Behavioral health advisory council approves new bylaws

A letter to providers, marketing materials and a bylaws update were dealt with at Hill County Behavioral Health Local Advisory Council monthly meeting Monday.

“The purpose of the LAC is to assist in the improvement of behavioral health services in Hill County and to review and make recommendations about behavioral health services as well as provide input and recommendations to Behavioral Health Advisory Council and the Central Service Area Authority,” the bylaws say.

The bylaws not only include the council’s purpose, but also categories pertaining to membership and different types of meetings.

National Alliance on Mental Illness Havre President Crystal Laufer made a motion to approve the updated bylaws

Montana State University Hill County Extension Agent Jasmine Carbajal seconded the motion.

The council approved the bylaws.

The council also discussed sending out a letter to providers and marketing materials in the area that says what the council is, its goals and how people can get involved.

“The Hill County Behavioral Health Local Advisory Council is looking for people who have experience using behavioral health services or their family members to join the council,” the letter says. 

The goals of the council are to increase awareness of behavior health issues, identify areas of improvement for behavioral health services and promote whole health wellness, it added.

Hill County Behavioral Health Local Advisory meets monthly on the second Monday. For more information, contact Daniel at [email protected] or can visit the council’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/hillcountylac/ .

Laufer said NAMI will be hosting training sessions May 15-17.

She added that the family-to-family classes which began in January will now be an 8-week course instead of 12 weeks that will be held every Saturday.

Behavioral Health Local Advisory Council member and Suicide Awareness Coalition Chair Amber Spring said the group met last month and discussed hosting an event in the spring.

“We are exploring possibly bringing back ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ and, if not that, try to see if we can find something else in terms of a speaker or something like that we may be able to do,” she said. 

She added that the coalition is also trying to get ahead of things for the annual suicide awareness walk in September. 

Hill County Behavioral Health Local Advisory Council Chair Andi Daniel said Addictive and Mental Disorders Division of Montana representative Jamie Hanson was supposed to speak at Monday’s meeting, but Hanson had family obligations this week, so she will be speaking at March’s meeting.

At next month’s meeting an election for vice chair for the council also will take place.

The next meeting for the Hill County Behavioral Health Local Advisory Council will be Monday, March 9, from noon to 1 p.m. at Havre-Hill County Library.