By Allison Peck
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska leaders, advocates and behavioral health professionals will gather in Lincoln next month for the third annual Nebraska Behavioral Health Coalition Statewide Convening.
The free, full-day event is scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Nebraska Innovation Campus.
Nebraska Cures, NAMI Nebraska and partners from across the state are organizing the event around the theme “Building a Better Tomorrow: Advancing Behavioral Health in Nebraska.”
The convening will bring together behavioral health providers, researchers, community members, advocates and other leaders to discuss the state's behavioral health landscape and the work underway to address mental health and substance use.
Participants will receive updates on the Coalition's efforts, take part in discussions about policy and funding, and explore opportunities for continued work and collaboration.
Amanda McGill Johnson, executive director of Nebraska Cures, said the Coalition's strategic action teams have spent the past year working to turn ideas into action.
“Now we want to bring that work back to the people who helped start it, share what we've learned, and ask them to help set our priorities for the year ahead,” Johnson said.
The event will also include a pre-convening session hosted by NAMI Nebraska specifically for people with lived experience. Organizers say the session is intended to give those most directly affected by behavioral health challenges an opportunity to help shape future priorities.
Travel stipends are available to help support participation.
“We’re asking attendees to actively shape what happens next, because the people closest to these challenges are the ones who should be guiding our priorities,” said James Michael Bowers, executive director of NAMI Nebraska.
The statewide convening follows Nebraska's statewide research examining mental health and substance use and builds on previous Behavioral Health Coalition convenings.
Event partners include the Dignity in Healing Collective, Lozier Foundation, Omaha Community Foundation, Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations, Nebraska Cures, NAMI Nebraska, The Sherwood Foundation and the Weitz Family Foundation. Category One Consulting is coordinating the event.
Registration is free but required.
Register for the Nebraska Behavioral Health Coalition Statewide Convening