s We Live in Color DeAunte has focused on bringing HIV awareness and LGBTQ-affirming education to marginalized communities throughout the City of Seattle. He served as a Peer Navigator for the Department of Health through POCAAN and is the community organizer with BUILD 206 and with VOCAL WA.
Susan McLaughlin, Director of the Behavioral Health & Recovery Division, King County Department of Community & Human Services Susan is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 20 years of leadership experience in health, behavioral health, and social services as a clinician, researcher, and policy administrator.
Paul Park, Senior Director of Programs, Solid Ground Paul is a primary care physician with King County Public Health working mostly with homeless patients, and a nonprofit leader in public health and social services who has focused on quality improvements in community-based organizations designed to address issues of access and inequities in service delivery, as well as social determinants of health.
Alix Van Hollebeke, Director of Nursing, Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) Alix is a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse, and she currently serves as the Nursing Director for DESC. Alix has served vulnerable populations as a registered nurse and nursing leader for over 19 years.
