On August 20, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office announced its largest fentanyl bust in department history. KCTV5 spoke with our Chief Clinical Officer, Talina Nelson, about the dangers of this pervasive drug and its impact in our community. Beyond sharing how fatal fentanyl can be, Talina explained how Beacon assists the sheriff's office with substance [...]
Join us next month for the annual Northland Prevention Conference, held on March 7 at Platte Woods United Methodist Church. Our Prevention team is doing incredible things in our community every day, and this conference is just one of them! Breakfast and registration will be from 8:00am-9:00am. The day will officially kick off at 9:00am [...]
Consumers, visitors and people who work in the Beacon Mental Health building have long waited for the day when they could get a tasty breakfast or lunch right here in our building. Now that Beacon owns the building, the time was right to open a consumer-managed café in the back lobby, to serve wholesome, locally [...]
Michele Plumb has served on the Beacon Mental Health governing board since 2021, and she has been a hard worker and consistent advocate for the agency throughout her service. She says, “I’m always up for a challenge, especially when it helps more people get the services they need.” Michele grew up in St. Louis and [...]
Get to know Autumn Ray, our Integrated Treatment Therapist! How long have you worked at Beacon Mental Health? I started as a Contractor at Skylander in October 2018, and at Beacon Mental Health in February 2022. What do you like to do in your free time? I spend most of my free time with my [...]
Here at Beacon Mental Health, we see and hear some memorable and often heartbreaking stories. Our Crisis Team often meets with someone in their worst hour and helps them develop hope to hang on and works with them to start treatment. Our School Services Team helps young people and families overcome all kinds of challenges, [...]
Our own Jennifer Wilson and Dawnne Dehne were recently invited to serve as Family Support Provider (FSP) representatives in creating a statewide curriculum for FSPs through the state credentialing board, in partnership with the Missouri Department of Mental Health. FSPs serve as peer specialists to the parents of children with mental health needs. They act [...]
On November 13th and 14th, 11 Beacon Mental Health employees and 33 coalition volunteers attended the 2023 Missouri Substance Use Prevention Conference in Columbia, MO. This two-day event was packed full of networking, education, peer sharing, and updates from the field. Attendees had the chance to attend seven of the 21 offered workshops, with Beacon [...]
Last week, we presented Sgt. James (Jim) Morgan of Smithville Police Department with our Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Officer of the Year award! Jim has been trained as a CIT officer and, in recent years, has become the CIT coordinator at Smithville PD. Jim always makes himself available to the Community Behavioral Health Liaison team [...]
Get to know Jennifer Watts, LCSW, our Clinical Therapy Manager. How long have you worked at Beacon Mental Health? I started as an intern in the Day Program almost 29 years ago. I worked for Beacon for almost six years before leaving. Five years ago, I returned to Beacon as I felt a need to [...]
