Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
The proposed Mental Health Awareness Training Project by the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) will prepare and train others on how to appropriately and safely respond to individuals with behavioral health disorders, particularly individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). The main purpose of this project is to train individuals to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders and deploy crisis de-escalation techniques and educate individuals about resources that are available in the community for persons with behavioral health disorders. By using evidenced-based approaches such as CIT and MHFA, this project will more effectively respond to the needs of persons affected by co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Services and training for this project will be delivered in Richmond, a mid-sized city of 230,436 residents located in central Virginia, The MHAT grant will respond to the growing need for more education and awareness regarding persons with behavioral health disorders than what currently exists by focusing on three key aspects: 1) Deliver Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to law enforcement officers in Richmond; 2) Provide Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) to the community (virtually and in-person if possible; and 3) Provide resources and referrals for individuals in need of community-based behavioral health services. CIT will target officers in the Richmond Police Department, City of Richmond Sheriff's Office and Virginia Commonwealth University Campus Police. CIT trains officers to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, employ crisis de-escalation techniques and educate individuals about resources that are available in the community for individuals with a behavioral health disorder. MHFA will be provided to school personnel, veterans groups, community agencies and interested community members. The project goals include: 1)To increase mental health awareness and skills regarding de-escalation techniques for local law enforcement by offering evidence-based programming; 2) To increase mental health awareness and resource/referral knowledge in the community by offering evidence-based programming and resource information; and 3) To establish infrastructure and ongoing trainings and resource referral by developing a mental health awareness training plan. The MHAT Project will train 1,350 unduplicated individuals over the 5 years (270 in each of years 1-5).
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).
