Highland Rivers Training Institute, a collaboration with municipalities to increase awareness of mental illness of elected officials, first responders, and city workers across Georgia. - Highland Rivers CSB d.b.a. Highland Rivers Health, in partnership with the Georgia Municipal Association and LGRMS, is developing a mental health awareness training series for elected officials, first responders, and city workers across Georgia. The purpose of this grant is to create a better understanding of what mental health is, its prevalence in the community, and the resources available so that individuals suffering from mental illness are better served by their communities. We intend to do this by using existing best practice models, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and the QPR suicide prevention program, as well as developing new modules based on the specific needs of the targeted population to increase the awareness of relevant responses to citizens with mental illness. Georgia has many socioeconomic variables that make it difficult to access mental health services including high rates of uninsured individuals (rates of uninsured: 13% Georgia vs. 8.9 US, Census 2018), increased rates of poverty (16% Georgia vs. 8.9% US, Census 2018), and a sizeable income disparity (Median income: Georgia $36,624 vs. US $42,861 Census 2018). These societal indicators have been amplified in the past year with the public health crisis, that has also increased isolation, domestic violence, substance use, anxiety and depression.
This training will aim to increase the target population's confidence in using de-escalation techniques and cultivate a network of community resources through the development of an online platform for information sharing, which will also be used to track referrals made by training participants. Our goal is to train 90 individuals in year one and increase the number of unduplicated individuals trained per year (Year 2:180, Year 3: 250, Year 4: 250, and Year 5: 250) until we reach our total goal of 1020 individuals trained. The grant will comprise 4 phases to the training plan. Phase 1 will work to build awareness among the target population, phase 2 will consist of implementation of the pilot for the training program modules, phase 3 will implement the specialized training based on regional needs, and phase 4 will spread the training program across the state. We expect to give participants in the training the tools to handle a mental health crisis by knowing what to do, how to do it, and when to do so. This also includes diminishing the stigma associated with first responders seeking treatment for their own experiences of trauma and mental illness. Finally, we want to highlight the role that city and county leadership has in engaging with their community-based mental health system and increase resource allocation that improves and sustains mental health and wellness of their own communities.
