State mental‑health, school and peer‑support updates announced during Collaborative meeting

Several agencies used the meeting’s announcements portion to highlight upcoming conferences, new peer‑support programs and training milestones.

Carrie Virgo from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services announced an early psychosis/clinical high‑risk conference (Aug. 30–31) and a peer leadership academy in Nashville (Aug. 22). She also said the certified young adult peer support specialist program launched last May and currently has eight certified young adults in the state. A statewide children's mental health conference was scheduled for Sept. 27–28 at a Nashville hotel.

Janet Watkins with the Department of Education reported that the second cohort of trauma‑informed schools includes 176 schools and that recent trainings on the '6 Pillars of a Trauma Informed School' had been completed. April Scott described the South Central Resiliency Project’s goals around promoting positive childhood experiences, parent‑led workgroups and upcoming trainings.

These brief announcements were framed as part of the broader Resilient Tennessee Collaborative effort to scale trainings, deepen cross‑sector networks and offer professional development and peer‑support pathways for young adults and practitioners.