Friday, May 3, 2024
5/3/2024
The NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) ReCAST Buffalo program's population of focus is Black African Americans residing in or attending school in five Buffalo East Side neighborhoods, with a special focus on high-risk youth and their families. These neighborhoods are highly impacted by the racially motivated mass shooting that occurred on May 14, 2022. Black/African American youth in these neighborhoods experience multiple risk factors including the impacts of structural racism, the COVID pandemic and school disruption, and the trauma of the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings with in 10 days. In these neighborhoods, youth and families experience powerlessness and significant barriers to accessing high-quality education and housing, adequate health and mental health care, and good jobs with fair pay. Current resources needs and gaps and challenges associated with access to or quality of services in these communities are long-term and compounded by the mass shooting. The NYS OMH SERG program for Buffalo has catalyzed a one-year process of community planning and healing, which will be sustained by ReCAST. NYS OMH's ReCAST program will include a coalition of diverse community stakeholders to ensure that community voice and partnership is involved in all aspects of the grant project, which will support recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, and equity-based behavioral health and wellness. The proposed program includes three ReCAST funded trauma-informed behavioral health services:1) a Black Mental Health Response Team led by BestSelf Behavioral Health will continue outreach and enhancement with youth and families in the East Side; 2) University Psychiatric Practice, in collaboration with SayYes Buffalo and the Buffalo Public Schools, will provide clinical supports for students struggling with community trauma and training for educators; and 3) Buffalo Community Non-Traditional Mental Wellness Programs will continue a focus on respecting and integrating Black/African American traditions and culture to include arts-based therapies, coordination with local houses of worship and spiritual-based healing. In addition, after Project Hope Crisis Counseling Services (FEMA-4480-DR-NY) end on December 12, 2022, the Buffalo Urban League and Spectrum Health will participate in ReCAST to continue delivering NYS OMH in-kind crisis counseling outreach and engagement services to Black/African American families and youth residing in or attending schools in the East Side. Training in trauma-informed care and approaches will be provided in -kind through the NYS Trauma-Informed Network and via indviduals in the community trained by the NYS OMH SERG Psychological First Aid Train-the-Trainer. ReCAST funding is requested for youth and family peer services that will be integrated into this work. Given the shortage of Black/African American youth and family peer advocates in Buffalo, NYS OMH will partner with peer-run organizations to build workforce pipelines for Black/African American families and youth to become credentialed. The proposed ReCAST project goals are: Goal 1: Build a community coalition representing Buffalo's Black/African American community that is empowered to assess and plan for high-risk youth and families impacted by the mass shooting. Goal 2: Increase local MH capacity for trauma-informed and culturally competent behavioral health services, including youth and family peer services, in Buffalo's East Side through traditional wellness approaches in schools and the community. Goal 3: Increase access to trauma-informed training to empower local community to respond to needs of Black/African American youth families, and community members in a trauma-informed and culturally competent manner. Each ReCAST goal has a set of measurable objectives identified by timeframes. We estimate that approximately 3,806 unduplicated individuals will be served during the four years of the project. Y1-370; Y2-967; Y3-1,242; Y4-1,227; TOTAL 3,806
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).
