VI Discretionary Funding Fiscal Year 2018

Project Summary: The purpose of Project LAUNCH of the United States Virgin Islands is to promote the wellness of young children, birth through eight years of age, through the implementation of a systematic planning process that coordinates key service systems to support children’s social and emotional competence so they can thrive in safe, supportive environments and enter school ready to learn and succeed. Project Name: Project LAUNCH Virgin Islands Population to be served: Children from birth to eight years of age, their families, and service providers, teachers, and/or childcare providers Impact: Through the intended widespread community engagement campaign, it is anticipated, and hoped, that all young children in the United States Virgin Islands will be impacted positively by the project in some way. Goals: • Create and sustain collaborative structures and relationships to promote an effective early childhood system • Implement universal periodic developmental screening for children ages birth to 5 years • Develop and implement an approach for providing early identification and treatment of post partum depression and attachment problems between mothers and their infants • Implement Territory-wide use of the CSEFEL Pyramid Model of promotion, prevention, and intervention to build the capacity of service providers throughout the early childhood service system and families so that children have the key social and emotional skills they need to succeed • Conduct public engagement and awareness campaigns to increase understanding of the importance of early learning and development with strategies to promote all domains of development including social and emotional competence

Crisis Counseling

ABSTRACT? The Village Virgin Island Partners in Recovery: Progressive Lifestyles The Progressive Lifestyles program is a constellation of prevention services provided to Afro-Caribbean and Hispanic adolescents and young adults on the island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. By blending culturally sensitive substance abuse, HIV and Hepatitis prevention with testing and intensive HIV care navigation, Progressive Lifestyles will reduce risk behaviors among our youth and provide a vehicle to ensure that our HIV infected youth get care and stay in care. The adolescents and young adults of St. Croix face serious risk factors associated with both substance abuse and risky sexual behavior. High rates of substance abuse, poverty, stigma, community violence and other risk factors fuel St. Croix?s alarmingly high HIV/AIDS burden. Progressive Lifestyles will build on the native resiliency of our youth and young adults in making healthy lifestyle choices. Health decisions are critical in our community which presents one of the highest rates of HIV in the country, including among the highest rates nationally among our target population?s age bracket, where condom use is extremely low, where stigma is extreme, where substance use is widely accepted and where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth are the target of discrimination. The goals of this project, each with measurable objectives, are: (1) Expand capacity to provide substance abuse, HIV and VH prevention services to youth and young adults in St. Croix USVI by providing an array of service; (2) Reduce Substance-abuse related problems including the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis; (3) Reduce Substance-abuse related problems including the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis, (4) Increase protective factors associated with the prevention of substance abuse, HIV infection and VH; (5) Enhance capacity to implement environmental-level interventions to reduce substance abuse and HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis transmission. Progressive Lifestyles will achieve these goals by providing its participants with ?the evidence based Prime for Life intervention to assist in reduction of substance misuse and increase in positive decision making ? HIV risk reduction interventions including RESPECT, an individualize HIV prevention intervention and PROMISE, a peer-based community intervention ? Non-traditional site testing for HIV and hepatitis, supported by the Counseling, Testing and Linkage intervention and intensive care coordination of treatment services to ensure that those participants who test positive get in care, stay in care and ultimately achieve viral suppression ? and providing opportunities for boys/men who have sex with boys/men to address their risk behaviors in an environment free of stigma or fear. Progressive Lifestyles will serve as a hub of advocacy and support in the promotion of happiness and health in the lives of our youth.

The USVI's project directly supports national priorities of: 1) underage drinking among persons aged 12 to 20; and 2) prescription drug misuse and abuse among persons aged 12 to 25. The USVI's three overarching project goals are to: 1) promote emotional health and wellness, prevent or delay the onset of, and complications from, substance abuse and mental illness; 2) prevent and reduce underage drinking and young adult problem drinking; and 3) prevent and reduce prescription drug and illicit opioid misuse and abuse. The targeted populations of the project include all genders and racial and ethnic backgrounds susceptible to: underage drinking aged 12 to 20; prescription drug misuse and abuse aged 12 to 25; and those youth and young adults that may be at-risk of suicide.

The Village Virgin Islands/Susanna?s Place

Susana?s Place is a behavioral health home for 135 Afro-Caribbean and Hispanic substance abusing adult women on Virgin Islands. By blending onsite behavioral health, primary healthcare and health promotion with intensive care coordination of community-based health and social services, Susana?s Place will optimize its clients? substance abuse, mental health and other health outcomes, and positively impact VI?s alarming HIV/AIDS burden.

Susana?s Place, a project of The Village Virgin Islands Partners in Recovery, Inc./Westcare, will serve 45 clients annually in its efforts to positively impact the significant health and behavioral health disparities faced by the women of VI. The Virgin Islands has the third highest rate of people living with HIV/AIDS in the country with a rate of 688.7/100,000. While there is significant burden of substance abuse among the target population, there is limited capacity to provide treatment services on the island. VI women face other health and social disparities related to conditions such as trauma, poverty, and limited and disjointed health care.

The goals of this project, each with measurable objectives, are to (1) Increase territory-wide access to minority women that reduce alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, injecting drug use (IDU), and prescription drug misuse. (2) Reduce HIV infection and transmission rates among high-risk Afro-Caribbean and Hispanic/Latina Caribbean women. (3) Address the impact of violence and trauma on Afro Caribbean and Hispanic/Latina Caribbean women?s increased risk of SUD and HIV infection. (4) Increase access to HIV/viral hepatitis services for Afro-Caribbean and Hispanic/Latina Caribbean women (5) Educate and empower Afro Caribbean and Hispanic/Latina in the USVI to increase their awareness of safer sex practices. (6) Implement evidence-based interventions.

The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) has established five goals to serve individuals that may need opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment: offer equal access to treatment; expand availability of recovery and transition support, educate providers, patients, and families; broaden community-based engagement activities; and increase the number of providers. Data being reported in emerging studies suggest Caucasians and Hispanic/Latino are at high-risk of OUD and USVI has experienced an increase in the number of Caucasians and Hispanic/Latino males being admitted in emergency rooms and treatment centers. The USVI has identified three communities of focus as having the highest risk for opioid use disorder: returning military veterans and their families - of all races, ethnicities, and ages; youth aged 12 to 25 - of all races and ethnicities; and minority groups (White and Hispanic communities); and thus, requesting funding to address gaps in our systems of care; delivery of psychosocial and evidence-based treatments interventions; and the expansion of the availability of OUD treatments. Addressing the needs of these specific groups will not only allow the USVI to address emerging OUD here in the territory; but also contribute to the aims of the SAMHSA to: address the opioid crisis by increasing access to treatment; reducing unmet treatment needs; and reducing opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment, and recovery activities for opioid use disorder including prescription opioids, as well as illicit drugs such as heroin. There are four measurable objectives to facilitate the achievement of the goals: expansion of accessibility of OUD treatments and recovery services; reduction in overall opioid use; prevention of opioid overdose related deaths; and increased numbers of trained prevention and treatment providers.

State Opioid Response Grant