Mental health grant to close equity gaps in Stanislaus communities, using schools as hubs
As the Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) agency experiences increased calls to its crisis line, more mental health services for underserved individuals in the region soon will be available.
A $9 million investment in mental health services will focus on closing health equity gaps among uninsured and underinsured residents, including Latino communities. The grant comes from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Of the $9 million grant, $4 million will go to BHRS, which will focus on the mental health of residents in rural parts of the county, and $5 million will be given to the Hayward-based Alliance for Community Wellness for conducting new mental health programs at select schools in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and beyond.
A portion of the $5 million will allow First Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center in Turlock to hire 12 new employees, including five full-time clinicians, one full-time office administrator, one full-time promotora, one part-time promotora, one part-time clinical supervisor, one compliance officer, one on-call clinician and one part-time nurse practitioner.
The pandemic is taking a toll on many Americans’ mental health, but racial disparities often leave Latinos and Blacks without access to services, SAMHSA reports. Research also shows more Hispanics (52.1%) reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition during the pandemic than did non-Hispanic white adults (37.8%), the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) shows.
Mental health needs in Stanislaus County often get overlooked, U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, wrote in a letter to the grants management officer at SAMHSA, which is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Harder added that since the start of the pandemic, during March 2020, the county’s BHRS has experienced a 31.7% increase in calls to its crisis line.
“The fact is that this data underscores a vital need in our community for expanded mental health crisis support that is long overdue,” the congressman said.
Over the next three years, BHRS will receive $4 million to expand its Brief Intervention Counseling services program, which intervenes early on with individuals experiencing mental health challenges to prevent serious emotional disturbances, mental illness and co-occurring disorders (coexistence of a mental illness and a substance use disorder). Funding will allow the program to focus on rural communities, eventually treating an estimated 800 new residents over the next two years.
A broad range of services will be provided through the program, including outreach and engagement using motivational interviewing, crisis intervention, intervention counseling and broad supportive services. The program will also have the ability to connect people with additional services for substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders.
More children seeking mental help
However, the pandemic’s toll is affecting not only adults but the mental health of youth. California children’s hospitals have seen a 35% increase in youth seeking emergency services for mental help, CapRadio reports.
That makes the $5 million investment into creating mental health programming across 22 schools critical. La Familia, also known as the Alliance for Community Wellness, will use this money over the next two years to hire employees to be placed at schools.
It’s a regional project that will serve Stanislaus, Merced and Alameda counties. La Familia will focus on Latino youth, ages 11 through 18, who have so-called serious emotional disturbance, as well as parents or caregivers with severe mental illness or co-occurring disorders.
Eligible schools will be used as the primary referral point and location for services including screening, assessment, diagnosis and service delivery for young people experiencing mental health challenges. La Familia will work to expand these services into school districts like Hughson, Denair, Patterson, San Lorenzo, Hayward, New Haven, Oakland, Delhi, Hilmar, Livingston, Los Banos Valley Community School, Winton, Atwater Valley Community School, Gustine and others.
From this grant, the organization will create two pilot mobile crisis mental health response teams that will be deployed to help youth and adults in a mental health crisis.
Both programs will be accessible to individuals regardless of immigration status.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 7:06 AM with the headline "Mental health grant to close equity gaps in Stanislaus communities, using schools as hubs."
