Saturday, November 23, 2024
11/23/2024
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH), a nonprofit healthcare system serving Memphis and Shelby County, TN and the Mid-South Region, aims to establish the Living Well Network Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) project to provide MHFA USA® training for 3,100 MLH associates and community partners. The project will serve urban and rural adults and youth through MHFA interventions and referrals for behavioral services over a 5-year project period. The geographic focus of the program is Shelby County (pop. 937,750) and the City of Memphis (pop. 654,876), where an estimated 85% of the population to be served resides. Shelby County’s population is 52.7% African American, six percent (6%) Hispanic, and the county has an overall poverty level of 21.4%. Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare documented in its 2019 Community Needs Assessment significant needs for mental health education and services in Shelby County even before the COVID pandemic, and these needs have only increased over the last year, particularly among low-income communities of color who have been most severely impacted. Mental health needs in suburban and rural counties are also significant, and will be addressed through MLH hospitals and outpatient clinics serving these populations, and in 10 rural school districts served through Methodist Le Bonheur’s school and behavioral health programs. Rural healthcare partners in the project are the West Tennessee Delta Consortium, including Henry County Medical Center in Paris, TN, and two rural Federally Qualified Health Centers. The project goal is to increase the capacity of MLH and its community and regional partners through MHFA training to assist and refer persons with mental health or substance abuse issues to licensed behavioral health services. The Living Well (LWN) MHFA project objectives are to train at least 21 MLH associates and partner agency employees to become certified MHFA Instructors. A Project Coordinator and 20 other MHFA Instructors will teach 150 MHFA classes, training at least 3,100 “First Aiders” to deliver the MHFA evidence-based intervention. First Aiders will learn how to connect individuals with identified mental health problems to the LWN, which provides assessments, support and referrals to a network of local and regional behavioral, mental health and substance abuse counseling, services and treatment. Through the MHFA project, the LWN aims to increase the number of individuals it refers by at least 20% annually per year over the five year project to 5,000 or more referrals by the end of the project period. Other project strategies include: community outreach and education in low income urban communities by a nonprofit subrecipient, Greenwood Villages CDC; MHFA training for faith-based organizations through the MLH Congregational Health Network; training MLH and rural partner EMTs; collaboration with school districts to offer Youth MHFA training; training home visitation workers and primary care staff in MLH and rural health clinics; and establishment of an Advisory Group to help guide project development, implementation and sustainability.
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).
