Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
The City of Pasadena (CA) Public Health Department (PPHD) requests $619,781 to implement a five-year project to train public-facing individuals and organizations to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders and mental health crisis, and provide the knowledge, skills, and resources to respond effectively. The project will be focused in Greater Pasadena which has an estimated population of 240,000. The project’s populations of focus include: 1) Families (parents, children, youth, adolescents, and caregivers), 2) older adults, 3) the homeless, and 4) transition-aged youth. The individuals who will receive training will include public-facing individuals and service providers who serve the project’s populations of focus including public and private providers in education, health care, mental health and substance use treatment, senior services, public safety, recreation, housing, advocacy, child and family services, and more. The goals of the project are to 1) Provide a reliable, sustainable network of non-clinical mental health first responders in Greater Pasadena, and 2) Increase the long-term resiliency of these mental health first responders. To accomplish these goals, the PPHD will implement a two-pronged training program: 1) Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based practice that will be the primary approach and will train a large number of public-serving individuals on how to respond to mental health crises; and 2) Community Resiliency Model (CRM) workshops are a promising practice that will be the secondary approach to ensure that vulnerable MHFA trainees have the coping skills they need to help others. The project will train a total of 6,030 individuals over the five year project. This total includes an average of 34 MHFA training sessions annually, consisting of 30 trainees per session, for a total of MHFA trainees of 5,070 over the five-year project; and an average of 6 CRM workshops per year that includes 30 participations per workshop, for a total of 960 CRM participants over the project period (only a subset of the MHFA trainees will participate in CRM workshops based on need). The average cost to provide MHFA training to 5,070 service providers and residents (and provide supportive CRM workshops) is $122 per MHFA trainee. The scope of work also includes costs to 1) provide instructor training for project staff and two members of the City’s Homeless Outreach Psychiatric Evaluation (HOPE) Team and Pasadena Outreach Response Team (PORT Team); 2) implement a referral system that is available 24 hours per day, 3) develop post-training guidance materials for use by the trainees such as wallet-sized Action Cards, 4) and develop marketing materials and promote the trainings. The project schedule calls for training to be initiated in months 3-4. PPHD anticipates having to provide MHFA and CRM trainings virtually for the first 3-6 months due to the pandemic; the budget and scope of work makes allowances for both in-person and virtual trainings. A number of issues are driving the need to provide widespread mental health first aid training: 1) “mental health” was the second highest priority health issue noted in the 2019 Greater Pasadena Community Health Needs Assessment, 2) local data illustrate that COVID-19 has had a demonstrated negative effect on families’ stress and anxiety, 3) the area is experiencing an 80% spike in violent crime (compared to 2019) and unrest due to the pandemic and other social unrest, and 4) all of these issues are significantly impacting our most vulnerable populations: older adults, transition-aged youth, and the homeless. In addition to the HOPE and PORT Team partners, the PPHD has identified three mental health treatment providers who have committed to providing services to individuals identified by the MHFA trainees. Letters of commitment from all partners are included in the application.
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).
