CHNA 20 Mental Health Programs 2015 Goal: Fostering an environmental that promotes positive Mental Health as a fundamental component to overall health and wellness. Over the past year CHNA 20 has allocated significant resources towards behavioral and mental health programs. Efforts have focused on engaging community members, encouraging collaboration between multiple stakeholders and addressing issues of access to appropriate care. Sample strategies include a member-wide meeting focused on regional mental health policies and programs, targeted grant programs to support mental and behavioral health projects and planning for a mental/behavioral health summit for fall 2015. Trainings in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) continue to provide education to front line workers, caregivers and community members to increase capacity to identify and handle mental health crisis response. Almost half of the funding from Steward Health to CHNA 20 over the next four years will suppport mental and behavioral programming. CHNA 20 Winter Meeting: Mental Health Programs and Policies, Local and State-wide Perspectives. The goal of the meeting was to increase awareness of the mental health crisis and highlight local resources. Keynote Speaker MA Senator John F. Kennan reported on the newest legislation surrounding mental health. Highlights included the MA Senate’s measures to strengthen suicide prevention, improving rights of inmates and bolstering strategies to help curb addiction. The Senator was followed by a panel who described their affiliations and programs. Melissa Bickler began the panel report describing her work as the clinician for the Quincy Police Jail Diversion program. Paul Gabriele followed sharing his efforts on suicide prevention as part of the Plymouth County Suicide Prevention Coalition. Betty MacIntyre spoke about her involvement with the South Shore chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The panel concluded with Sherry Ellis describing the new collaborative CHART Grant between BID Hospital - Milton and South Shore Mental Health. Panelists have expressed interest in collaborating for the mental health summit including NAMI as a co-sponsor for the event. Multi-Year Grant Program. Up to 3 multi-year grants for $110K will be awarded by CHNA 20 in April 2015. Several grant applications have responded to the RFA with programs to increase linkages to mental and behavioral health resources and services. Components of the grant require mobilization within local areas, collaboration between multiple sectors and increased access and education. Grant awardees will need to articulate the change their program will make in their communities and how they intend to measure this change. We expect to see at least one of the three multi-year grants focus on mental or behavioral health.
Mental Health Summit – Summit planning is in process for fall 2015. Topics for the summit will likely include reducing stigma and normalizing MH, crisis response and appropriate care, mental and behavioral actions taken at the legislative and local levels to address the issue, and reducing silos around mental and physical health. Based on overwhelming positive participant and presenter feedback from the Winter Meeting, CHNA 20 has plans to move forward on the project. Collaboration has begun with the panelists and other local service agencies.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Certification Training Scholarship Program and Community Trainings - Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based, 8-hour course that teaches how to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The training helps an individual to learn to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. CHNA 20 provided scholarships to four of our region’s social service professionals to attend a week long training to become certified Mental Health First Aid trainers. In 2014/2015 the MHFA trainers have provided four, eight hour community MHFA trainings to 62 community members. Our MHFA trainers are a resource available to continue to provide trainings in the community. We have received a scholarship from the Plymouth Suicide prevention Coalition to offer two free Youth MHFA trainings to our community members in May and June 2015.
Targeted Funding from Steward Health for Behavioral Health. Steward Quincy DoN funds will be used to raise awareness of behavioral health at the community level, encourage collaboration between multiple stakeholders to support the integration of behavioral and physical health, and validate prevention strategies to improve mental and emotional well being. A total of 45% of Steward funds we receive each year will be earmarked for behavioral health.