Wednesday, January 8, 2025
1/8/2025
Through the#MHSTRONG project, the Association for Mental Health and Wellness (MHAW) and the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Nassau are providing mental health awareness training services to Long Island (LI) veteran organization personnel, probation officers, educators and other school personnel, as part of a Mental Health Awareness Training grant from SAMHSA. The project is using the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) USA curricula. MHFA is an 8-hour interactive course that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. It uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to offer initial help in a mental health crisis and connect persons to the appropriate professional, peer, social and self-help care. It is suitable for a broad range of trainees and beneficiaries, including the populations MHAW is both training and serving. The primary beneficiaries are LI veterans and military personnel, as well as adults with serious mental illnesses in the criminal justice system, and youth with serious emotional disturbances in the juvenile justice system, at risk or involved with gangs. There is a growing need for mental health awareness among individuals who interact with persons experiencing mental illness—this is especially true when it comes to veterans. Disproportionate numbers of LI military personnel (36%+) are returning home with significant mental health issues, including PTSD-related disorders, clinical depression, co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders, including opioid. And yet less than 3% of the state’s health care providers are equipped to address the unique needs of veterans, either because of unfamiliarity with military culture, failure to screen for health problems common to veterans or other deficiencies. Greater numbers with mental illness are also being treated in the criminal justice system, and have many more prior incarcerations than the general jail population. In SC, 36% of the inmate population were referred to the Mental Health Unit during incarceration, and are more likely to have greater numbers and longer periods of incarceration than the general jail population. Likewise, at-risk youth, especially those susceptible to MS-13 gang recruitment, could benefit from psychological support. Gaps in services persists due to limited mental health and substance abuse providers, and veteran, law enforcement and school personnel trained in mental health first aid. To addresses these deficiencies, the project will train 2,120 LI VA personnel, probation and other officers, and educators and school personnel by 2021, or between 600 and 840 participants annually. MHFA training will help increase the capacity of participants to reduce high risk behaviors of LI veterans, adults with serious mental illness and youth with serious emotional disturbances, and safely and appropriately identify, respond to and refer individuals to mental health or related services, including peer, social and self-help care.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).