Sunday, November 24, 2024
11/24/2024
Larkin Street Youth Services' Mental Health First Aid Training project will improve the abilities of individuals that provide direct and peer services to homeless youth in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly serious mental illness and/or serious emotional disturbances. The project will serve Larkin Street staff and peer leaders, and partner agency staff. These individuals will be trained in the Mental Health First Aid Evidence-Based Practice with elements of the Non-Violence Crisis Intervention Training Evidence-Based Practice for de-escalation strategies. The target population to be served by trained participants is homeless youth ages 12 to 24 in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. There are 1,145 homeless youth in San Francisco each night. These youth are 73% people of color, 46% LGBTQ+, and 12% non-gender conforming. Sixty-five percent (65%) of San Francisco homeless youth reported living with one or more health conditions, including psychiatric and emotional conditions (48%), PTSD (43%), drug or alcohol use (31%), physical disability (21%), chronic health problems (18%), and traumatic brain injury (12%). In addition, of the disconnected youth at risk of homelessness in San Francisco - not working and not in school - one-third are seeking mental health services. The Mental Health First Aid Training project will reach 390 participants over the five-year grant period through 26 trainings. This includes 60 in year one, 90 per year in years two through four, and 60 in year five. At least 650 individuals will be referred to mental health services as a result. The impact of the project will be measured through surveys completed immediately following training and follow-up surveys completed six months post-training. The first survey will determine whether participants increased their knowledge and skills, believe they will put the skills into practice in their work, and are satisfied with the training. The six-month follow-up survey will determine whether the skills were used, whether the training improved participants' ability to respond quickly to mental health emergencies, and whether their ability to provide mental health referrals improved. There has not been significant research collected on the impact of the Mental Health First Aid Evidence-Based Practice on clients served by those that receive the training and whether it increases access to mental health resources. Therefore, Larkin Street Youth Services' outcomes objectives that collect data related to improved client services and referrals to mental health resources to address behavioral health disparities collected at six months post-training will provide new data to measure this impact and be useful for agencies serving similar populations.
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).
