Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - flanner house serves a historically disadvantaged region of indianapolis with the area population facing significant…

Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - flanner house serves a historically disadvantaged region of indianapolis with the area population facing significant barriers such as lack of childcare, computer access and expertise, transportation, inadequate housing, food, and soft skills as well as mental health issues, substance abuse problems, criminal history, language barriers, and poor self-image. 75% of our adult clients are single female head of household with children at 200% or less of poverty. 92% of the total population are unemployed or underemployed. Most of these families have a negative net worth. Over half are technically homeless. Only one-third have a GED equivalent or HS diploma. Research shows that exposure to violence, incarceration, and involvement in the foster care system can increase the chances of developing a mental illness. Consequently, the black community, in particular, is at significantly increased risk of developing a mental health issue due to these barriers and historical, economic, social, political influences that systemically expose the black community to psychologically and physically damaging factors. Furthermore, environmental conditions do little to help, as stigma and judgment often stop black/african-americans from seeking treatment for their mental illnesses. Many believe that discussions about mental illness would not be appropriate even among family and that expression of mental distresses would make them be considered "crazy" in their social circles. With the lack of quality of mental healthcare in communities of color having been a long-unresolved issue, we believe that culturally-responsive mental health treatment is one way of addressing the disparities in psychological wellbeing in the black community. Flanner house, working with urban ministries, has gained approval to bill medicaid for affordable and free counseling services to our clients. Our goal to is provide an established site with on-site licensed counselors and therapy so that i ndividuals and families are comfortable in a setting that is familiar to them and counselors and therapy that can bring relatable experiences and steps in the context in which they live. Further development will proceed in two phases: - in phase one, flanner house will offer the following services necessary for the expansion of the community mental health and wellness center. This includes outreach activities to recruit and engage participants, proper case coordination and service delivery, data tracking and post-program follow-up. Phase two includes our team implementing a system for monitoring, and the evaluation and piloting of promising practices with both quantitative and qualitative outcomes. This phase will involve our morningstar team evaluating documented best practices for treating black patients. Based on current demand, we anticipate offering 5 counseling sessions per hour for 5 days per week or 125 hours per week when the center is fully staffed. The services provided will be one-on-one sessions in a comfortable and confidential setting. Group therapy options will engage the family as a whole, or peers. Staff will also develop plans for home-based interventions. This investment is aligned with our quality of life plan for king commons as IT supports the well-being of individuals in the community and creates services that are place based and culturally contextualized. We will support the creation of new jobs, including morningstar community mental health center (cmhc) program manager and cmhc facility manager.