UPDATE - Event is Postponed

Community Collaborations: The Library as a Social Service Nexus

UPDATE - Event is Postponed

Issues surrounding homelessness including addiction, food insecurity, domestic violence, and mental illness all require resources, and oftentimes the library acts as the community’s safety net. How can library professionals coordinate with agencies and local services in order to provide the best resources to their patrons? How can libraries best work to fill the social services need present in all libraries today?

In this workshop, a library social worker will help educate attendees on creating a welcoming space and working to better understand the trauma these patrons experience, and you will hear from representatives from the Ruth Ellis Center on how to best address the needs of homeless LGBTQ teens, as well as Christina Soulard from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

All attendees will also receive training on the opiate epidemic, including how to safely administer Naxolone.

Target Audience:

• Part-time or full-time staff with a high degree of patron interaction
• Programming leaders
• Department heads, mid-level management, supervisors, deans, directors
• Those with an interest in better understanding the social service needs within Michigan libraries

Location

Jackson District Library – Carnegie Branch
244 W Michigan Ave
Jackson, MI, 49201    

Schedule at a Glance

Sessions

Social Work and Trauma Informed Care in the Library 

Speaker

Tiffany Russell
Niles Public Library

Opioid Crisis Response Training

This training includes how we got to the opioid crisis, understanding the neurobiology of addiction, underlying causes of substance use disorder, harm reduction concept, recognizing and responding to an overdose with naloxone. This information helps to put in perspective substance use disorder as a medical illness and why we need to have compassion and understand the illness. 

Nancy King
Cope Network

Homeless LGBTQ Youth

The core mission of the Ruth Ellis Center is the build positive futures for lesbian, gay, bi-attractional, transgender, and questioning young people experiencing systemic and interpersonal barriers to housing, health, and wellness. Over a 18-year history, REC has established a national reputation for quality and innovation in providing trauma-informed services, and what began as a 500-square-foot safe space in Highland Park, MI has evolved into a 10,000-square foot multi-faceted organization, providing outreach and safety-net services, integrated primary & behavioral health care services and case management, skill-building workshops, HIV prevention programs, family preservation programming, and the only residential foster care program specifically for LGBTQ youth in the Midwest. Learn from Ruth Ellis Center staff about how to best help these young adults navigate into successful and flourishing adults.

Speaker              

Angelika Lewis
Ruth Ellis Center

Deepening the Partnership: Libraries and Homeless Services

With all the amazing benefits available to its patrons, it should come as no surprise that people experiencing homelessness – and those who are housing insecure – often seek refuge and access to critical resources at their local library. But how can communities leverage this point of connection to help move people toward housing? This session will provide an overview of how local homeless crisis response systems are designed and explore the ways in which libraries can be better supported as partners in communities’ efforts to end homelessness.

Speaker

Christina Soulard
Michigan State Housing Development Authority      

Role-playing Interactive Session

Salt Lake City Public Library Director Chip Ward’s essay, ‘What They Didn’t Teach Us in Library School’ inspired the 2018 film ‘The Public” written, directed, and starring Emilio Estevez. The film centers around the Cincinnati Public Library’s role in the lives of many homeless patrons that regularly come through their doors. Chip has provided MLA with several real-life scenarios of the interactions between library staff and patrons with mental illness and other contributing factors of homelessness. In this portion of the day, we will break into small groups so we can work together to understand best practices of how to respond in these situations.

Registration Rates

Continental breakfast and lunch included with registration.

Early Bird Rates Expire Friday, March 27, 2020
Advanced registration rates expire Friday, April 10, 2020                     

*subject to space limitations

Location

Jackson District Library – Carnegie Branch
244 W Michigan Ave
Jackson, MI, 49201     

Parking

Free parking adjacent to the building. Parking entrance is on Pearl St.

Event Policies

Cancellation

Cancellations must be received in writing by email no later than five (5) business days prior to the program in order to qualify for a refund. A $35.00 processing fee will be applied to refunds for workshops. Within five (5) business days of the event, no refund will be issued. No-shows will be invoiced.

MLA Initiated Cancellation: If a Michigan Library Association professional development workshop, conference, webinar, or other training session is cancelled due to low registration or inclement weather, participants will be notified and fees, if applicable, will be refunded.

Consent

Registration and attendance at, or participation in, MLA meetings or other activities constitutes an agreement by the registration to the use and distribution of the registrants or attendees' image or voice in photographs, videotapes, electronic reproductions of such events and activities by MLA. Registrants also agree that contact information may be shared with conference sponsors and exhibitors for solicitation use before or after the event. Please contact MLA at [email protected] if you'd like to be removed from any list.

Code of Conduct

MLA is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all participants and MLA staff. Each participant, including attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, staff, service providers, is expected to understand and follow MLA policies and report any violations. These expectations apply to all MLA activities including those held in conjunction with MLA conferences, events and meetings, as well as online venues and social media.

The complete code of conduct can be reviewed here: Code of Conduct