Community Support Advocates

06/04/2026

Join us tomorrow for First Friday!

We'll be hanging out at Mainframe Studios #103 & 109 on the first floor down the hall from the big room.

This month's artist exhibtion is from Freedom Andrews:

Freedom Andrew is a multifaceted artist who enjoys creating different forms of art from writing, music, drawing, painting and more. Utilizing art, not just as entertainment, but assisting in Spiritual evolution with the art he creates. This series of paintings is called "The Teal Series" that tells a story of Freedom Andrews life and shows the remembrance of the seven laws of hermeticism and how he used them to create his own life.

Free and open to the public - plus you'll get to enjoy the plethora of other amazing artists with studio space at Mainframe. Don't miss out!

06/03/2026

Knowledge Empowers Youth (otherwise known as KEY) is our program spotlight for the month of June!

Started many years ago to address the gap in care for young adults aging out of the foster care system, this program addresses the unique mental health, physical wellbeing and social needs of young people and their families as they transition into adulthood.

What's one piece of advice you would give your 18 year old self?

06/02/2026

This is important work!! Let your voice be heard and help develop our next State Plan for Independent Living.

The State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) is a required plan in order for a state to receive federal Part C and federal Part B funding for Independent Living Services.

06/02/2026

We're so excited to announce Peggy Huppert as our Moderator for our first open books event: How Support Actually Works.

Peggy is a fantastic advocate for mental health and served for over 7 years at the Executive Director for NAMI Iowa.

She'll be helping field audience questions and direct the conversation.

If you're interested in learning more about the mental health system and have questions you'd like answered at our event, please use our form to submit what you'd like addressed: https://forms.gle/TZUhdZyfP9ayAMBHA

06/01/2026

Our annual T Shirt Contest in now open! Submissions will be accepted through June 30th so be sure to submit your designs for this year's T Shirt Design! Winner will received a $250 reward! Follow the link below:
https://form.jotform.com/261484669267169

06/01/2026

Happy Pride Month!

At CSA we serve and celebrate individuals from all backgrounds.

According to the Trevor Project 50% of LGBTQ+ young people who wanted mental health care in the past year were not able to get it.

We help fill that gap.

If you're interested in attending any pride events this year, please visit:https://capitalcitypride.org/events/

05/31/2026

Help support mental health in our community!

We're still looking for to fill some sponsorship slots for our Open Books mental health awareness campaign.

Our series is covering a variety of topics from youth mental health, art & mental health, mental health and the justice system and navigating & finding support. We're anticipating 50-60 attendees across these sessions and a robust digital campaign following each event (email and social following upwards of 1,000).

Our sponsorships range from $250-$10,000 and will help support the establishment of a community mental health garden.

If you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring this event please review our sponsorship packet at:https://teamcsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/OB-Sponsorship-Packet.pdf or reach out to our development director at [email protected].

05/30/2026

Peer support is open to adults and families who meet the required mental health diagnosis and full medicaid requirements.

One of the best things about this program is its flexibility. Members can opt to meet at a frequency that meets their needs.

We serve all of central Iowa with this program and are excited to be sharing more about what this program looks like in practice at our upcoming open books series: How Support Actually Works.

If you're interested in learning more, please join us by registering at: https://teamcsa.org/event/open-books-a-mental-health-community-conversation-series/

-Determination

05/29/2026

We were recently featured on the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services' video explaining more about how Disability Access Points work.

You can view the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmuZZuF8s44

We are proud to partner with Polk County Behavioral Health and Disability Services as the Disability Access Point for District 5, serving Central Iowa.

Call 515-288-0803 for more today. Let's Create Hope Together.

05/28/2026

You won't want to miss this powerful event where our storytellers share impactful moments where they were impacted by mental health.

We invite community members, leaders, advocates, and anyone who wants to learn more about navigating the mental health system to join us on June 25 from 4:30-6PM for our first session in our Open Books mental health awareness series.

Learn more and register today: https://teamcsa.org/event/open-books-a-mental-health-community-conversation-series/