Welcome to the CASRA Newsletter

In this issue:

• Registration for the first two sessions of the CASRA Learning Series are now open!
• Making employment part of mental health recovery
• Open Dialouge approach cuts psych hospital use in a major trial
• New York has a plan to stop people from cycling between hospitals and the streets
• Why young people are turning to peers for mental health support

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.

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

A Photo Gallery now resides on the EVENTS page of the CASRA website 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.

The  CASRA 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.

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

Employment/Vocational 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

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PDT)

Two Paths:
Psychiatric Rehabilitation
and the
Consumer/Lived Experience Movement

Wednesday, November 4, 2026
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PDT)

The Values, Principles, and Practices
of Recovery and Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Registration is Open for Both Sessions
For More Information and to Register
CLICK HERE

Making Employment Part of Mental Health Recovery

From Boston University - Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation
By Joe Marrone and Jane Burke-Miller, September 22, 2026

For most adults, work is an important part of life. It can provide income, purpose, social connections, identity, and opportunities to contribute to the community. Yet people with psychiatric disabilities continue to face significant barriers to finding and succeeding in employment.

Some of these barriers exist within the mental health service system itself. Employment is not always treated as a central component of recovery, and systems may lack the policies, practices, resources, and expectations needed to consistently support people in pursuing work.

Through the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities, the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation has worked to address these systemic barriers through research and technical assistance. One example is the Enhanced Online Technical Assistance Response (E-OTAR) project. Read More

Open Dialogue Approach Cuts Psychiatric Hospital Use in Major Trial

From Mad in America
By Jennifer Hough, September 13, 2026

Anon-medical approach to mental health treatment—Open Dialogue—can reduce hospital admissions and improve satisfaction with care, new research has found.

The ODDESSI trial, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, involved 494 people presenting in crisis to mental health services in England. It compared Open Dialogue with treatment as usual and found that people’s reported recovery, quality of life and satisfaction with services improved with OD.

The findings are from the first randomised controlled trial of Open Dialogue, a model of mental health care developed in Finland which places relationships, continuity and shared decision-making at the centre of care. Read More

NYC Has a Plan To Stop Homeless People From Cycling Between Hospitals and the Streets

From Gothamist
By Karen Yi, September 29, 2026

Homeless New Yorkers with severe mental illness often cycle between the street, the hospital and the shelter system. It’s a revolving door that’s long frustrated homeless advocates, clinical workers and city leaders.

But a new program started by the city’s municipal hospital system is successfully interrupting that cycle: it offers homeless New Yorkers with severe mental illness a home-like environment where they can live with support following a hospital stay.

“ We're that intervening layer that didn't exist before,” said Dr. Ted Long, chief medical officer for clinical services and population health at NYC Health and Hospitals. Read More

Why Young People Are Turning To Peers for Mental Health Support

From OK Today News
By Allie Mason, September 29, 2026

When young people need support with their mental health, many first turn to a peer.

A 2026 UnitedHealthcare survey of more than 2,000 U.S. college students and young adults found that 47% would talk to a friend first about a mental health concern, compared with 23% who'd seek out a trusted adult. Yet data also show that peers are not prepared to talk about mental health at school or work. That means roommates, classmates, teammates and coworkers may find themselves in conversations they aren't prepared to navigate.

The finding reflects growing interest in peer support as a critical part of the response to young adults' mental health needs, as OK Today reports. Peer support can begin with an everyday conversation: listening without judgment, responding with care and helping a friend feel less alone. 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 The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 for LGBTQ young people.

Project Return Peer Support Network (PRPSN) Provides certified WRAP training

CASRA member agency Project Return Peer Support Network (PRPSN) is now a licensed Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP). 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.

In Recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month

"Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world."

Dolores Huerta
Labor Leader and Civil Activist