Tuesday, May 7, 2024
5/7/2024
Mi Camino/My Pathway to Economic Independence will be a bilingual/bicultural supported employment program integrated with behavioral health treatment that seeks to address the educational and vocational needs of Latinx individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders in order to increase their economic independence, stabilize their families, and support long-term success in recovery. Project will serve 48 unduplicated clients in year 1 and 72/year for Years 2-5, for a total of 336 unduplicated clients over five years. Casa Esperanza serves highly vulnerable Latinxs with co-occurring conditions from the Greater Boston area who often have little work experience and lack the life skills, interpersonal skills, and literacy to obtain and maintain competitive employment. In addition, individuals in early recovery often lack “soft” skills, such as personal grooming, getting to work on time, showing initiative, and communicating clearly, verbally and in writing. Based on current demographics, we anticipate 100% of clients will have a co-occurring mental illness in addition to their SUD; 70% will identify as male, 29% as female, and less than 1% as transgender; 40% will be monolingual Spanish speakers and 40% will have limited English skills with limited written literacy in either English or Spanish; 93% lack a source of income and have lived in poverty for most of their lives, and 61% lack a GED. More than 95% have been court involved, with 79% incarcerated in the past five years. Nearly all (96%), have at least one significant medical condition. Based on data from previous SAMHSA-funded projects we anticipate only 31% received mental health treatment previously, despite 97.7% reporting at least one co-occurring mental health disorder. Of these, 98% will meet criteria for serious mental illness; 55.2% will report recent depression, 61.4% will report recent anxiety, 15% will report recent thoughts of suicide, and 3% will have recently attempted suicide. The goals of this project are: 1) Improve vocational/educational assessment and service planning for Latinx with CODS; 2) Create and deliver a culturally-focused Leadership Development Program that supports Latinx with CODS in becoming leaders and working in the Latino recovery community; 3) Increase access to educational and vocational opportunities through the establishment of Community Partnerships; and 4) Provide clinical and case management services to support clients’ full engagement in the development, implementation and completion of goals in both clinical treatment plans and economic service plans.
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).
