Welcome to the CASRA Newsletter

In this issue:

We start of this issue of the CASRA Newsletter with: 

-Chad's director's report to the CASRA membership meeting

-The release of CASRA's Wellness and Recovery Centers report

The rest of the newseltter is dedicated to the theme of gratitude, "which is a disposition, a virtue and a way of thinking all at once". We hope you enjoy the articiles we selected and wish that you have gratitude, peace and grace at this season of thanks.

-A real Thanksgiving address: the words that come before all else

-The discipline of gratitude

-Finding your joy: a story of gratitude

Enjoy!

If you have news you would like to share or a colleague you would like to spotlight because of the great work they do or just because they are a great person or both, let us know by contacting joe@casra.org.

CASRA's Executive Director Chad Costello reported on the current status of the organization at the Membership Meeting held online on November 18, 2025.

To Read the full text of the report, CLICK HERE.

A new feature has been added to the CASRA website for your viewing plasure. A Photo Gallery now resides on the EVENTS page and currently consists of albums of the 2024 Spring and the 2025 Fall CASRA Gatherings. We plan on adding more albums in the future.

If you have photos of your agency's events you would like to share with other CASRA members, contact joe@casra.org.

To view the current albums in the Photo Gallery, CLICK HERE.

We are excited to announce that the CASRA Learning Library is now operational!

The Learning Library and its contents are free to CASRA member organizations and their staff. The Library is located in the Member Portal on the CASRA website here. More detailed instructions on how to access and use the Library can also be found on the CASRA website when logged on the Portal.

Our hope is that the Library's offerings will provide learning opportunities that will serve as part of CASRA agencies' onboarding processes for new staff, as well as be a resource of Recovery oriented values and practices for all staff. 

Access to the Learning Library is currently limited to CASRA member agencies and their staff. We hope to expand availability in the future.

For questions and more information contact Joe Ruiz - joe@casra.org.

Our member agencies are continually looking for new employees or volunteers to join their workforce.

To see current openings and find out additional information about CASRA Member Agencies, please click below.

A benefit of membership in CASRA is receiving four hours of training for your staff. For more information, please contact joe@casra.org

If you are a CASRA member agency and would like to advertise your learning opportunity, training or event for the benefit of other CASRA member agencies, please contact us at events@casra.org.
There are a few guidelines:
-You are a CASRA Member Agency
-Your event is free of charge
and, as a reminder the Newsletter is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month

CASRA facilitates a number of support groups for people working at CASRA member agencies. The support groups provide people working in similar roles opportunities to share experiences, information, and challenges. They meet monthly for approximantely one hour. for more information contact the person listed for each group.

Social Rehabilitation Facilities (SRF)
Meets: First Tuesday of the month at 1 PM

Human Resources
Meets: First Thursday of the month at 11 AM

EmploymentVocational Rehabilitation Services
Meets: First Thursday of the month at 3 PM

For information regarding any of the above groups contact:
Chad Costello, chad@casra.org

Wellness Services (Well Talk)
The Wellness Services support group is now online. For more info contact Joe Ruiz, joe@casra.org

CASRA is a statewide organization of private, not-for-profit, public benefit corporations that serve clients of the California public mental health system.

Member agencies provide a variety of services that are designed to enhance the quality of life and community participation of youth, adults and older adults living with challenging mental health issues. Read more

The California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies

Mailing Address:
3350 E. 7th Street, #509
Long Beach, CA 90804

Email: casra@casra.org

Phone: (562) 343-2621

To reach us: use our Contact Form

CASRA Releases Wellness & Recovery Centers Report

On November 17, 2025 CASRA released its “Wellness & Recovery Center Report” featuring the results of the Association’s survey of 32 Wellness Centers operated by 13 CASRA agencies in 13 Counties. Survey information was augmented through interviews with Wellness Center staff to help highlight the unique and important roles these programs play in their communities. Although there is no hard and fast definition of what a Wellness Center is, they do share many common traits, key among them being staff who are patient, warm and welcoming. Some Wellness Centers in some counties are under threat as those counties look to implement the Behavioral Health Services Act. The Report points out why this approach is both unwarranted and unwise. For further information please contact Chad Costello – chad@casra.org

Read/Download the Report

A Real Thanksgiving Address: The Words That Come Before All Else

From project 562.com

Each year that Thanksgiving claims Turtle Island, our people are forced to reflect upon its meaning, relevance and social danger.

Don’t get me wrong, even though I’m an Indigenous woman, I love to eat 5000 calorie meals and watch football with my cousins—I am of the Xennial generation raised amidst mainstream culture, so naturally, waking up early on Thursday morning, watching the Macy’s Day Parade while gobbling Mom’s famous ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls is a small slice of paradise. But there seems to be some trouble in paradise. Amidst the storm of sautéing, roasting and baking, my attuned critical mind (and Facebook feed) is overwhelmed with self condemnation.

The dictionary describes thanksgiving as “1.The expression of gratitude, especially to God. 2. In North America an annual holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal including turkey. The holiday commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621, and is held in the US on the fourth Thursday of November.”

We know that this isn’t true. Read More

The Discipline of Gratitude

From washingtonpost.com
Opinion by E.J. Dionne Jr., November 25, 2015

Thanksgiving is about gratitude, which is a disposition, a virtue and a way of thinking all at once.

We often trivialize gratitude as little more than a passing feeling that gets expressed on greeting cards or in quick thank-you notes (although I’d make a strong case for thank-you notes, which I do not write enough of). We tend to cite courage, honor, compassion, truthfulness, loyalty and a long list of other attributes as being far more important in the panoply of admirable moral traits.

It can also be argued that gratitude is a privilege of those who have health, enriching personal and family relationships, wealth, and the opportunity to live in peaceful and prosperous nations or neighborhoods. Read More

Finding Your Joy — A Story of Gratitude

From medium.com
By Will Krieger, October 24, 2025

Everybody goes through seasons of life. Some seasons are great, and some are difficult. Through it all, however, we get to decide how we react. It’s always our choice.

Do we persevere through our challenges? Do we choose gratitude? Do we choose happiness?

Some of the most admired people in the world had to endure tremendous hardship for a season of their life, or, in some cases, the majority of their adult life. Read More

If you or someone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, there are resources available to provide free and confidential support. Call 988 or the Teen Line at 1-800-TLC-TEEN or The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 for LGBTQ young people.

Project Return Peer Support Network (PRPSN) Earns WRAP Center of Distinction Certification

CASRA member agency Project Return Peer Support Network (PRPSN) is now a licensed WRAP Provider and affiliate of Advocates for Human Potential and has been officially recognized as a WRAP Center of Distinction.

This prestigious designation highlights PRPSN’s commitment to excellence in delivering Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Seminars and supporting recovery-oriented practices. PRPSN's Training Institute is now a leading provider of WRAP Seminars across the West Coast, helping individuals and organizations build wellness tools that foster hope, personal responsibility, and empowerment.

For more information or to schedule a WRAP Seminar, please contact PRPSN's Training Coordinator, Gustavo Limas at glimas@prpsn.org.

Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.

Lionel Hampton