Grants Dashboard

Summary. The North Jersey Community Research Initiative (NJCRI) is proposing a program to improve and expand access to developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate services and supports for transition-aged youth and young adults (ages 16-25) who either have, or are at risk for developing, serious mental health conditions in Essex County, NJ. NJCRI will serve 250 unduplicated individuals annually with grant funds and 1,250 over the project period. Project name. Essex County Healthy Transitions Program Populations to be served. NJCRI’s population of focus (POF) transition-aged youth and young adults (ages 16-25) who are at risk for a serious emotional disturbance (SED) or serious mental illness (SMI). The catchment area where services will be delivered is Essex County, NJ, which includes Newark. Strategies/interventions. NJCRI’s program activities will include: 1) develop a plan to establish a collaborative partnership between the Essex County and the State of New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services; 2) conduct a needs assessment of Essex County to identify available resources; 3) develop and implement a training plan for mental health professionals; 4) develop an Intra-agency agreement within NJ DMHAS’s youth and adult mental health services divisions; 5) implement suicide prevention and intervention approaches; 6) develop and implement a plan that includes outreach, screenings, services, referrals, and recovery support services; 7) establish an advisory council across child and adult serving systems; 8) develop and implement a plan that coordinates and aligns funding streams and leverages third party funding; 9) develop and implement a culturally and linguistically appropriate social marketing/communication strategic plan; 10) collaborate with other federal programs and/or interagency teams serving youth or young adults with SED/SMI; 11) implement trauma- and grief-informed programs and practices; 12) provide trauma-informed mental health services; 13) provide training on behavioral health implementation for CLAS standards; 14) provide activities that address behavioral health disparities and the social determinants of health; 15) implement efforts to expand diversity equity, inclusion, and accessibility; 16) use data to understand who is served and disproportionately served; and 17) develop and implement outreach and referral pathways. NJCRI will provide 2 EBPs: Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Project goals and measurable objectives. The program’s goal is to improve and expand access to developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate services and supports for transition-aged youth and young adults (ages 16-25) who either have, or are at risk for developing, serious mental health conditions. Objectives include: 1) Develop a plan to establish a collaborative relationship with the NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Essex County; 2) conduct a needs assessment to identify available resources, resource gaps, training needs, opportunities, and barriers; 3) develop and implement a training plan for mental health professionals; 4) develop an Intra-agency Agreement (IAA); 5) implement suicide prevention and intervention approaches; 6) develop and implement a plan to address strategic and direct one-to-one outreach; 7) develop and implement a plan to implement evidence-based screening and assessment tools; 8) implement evidence-based and informed services targeted for at least 250 transition-aged youth and young adults; 9) develop referral pathways to needed treatment services and supports and the mechanisms to track that referrals; 10) implement recovery support services; 11) establish an advisory council of at least 25 members; 12) develop and implement a plan that coordinates and aligns funding streams; 13) develop and implement a culturally and linguistically appropriate social marketing/communication strategic plan.

2NDFLOOR Youth Text/Helpline provides prevention and intervention services for youth, ages 10-24 throughout the state of New Jersey, 24/7, 365 days a year. 2NDFLOOR uses multi-media platforms that include phone, text and message board, creating a confidential and anonymous space for youth to discuss and receive guidance and resources from trained counselors. Issues include mental health, family/peer relationships, racial violence, and other relevant topics. Studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth indicate an increased incidence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among children and adolescents. Experts also caution that mental health consequences from the pandemic, including increases in substance abuse and suicide rates, will likely continue in the future due to losses in age-appropriate social development and self-esteem at a time when youth are trying for find themselves and their place in society. This year, the project would also begin two new initiatives: one, to provide short-term counseling (an estimated 500 sessions) for youth in Monmouth County impacted by, or at risk of domestic, sexual and dating violence; and second, to establish Youth Advisor Teams in 50 schools, as well as provide education at these schools on mental health topics. These teams will spread information about 2NDFLOOR, help answer message boards peer-to-peer, and generally help to destigmatize seeking help for relationship violence and mental health issues.

FastTrackerMN.org is available to all Minnesotans to find real-time, mental health and substance use service information and openings direct-from-the-clinics and programs providing the services as a state contract and grant funded, publicly available resource. FastTracker is a successful community partnership sharing vital information as a service to the community. We provide the platform; providers update the information, and the public can search for services they need when they need them. We have invested our energies into building the tool and engaging the provider community so successfully that 75-85% of our community partners update daily or as required. Our user traffic is rising steadily and professionals are increasingly integrating FastTracker into their care- and treatment-planning processes. FastTrackerMN.org can improve and save lives – if Minnesotans know about it. This project empowers young people to lead the way. The FastTracker Ambassadors project will build public awareness in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District in these ways: 1. We will build youth awareness and engagement by focusing our efforts on working with youth as “FastTracker Ambassadors;” 2. We will build awareness among school personnel, including administration, student support services, nursing, and mental health staff; 3. We will build community awareness through family engagement events and organizations; 4. We will work with Mental Health Minnesota on its new “We can RELATE” peer warmline service for youth and young adults ages 13-25.

New Mexico (NM) has 2 clusters of counties in the southwest and southeast corners of the state which are both rural and participate heavily in the agricultural industry. Dairy products, beef, hay, chile, and vegetables are all produced in this area. The New Mexico Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD), part of the Human Services Department (HSD) is the single state authority for BH and substance use services in NM, and this project is designed to provide services in non-traditional service delivery locations. The focus of this project is to offer behavioral health services and access to behavioral health professionals to ranchers, first responders, farmers, and providers in long-term care facilities. The first goal of this project is to increase the number opportunities and locations for behavioral health services provision in each of the identified counties by identifying providers and entering into formal agreements with them to provide services to members of the agricultural workforce. The second goal of this project will be to increase training that is available to providers and other stakeholders in this region who will serve the identified population. BHSD will partner with the New Mexico State University Department of Agriculture to ensure that services provided are relevant to the agricultural workforce and the geographic region identified. BHSD will also collaborate with statewide stakeholders that provide oversight and leadership to long term care facilities.

Fairbanks Native Association (FNA) is applying for the SAMHSA Healthy Transitions: Improving Life Trajectories for Youth and Young Adults with Serious Mental Disorders Program. The proposed project’s purpose is to improve and expand access to developmentally and culturally appropriate services and supports for transition-aged youth and young adults (ages 16-25) who have, or are at risk for developing, serious mental health conditions. The proposed Transitions Project will serve American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), a highly at-risk population with disproportionate rates of all negative indicators of wellbeing and disproportionate access to care. AI/AN have the highest rate of Serious Mental Illness and AI/AN youth the highest rate of lifetime major depressive episodes of any race/ethnicity. Almost all of the youth in our co-occurring substance abuse and mental health residential treatment unit have a Serious Emotional Disturbance diagnosis (98.3%). FNA provides the developmentally and culturally appropriate behavioral health services and supports the target population needs. The challenge is getting this population into services. We estimate over 50% of those who need these services are not accessing them. FNA is guided by an FNA-sponsored 22-member Behavioral Health Community Coalition (BHCC) and provides the most extensive continuum of behavioral health care in Alaska. This continuum includes Street Outreach for Homeless Youth, Education, Parent Training, Prevention (Suicide & Trauma), Intervention (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment and Harm Reduction), Assessment, Crisis Intervention, Outpatient & Residential Treatment, Trauma Treatment, Mental Health Therapy, Family Therapy, and Transitional Living for Homeless Youth. As a consequence of partnership with the BHCC, FNA provides the majority of this grant program’s Required Activities. Therefore our Transitions Project will focus primarily on increasing access to care using a three-pronged approach; 1) implementing the Required Activities not in place, 2) conducting extensive outreach that includes a two-person Peer Outreach team to recruit the target population, and 3) a Social Marketing Campaign to enroll the resistant target population into needed services. Proposed marketing and outreach efforts will address a significant problem in our service area. While a disproportionated number of AI/AN TAY&YA suffer from behavioral health issues and conditions, this population tends to reject the very services they need. Increasing access to and enrollment in these services is key to improving life trajectories for the target population. All TAY&YA referred will begin in the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) service unit. Following screening, clients will be enrolled in the project by an Enrollment Specialist. At enrollment, the Enrollment Specialist will collect NOMS and introduce the client to the Youth and Young Adult Coordinator and Parent Support Specialist and then conduct a warm transfer of the client to the Assessment Unit which will assess and refer the client to the appropriate service unit. The Enrollment Specialist will track all clients referred through the outreach and social marketing campaign from referral to discharge and follow-up to determine the success of Transitions. All enrolled clients will receive peer support training weekly at the enrolled service unit. Parent training will be office based and occur weekly as well. The project will serve 331 individuals over the five year life of the project. Of these 48 are referrals from the Marketing Campaign, 95 referrals from outreach, 143 family members receiving parenting training and 45 provider staff receiving cross-training.

The geographic catchment area where Healthy Transitions services will be delivered is four counties (Sullivan, Johnson, Hawkins, and Greene) in the Northeast region of Tennessee. The population of focus is youth and young adults ages 16-25 with serious mental illness. The needs to be addressed include access to mental health treatment due to the prevalence of mental illness in the identified age range, suicide prevention and assessment due to the high rates of self-harm and hospitalization, and improved independent living skills due to high unemployment and high school dropout rates.

Abstract Jordan Community Residential Center (JCRC) and Serenity Health and Wellness Corporation (SHWC) have partnered together to launch It Takes A Village, a full-service program that that will integrate evidence-based approaches and interventions to expand access to cultural and trauma-informed services and supports for transition-aged youth and young adults (ages 16-25) who either have, or are at risk for developing, serious mental health conditions. Target Populations: The project will target African American and Hispanic at/high- risk youth aged 16 to 25 and their families that reside in Cleveland, Ohio, with a special focus on these communities: Lee Harvard, Collinwood, Mt Pleasant, and Downtown Cleveland (Euclid corridor), which are high poverty areas and are considered “hot spots” for violent crime. The population of focus is low-income – 50% will live 100% below the poverty line and 50% will live 200% below the poverty line; 80% will be low academic achievers, 80% will have one or more substance use disorders, 50% will have co-occurring disorders, 100% will have experienced at least one incident of community violence, and 100% will have experienced trauma. Strategies/Interventions: The project is divided into four parts. Part 1: Understand the Community: SHWC will form a collaborative partnership with community organizations and create a needs assessment and action plan. Part 2: Increase Access to Trauma-informed Behavioral Health Services: It Takes A Village will: a) expand access to an afterschool expressive art therapy program called iMIND for high school students (age 16-19); b) For transitional-age youth with mental illness and youth with emotional, behavioral, and educational difficulties, It Takes A Village will create an intensive inpatient residential treatment program called ASPIRE Center of Excellence; c) It Takes A Village will form a service provider sub-committee to provide referral pathways and navigation services through Prevention Specialists; d) It Takes A Village will provide suicide prevention and intervention approaches to youth and their parents/caregivers; Part 3: Train the Community: a) It Takes A Village will identify relevant suicide prevention and interventions and train mental health professionals; Part 4: Community Outreach: It Takes A Village will use the Popular Opinion Leadership evidence-based model to recruit popular opinion leaders to reduce stigma and encourage youth and families to seek treatment. Goals and Objectives: Goal 1: Increase capacity to identify and screen youth and their parents/caregivers for mental health, substance use, and related interventions. Goal 2: Increase awareness of It Takes A Village and reduce stigma though a comprehensive outreach strategy; Goal 3: Increase access to mental health treatment by establishing a referral network, enrolling mental health providers on Medicaid, expand access to iMIND, an art therapy program, and launching ASPIRE, a residential program for youth with mental illness. Goal 4: Increase the number of mental health practitioners who are knowledgeable about the developmental needs of transition-aged youths and young adults, Goal 5: Increase advisory council membership by developing and disseminating communications materials and participating in evaluation efforts; By September 30, 2028: 70% of youth participants in iMIND and ASPIRE programming will report abstaining from alcohol and other drugs at six-months post intake. By September 30, 2028: 70% of youth participants in iMIND and ASPIRE programming will report increased feelings of social connectedness. People Served: The project will serve 755 unduplicated individuals over the lifetime of the grant with evidence-based, culturally and trauma informed suicide prevention approaches and mental health programs (50 in year 1, 80 in year 2, and 205 in year 3, and 210 per year in years 4-5).

The Arc of Prince George’s County (Arc) proposes to improve and expand access to developmentally appropriate, culturally, and linguistic responsive supports to transition-age youth (TAY) and young adults ages 16-25 who have or are at risk for developing a serious emotional disturbance (SED) or serious mental illness (SMI) through the Healthy Transitions program. The population of focus will include individuals who are Black/African American, Latinx, and individuals with an intellectual developmental disability (IDD). Services will be provided in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Arc proposes to provide evidence-based treatment and comprehensive supportive services for 40 individuals referred for needed mental health services in Year 1; 80 in Years 2-5; for a total of at least 360 individuals over the five-year funding period. The Arc will enhance and expand outreach and engagement; mental health screening, assessment, early intervention, comprehensive treatment, care coordination; and recovery support services to ensure access for transition age youth and young adults, and their families and caregivers in Prince George’s County. The following table identifies the program goals and measurable objectives: Goal 1: Increase access to and availability of developmentally and linguistically appropriate, culturally competent, and youth/young adult-driven behavioral health and supportive services. Objective 1.1: By 12/23, hire project staff to provide behavioral health and wraparound supportive services including screening & assessment; treatment; outpatient mental health and substance use services; case management including benefits screening; rehabilitation and recovery supports; and peer support. Objective 1.2: By 01/24, begin training staff on using evidence-based practices to provide services to transition-aged youth and young adults who are at risk for a serious emotional disturbance (SED) or serious mental illness (SMI); provide quarterly trainings throughout the period of performance. Objective 1.3: Increase early identification of TAY with mental health concerns by conducting outreach and engagement with 190 youth and young adults in Year 1; 360 in Years 2-5; for a total of at least 1,790. Objective 1.4: Provide evidence-based treatment & comprehensive supportive services for 40 individuals referred for needed mental health services in Year 1; 80 in Years 2-5; for a total of at least 360 individuals. Goal 2: Implement a coordinated and comprehensive integrative service continuum using best practices to address the needs of the most vulnerable transition-age youth and young adults. Objective 2.1: By 01/24 develop a formal, written collaborative partnership agreement between the Arc, Volunteers of America Chesapeake and Carolinas (VOACC), the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration Transition Age Youth unit, and the Prince George's County Local Behavioral Health Authority. Objective 2.2: Based on the community needs assessment and program evaluation, develop additional partnerships to fill recognized gaps. Recruit 10 new program partners over the five-year funding period. Objective 2.3: Recruit youth, young adults, family members, representatives from targeted communities, and individuals representing child and adult serving systems to serve on an Advisory Council to meet quarterly throughout the period of performance beginning 03/24. Goal 3: Improve public awareness and reduce stigma around mental health for youth and young adults. Objective 3.1: Design and launch a Visibility Plan by 05/24 that will help to generate community buy-in, awareness, and referrals and address stigma around mental health. Objective 3.2: Develop a written public awareness and cross-system provider Training Plan; identify potential groups to target; curricula; annual calendar of in-person and virtual training events by 03/24 and updated annually.

Project Name: Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Navigating In Between Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is a consortium of federally recognized tribes located in Interior Alaska. The total population of the region is estimated at just over 100,000 of which approximately 16,000 are Natives. TCC is the primary provider of health, behavioral health, and social services to Alaska Natives within the rural interior and operates a comprehensive behavioral health system based out of Fairbanks. TCC is a current Healthy Transitions grantee but proposes a new focus with this application. Building on lessons learned in our previous funding cycle, we have identified serious gaps in the system of care and new partners who are willing to work with us to resolve them by bringing improved resources and support. Population to be Served: We will serve Alaska Natives ages 16-25 who live in Interior Alaska with emotional or mental health disorders who need support in their transition to adulthood due to involvement with courts, child services, foster care, or similar trauma related experiences. There are approximately 4,000 transitional aged youth and young adults in Interior Alaska who are Alaska Native or living in one of TCC’s service villages. Rates of historical trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACES) are high and access to care is complicated by stigma, lack of trust, limited access in rural communities, and a complicated and fragmented system of care. Strategies/Interventions: We propose using underutilized beds in a tribally managed youth substance use residential treatment center by adapting it for co-occurring needs, specializing in trauma recovery and transition skills. In the need development stage of this project, TCC, has begun establishing key collaborative partnerships inclusive of state agencies such as the Division of Juvenile Justice, Office of Children’s Services, and the District Attorney’s Office, as well as private treatment providers such as Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, Family Centered Services of Alaska, and Presbyterian Hospitality House, and education through local boarding schools (Galena Interior Learning Academy and Nenana Living Center). In addition, we are working within our own agency and tribal region to connect better with the Tribal Court Systems and Tribal Family and Youth Services. With these partners we will be able to move forward quickly once funded to conduct a needs assessment, implement a training plan, and establish intradepartmental and interagency agreements to streamline referral pathways and identify policies to facilitate seamless access to mental health services for YYA. Project Goals and Measurable Objectives: Project goals are 1) to increase TCC’s capacity to provide comprehensive services to YYA age 16-25 with serious mental disorders within Interior Alaska, 2) to implement a comprehensive outreach and engagement plan to identify and engage YYA with untreated serious mental disorders, and 3) to increase the number of YYA age 16-25 with serious mental disorders who receive relevant and culturally appropriate services. Within these goals, our objectives are to serve 90 unduplicated individuals throughout the project’s lifetime (approximately 20 per year) in a newly developed post crisis residential stabilization healing home. Other objectives include 1) to train staff and partners serving the project’s population in evidence based and evidence informed screening, outreach, intervention, and treatment approaches, 2) facilitating the least restrictive crisis stabilizing approaches for YYA, and 3) transitioning them more quickly to a safe and supportive treatment environment.

Centro Sávila (CS), an award-winning, non-profit, bilingual behavioral health provider with offices in the South Valley, International District of Albuquerque, proposes a project to enhance and expand its culturally and linguistically specific, trauma informed mental health and suicide prevention services for immigrant and refugee youth. The proposed services will establish and strengthen relationships with schools and key community partners that serve at-risk youth and provide culturally relevant support and training to family members. Immigrant and refugee youth are at higher risk of mental health illnesses due to the stresses associated with leaving a home country, traveling across borders, and resettling in a new community with different cultural, linguistic, and social norms. This project will build New Mexico's capacity to address the root causes of mental illness that directly impact the overall health of newcomers to the U.S.

The UNC System Office in partnership with its 17 institutions and the Association of Student Governments (ASG) will launch QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training, a mental health training program, over the 2022-2023 academic year. Individuals trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. QPR is the most widely taught Gatekeeper training in the world. The UNC System has a significant number of veterans enrolled at our institutions. In coordination with the UNC System Military Affairs team, we would also provide the QPR course for Veteran Care Providers. This six-hour training program is designed by veterans and its single purpose is to prevent suicide amount veterans, soldiers in our National Guard or military reserves and active military warriors. The UNC System Office will offer instructor training to faculty and staff at UNC System institutions and these instructors will then train faculty and staff from their institution, to become certified in QPR. Additionally, since approximately 1,100 college student commit suicide each year, we would also provide QPR training to 1,100 undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students across the UNC System.

The need for mental health services and support is at an all-time high. UCAN is dedicated to supporting children and families in need of clinical and applied behavioral analysis services encompassing individual therapy and group support. These resources will be used to support individuals in group therapy for our clients in North Lawndale communities.

The Violence Recovery Program, established in 2018 at UChicago Medicine, is uniquely positioned to engage and recruit individuals and families who were just harmed by gun violence in the “golden hour” when individuals are more likely to respond to support services and risk mitigation. Violence Recovery Specialists (VRS) are embedded in the pediatric and adult trauma bays to respond to all violent injury activations 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. During or immediately following the crisis intervention stage, VRS assess for imminent risk of re-injury and for other socioecological needs, including need for direct interventions and service referrals mental, behavioral health, and social determinants of health resources (housing, food, transportation, employment, crime victim compensation (CVC) application support, medical needs, etc.). VRS also respond to family needs (e.g., connection to legal support, funeral services, CVC). The VRS work with survivors to create a Life Empowerment Plan that includes referrals to the patients’ highest priority needs. Case management is activated to identify goals, progress towards goals, and ongoing case management needs. This proposal aims to use a design that features a comprehensive and collaborative approach to injury prevention that prioritizes victim advocacy and case management through the UCM VRP model along with a subcontract with Metropolitan Family Services (MFS) as the organizing street outreach community partnership to enlist local street outreach on behalf of this model. Our programmatic focus will be seven four codes- (60617, 60619, 60637,60649) that encompass the South Chicago and South Shore community areas.

Funding will enable us to make the necessary improvements to the existing Teen Academy and expand our outreach. The funding will also allow us to hire social workers and other mental health counselors/professionals to assist our teens with loss of family members and/or loss of income to adult family members as a result of the pandemic. It will also provide meaningful support to our young people and support them to thrive and do good things as they approach adulthood. This would be an ongoing project serving the youth of Queens, with the hopes of expanding the program as our building expands within the next few years and serving more and more children/young adults as we grow.

The Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority will recruit and train Community Health Workers to promote and assist behavioral health professionals, specifically mental health professionals, in rural areas of Virginia. This Training will be used to train 100 Community Health Workers with a specific focus on providing mental health services to citizens in the rural areas of the Commonwealth. The training will be promoted, coordinated, and monitored by state and local level staff to connect persons experiencing mental health issues with local community providers, increase participation and compliance with treatment programs, and increase positive health outcomes.

The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago aims to pilot a Community Health Navigator (CHN) Program at two YMCA locations, Kelly Hall YMCA in the city's West Humboldt Park area and South Side YMCA in the city's Woodlawn neighborhood. This program will expand efforts to decrease incidence of, and poor outcomes related to mental health care and the holistic factors that impact physical and emotional health. YMCA CHNs will be responsible for navigating individuals from the community to the YMCA for physical fitness services (i.e. access to group fitness, workout equipment, swim facility, and other programs/ classes) and group support. Additionally, CHNs will navigate Y members to external services such as mental health and hospital-based providers for intensive mental health services. This will occur via partnership with local mental health providers and hospitals. This project will consist of three specific phases; Assessment, Activation and Strategy, and Sustainability.

The Modesto Police Department (MPD) responds to a variety of calls for service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including calls relating to homelessness, substance abuse, and/or mental health emergencies. Historically, police officers have been the primary resource dispatched to handle these calls regardless of whether safety concerns are present or not. The MPD proposes to utilize the grant program to support the use of non-sworn resources to handle calls for service involving individuals experiencing mental health crises and increase the rate at which calls are diverted from the police to non-sworn alternative responses. The non-sworn resources will consist of teams made up of paramedics or emergency medical technicians (EMT’s), paired with civilian outreach specialists who have extensive experience in working with individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as those suffering from behavioral health and/or substance abuse issues. This team, called the Community Health and Assistance Team (CHAT), will handle calls for service that do not require a sworn officer to respond, and be the first contact at as many behavioral health, homeless, and quality of life related calls for service as possible.

This project is a partnership between City of Monroe, WA and City of Sultan, WA to fund a mental health crisis co-responder who works with emergency services to respond more effectively to callers experiencing a mental health related crisis. The East County Co-responder will be staffed by Volunteers of America Western Washington, our subrecipient who is a local non-profit behavioral health and human services provider. The goals of our program are to provide appropriate and compassionate care to individuals experiencing mental health crises, to reduce the involvement of law enforcement in these situations, and to connect individuals with appropriate mental health services and supports. Our program engages with community members when a 911 call is made regarding a mental health crisis.

Depression is a prevalent and often underdiagnosed condition among older adults, particularly in African American communities. The Healthy IDEAS (Identifying Depression & Empowering Activities for Seniors) program is an evidence-based approach to identifying and managing depression in older adults that has been shown to be effective in clinical settings. Community Hero Action Group (CHAG) aims to address depression in the senior community by implementing the Community Advocates for Senior Empowerment (C.A.S.E.) Project. This program is principled by the Healthy IDEAS program. CHAG will train and employ community health workers in community settings to provide support and education to older African American adults. The project will be conducted in Montgomery County, PA. The project will involve training community health workers to administer the Healthy IDEAS assessment tool, screen for symptoms of depression, educate older adults and their caregivers about depression, link older adults to primary and mental health providers, and assist and encourage older adults to become involved in meaningful activities. The outcomes of the project will include the number of older African American adults who receive the Healthy IDEAS assessment and the number who receive appropriate interventions and services. Overall, this project aims to reduce depression and improve mental health and wellness for older African American adults in Montgomery County.

Friends of the Children- Detroit’s project “Building Mental Health Services Capacity with a Professional Mentoring Model” will increase the number of children and young people receiving evidence-based mental health and trauma mitigation services and reduce the burden on existing systems of care. This project supports enhanced mental health program supports to youth and families in low-wealth households most impacted by trauma, lack of access to life-saving behavioral health supports, un- and under-employment due to the pandemic, and the intergenerational impacts of decades of disinvestment. For every $1 invested in Friends of the Children, the community benefits over $7 in saved social costs. 83% of youth who receive mentorship from Friends of the Children graduate high school, 93% avoid the juvenile justice system, and 98% avoid early parenting.

Jewish Vocational Services And Community Workshop (AKA JVS Human Services) seeks support to enhance our current Supported Employment program by adding to the program those components that are essential to the SAMHSA evidence-based practice model, yet not currently funded by Michigan’s mental health organizations. This project impacts people with disabilities who are marginalized in the workforce and will enhance the impact of JVS' ability to promote inclusion in community-based employment. This model will improve outcomes for building economic stability and decrease future costs to the mental health system. The Supported Employment program is partially funded through Medicaid dollars allocated through Michigan’s PIHIP/CMH system. Depending on jurisdiction, these funds are sometimes insufficient to provide even baseline supported employment services, let alone the components necessary for a supported employment program of excellence. The Supported Employment Enhancement project will enable JVS to meet SAMHSA’s evidence-based model. This will lead to greater access to competitive jobs, career navigation and choice, and greater economic stability for those with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges. While prospects for employment for those with disabilities has advanced over time, there is a need to provide thorough programming to enhance outcomes for participants.

Jean’s Place is the newest initiative from CLM and is designed to meet the needs of adults over 18 years of age that are suffering from an acute psychiatric illness receive the care they need to remain in the community reducing the likelihood of readmission to the hospital and or transition from hospitalization back into the community with outpatient care and other supportive services. The goal is to develop this mental health intervention to enhance the chances of successful recovery in the outpatient setting and subsequently reduce hospital readmissions. This program provides individuals with on-site support from CLM professionals and will also be enhanced with additional peer support. The anticipated length of stay is 120-days. While at Jean’s Place, individuals focus on medication adherence in the outpatient setting, their own treatment and recovery plans while attaining employment or additional education. Treatment and recovery plans are person-centered and highly individualized which provides the best support for the individual as they learn to manage their illness while living in the community. The scope of services that can be provided include group or individual therapy, medication and case management, functional support services including assistance with daily living activities, supportive employment, primary care, and wellness programs.

The Anaheim Community Foundation is proposing an expansion of programs provided by a collaboration of youth serving organizations it oversees to provide an additional 500 youth with high touch mental health support and an additional 5,000 youth with new mental health/wellness resources. Population(s) to be served: 96% of youth served qualify as living in “very low income” households in 2021, 94% qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch, 8-12% typically have an incarcerated parent and 94% are youth of color and less than half live in two parent households. Strategies/interventions: Strengthen economic support for families; Promote social norms that protect against violence and adversity; teach skills; connect youth to caring adults and activities; intervene to lesson immediate and long term harms. The goal of this project is to increase the capacity of local community-based organizations to provided coordinated wraparound support that improves youth mental health in Anaheim. Objectives: 1. By September 30, 2024, the Anaheim Community Foundation will coordinate services to collectively provide 500 youth in Anaheim with high touch mental health/wellness support, including one-to-one mentoring and professional therapy. 2. By September 30, 2024, the Anaheim Community Foundation will coordinate services with the Anaheim Union School District to collectively provide 5,000 Anaheim youth with access to expanded mental health/wellness resources and trainings. Number of people to be served annually: 1,500.

BUILD’s Mobile Mental Health (MMH) program is a full-service, mobile behavioral health, crisis stabilization, and short-term case management unit, bringing mental health care services directly to Chicago’s West Side youth and families impacted by gun violence and trauma. MMH will expand to include two teams, each with one coordinator and three therapists who will join each team as needed (with five team members supported through this grant). MMH teams will focus on: 1) supporting BUILD’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU), helping to triage by providing initial crisis stabilization, mental health support, and clinical case management for youth and families at the scene of incidents of violence, and referring internally to BUILD therapists for long-term mental health care; 2) supporting youth at local schools in crisis situations, including immediate assessment and care, preventing hospitalization of youth at imminent risk of suicide or expressing suicidal ideation, and conducting psychoeducational workshops for school groups; and 3) performing community outreach, attending neighborhood events and pop-ups with BUILD’s street outreach and community engagement teams, growing awareness of our mental health services. The overall goals of BUILD’s Mobile Mental Health unit are stabilizing crisis situations, reducing symptoms of trauma, and increasing access to mental health care in underserved communities and schools. MMH therapists provide individual, and group short-term therapy focused on trauma; depression, grief and loss; anxiety; anger management; and distress tolerance, utilizing evidence-based treatment approaches. They also connect youth and families with wraparound resources. BUILD’s populations of focus are young people, ages 6-24, and their families impacted by community violence, trauma, and other mental health issues in our geographic catchment area. BUILD’s MMH program projects to serve 300 unduplicated clients with project funds.

Clark County Department of Family Services is partnering with SJRC on Project HOPE (Help, Opportunities, Purpose and Empowerment), which is a housing and treatment program dedicated to caring for those most vulnerable in our community, victims of sex trafficking. Project HOPE would create specialized care for teen girls at high risk to include confirmed CSEC, at high risk for CSEC or those in need of a higher level of care for stabilization and assessment. This program will provide victim-centered residential services that will be complemented with high quality clinical services. Child victims will be assisted in learning how to make healthy life choices for their lives that increase their personal safety, emotional stability, hope and healing. This program will have highly trained and qualified staff that understand the trauma these young people have endured and the importance of being strengths and relationship based in day-to-day interactions.