Santa Barbara Task Force on Co-Occurring Disorders Families ACT! has convened the Santa Barbara Task Force on Co-Occurring Disorders to address the critical need for effective and compassionate integrated treatment options including residential treatment and medically supervised detox facilities as alternatives to incarceration. Representatives from  Santa Barbara County ADMHS, community based non-profits providing mental health and substance abuse treatment, various departments in the Criminal Justice System and family, consumer and homeless advocates are participating as stakeholders in this important collaborative effort. The Task Force has outlined an ambitious set of milestones including 1) creating new lines of communication between heretofore isolated sectors of the county 2) drafting recommendations for policy and procedural changes in our mental health and criminal justice systems in Santa Barbara County, 2) drafting a plan for a comprehensive continuum of care for the dually diagnosed in Santa Barbara County, to include desperately needed acute, detox and longer-term residential care beds. At our Task Force meetings, clients and family members whose loved ones are locked up in the county jail or state prison, or living in psychiatric wards, sober living houses or on the streets of Santa Barbara courageously sit across the table from officials whom they sometimes fear, including representatives of law enforcement, probation, the sheriff's department, the superior court and the jail. Family Advocacy Program Providing ongoing peer advocacy services for families in negotiating treatment options instead of jail Family Support Fund Providing financial aid to families in crisis. 2009-2010 Initiatives Comprehensive Community Organizing Campaign Families ACT! is lauching a comprehensive community organizing campaign designed to:         • Educate the community as a whole about the need for collaborative action              to address this crisis         • Give a voice to hundreds of people with co-morbidity who are              falling through the cracks         • Forge a lasting coalition between mental health, homeless, Latino and              African American activists         • Demonstrate that public safety and social justice require treatment         • Effect changes in public policy re: the issue of treatment vs. criminalization         • Engage legislators, community leaders and a broad spectrum              of our community in our campaign This campaign will be implemented in two parallel projects: A. Continuing our support for the SB Task Force on Co-occurring Disorders         See above B. Organizing a Comprehensive Education and Outreach Campaign inclusive of the dually diagnosed There is a tremendous need to educate community leaders and the public in general about the issues surrounding the dually diagnosed and to enlist the community as a whole in a campaign to change our policies. This campaign will include active outreach efforts and educational activities targeting affected communities and communities-at-risk in Santa Barbara County. A big part of the solution involves outreach to affected individuals, families and cultural groups isolated by the shame and stigma associated with mental illness, addiction, incarceration, overdose and suicide. Will they be willing to stand up and speak out? Families ACT! plans to co-sponsor a training in community organizing for coalition members community, and will host multimedia presentations for a wide range of civic organizations, college classes, churches (including Latino ones). In addition, we plan to co-sponsor press conferences, initiate letter-writing campaigns; co-produce op-ed articles, PSAs, feature stories, skits, radio interviews; and host Town Hall meetings. Families ACT! has received funding for this campaign from the McCune Foundation and the Fund for Santa Barbara. Be a Voice for Change in Our Mental Health System!