Alternatives 2020 is coming to Peerpocalypse!
The National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery (NCMHR) is excited to announce that the Alternatives 2020 torch will be carried by the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon (MHAAO), in collaboration with NCMHR, at Peerpocalypse, an important national gathering! The 2020 Peerpocalypse conference will be held April 20-23 at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center on the beautiful
Oregon coast. NCMHR looks forward to collaborating with MHAAO, which shares the values of our movement for social justice. Peerpocalypse is an important national gathering where participants from all over the country and abroad can attend fascinating workshops and powerful keynote presentations, meet and network with old and new friends and colleagues, and experience the peer/recovery movement.
In keeping with the Alternatives Conference’s history of geographic diversity, Peerpocalypse will host elements of Alternatives’ traditions on the West Coast in 2020 while we plan for Alternatives Conference in 2021. The annual NCMHR membership meeting will take place at Peerpocalypse, as will other Alternatives traditions such as the annual awards ceremony, a policy academy, and more!
For the last two years, NCMHR has planned and hosted the Alternatives Conference without federal support. That task had previously been shared by the three national peer-run technical assistance centers, and the conference had been funded in part by SAMHSA.
At this year’s annual NCMHR membership meeting, people offered valuable recommendations about the future of Alternatives, such as how to involve more youth voices, choose a location, diversify conference leadership and attendees, and make the conference more accessible. Over the next year and a half, NCMHR is dedicated to integrating these suggestions into Alternatives 2021, as well as learning from Peerpocalypse, a completely self-sustaining conference with growing national participation from peers and others active in the movement for social justice.
If you offered to help plan the next Alternatives Conference, we will contact you as we begin to plan Alternatives 2021. In the meantime, we encourage you to attend Peerpocalypse!
