Friday, May 3, 2024
5/3/2024
The Youth & Family TRreatment Enhancement Expansion (TREE) project will establish an expanded system of integrated and coordinated treatment services and community resources for 450 underserved, at-risk youth ages 12-18 and their primary caregivers over five years, whose lives are impacted by substance use disorders (SUD) and/or co-occurring substance use/mental health disorders (COD), living in the project Service Area (SA) of the City of St. Louis (an independent county), St. Louis County, and portions of St. Charles and Jefferson Counties. Each distinct and diverse geographical segment of the SA is contained within the St. Louis, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the largest in the state, and includes urban and suburban areas. TREE will address the identified, behavioral and primary health needs of these high-risk, economically, and environmentally disadvantaged youth and their parents/caregivers, referred from area hospital emergency rooms, health centers, family courts, and public schools located with emphasis on the urban footprint of the St. Louis Promise Zone, which encompasses portions of the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, and where, according to federal definition, exceptionally high poverty, unemployment, crime, mortality rates and homelessness are rampant and pervasive. Demographics in the most urban and needful segments of the Service Area consist of 43.2% African American, 47% Caucasian, with the remaining population dispersed among other races/ethnicities, including Latino/Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and various Bi-Racial. The averaged population is equally distributed among males (48.5%) and Females (51.5%) In some sectors of the Promise Zone, conditions include 63% poverty, with 38% living on annual incomes of below $20,000, with 61% considered as rent-burdened, highest in state in opioid deaths and Emergency Room visits caused by abuse of prescription drugs, heroin, and Fentanyl, second highest homicide rate in the United States, high youth murder and violence rates and areas fraught with Sex Trafficking, gangs, and crime-burdened “hot-spots.” Overall, a large portion of the service area ranks as one of the lowest rates in Health Outcomes/Indicators, with a history of decertified and under-performing public school systems. With a comprehensive evidence-based treatment, early intervention, and recovery support system, the goals and objective of TREE will aim for and measure: Increased unduplicated number of individuals served with evidence-based services and practices; Increased abstinence from the use of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances; Increased access, engagement, and retention in treatment; Improved parenting skills and family functioning; Improve educational, employment, and housing stability; Decreased involvement in and exposure to crime and violence; Improved mental health; and increase access to health services for underserved 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).
