Wednesday, May 28, 2025
5/28/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Mission Area Health Associates DBA Mission Neighborhood Health Center (Health Center Program Grant #H80CS00590) is applying for BHSE in the amount of $600,000 for FY 2025, and $500,000 for FY 2026. This funding would support the efforts of MNHC to tackle the mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD) issues identified in our service area. San Francisco faces a severe crisis of mental health and accidental drug overdoses. Hospitalization among adults due to major depression exceeds that of asthma and hypertension, while the suicide rate is twice as high as its homicide rate. Lower income residents are 3 times more likely to experience serious psychological distress than higher income residents; 13% of Latino adults reported serious psychological distress. One in 4 of high school students report prolonged sad or hopeless feelings, while about 15% of high school students and 20% of middle school students considered attempting suicide. COVID-related mental health stressors and access issues in San Francisco have severely affected the African American and Latino communities: health inequities have intensified the adverse mental health and substance abuse conditions of our target population. In 2023 San Francisco experienced the highest number of accidental drug overdoses with 806 deaths. Fentanyl and equivalent drugs, many times in combination with methamphetamine and crack cocaine are driving the drug overdose deaths in the City. Latino residents of San Francisco have the second highest overdose death rate compared to all races and ethnicities. The MH and SUD crisis has also been intensified with the current shortage of bilingual and bicultural mental health providers and with the fragmented MH and SUD care system in the City. MNHC is well-positioned to address this challenge. We propose to hire Licensed Clinical Social Workers (2.0 FTEs), a Substance Use Disorder Counselor (1.0 FTE), and a Case Manager (0.5 FTE), for a total of 3.5 FTEs. The LCSWs, SUD Counselor and Case Manager will be an integral part of the multidisciplinary teams already established across MNHC clinical sites. LCSWs will provide individual or group short term treatment (cognitive behavioral or solution-focused treatment) psycho-educational classes, and patient referral and coordination for those individuals presenting with conditions and needs greater than the resources of the clinic (specialty mental health). The Case Manager will assist the LCSWs with referrals for services in the community and with recovery support services. The SUD Counselor will provide individual and group counseling services that will include educational and motivational counseling about opioid and methamphetamine abuse. The counselor will empower patients and their families to be active participants in their care and will refer patients who are willing to enter residential treatment to appropriate community programs. MNHC will focus on further integration of our MH, SUD and medical services and the adoption of effective workflows to ensure that patients are educated about OUD and offered medications. MNHC has developed relationships with local colleges and universities to create a pipeline of mental health providers that meet the cultural and linguistic needs of our patients. The health center is also enhancing its relationship with community mental health agencies that provide specialty mental health for referred patients. By the end of FY 2026, MNHC will increase the number of patients receiving MH services to 415 new patients, SUD services to 285 new patients and the number of MOUD will increase to 75. MNHC will serve Latino adults (including monolingual Spanish-speaking individuals), youth from 13 to 19 years of age, and adult individuals experiencing homelessness. This grant offers the opportunity for MNHC to address the MH and SUD disparities among the Latino population of San Francisco
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).