Friends of the children mental health surge capacity project - the friends of the children mental health surge capacity project will provide intensive wraparound and mental health system navigation…

Friends of the children mental health surge capacity project - the friends of the children mental health surge capacity project will provide intensive wraparound and mental health system navigation support services to underserved youth and family members in eight metro and rural counties in oregon (multnomah, washington, clackamas, klamath, deschutes, jefferson, crook and lane). A national network serving 26 communities across the US, friends of the children's trauma-informed approach impacts generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships with professional mentors called friends. Through long-term, trusted relationships, friends provide trauma-informed, mental health prevention and intervention support to youth and families least likely to access traditional services. The program has been shown to increase wellbeing for youth living with the intersecting pressures of poverty, complex trauma, and race. Populations to be served: friends of the children intentionally enrolls children (aged 4-6) who are facing extreme systemic obstacles. Program youth experience an average of four adverse childhood experiences (aces) by the time they turn five. Forty percent experience the trauma of foster care and out-of-home placement, over half experience parental substance abuse and/or incarceration. All children who qualify for the program are at-risk for long-term challenges to their mental well-being due to early traumatic exposure. Network-wide, 88% identify as people of color. Strategies and interventions: four friends of the children sites located across oregon will provide trauma-informed, mental health prevention and intervention support to approximately 600 formally enrolled underserved youth and their families, positively impacting more than 3,000 children, siblings, and caregivers. This support does not depend on a clinical diagnosis, extends across a myriad of contexts (including classrooms), and follows youth through developmental stages and life experiences over 12+ years. Leveraging evidence-based practices such as motivational interviewing and attunement strategies, friends will activate patient engagement in their care, partner directly with behavioral health service providers to reduce stigma and ensure that youth and caregivers have access to trauma-informed mental health services whenever possible, and invite health care providers to engage with program participants in the communities where they live, work and play, facilitating connections for youth and families to needed resources. Project goals and measurable objectives goal: increase the number of young people receiving evidence-based mental health and trauma mitigation services and reduce the burden on existing systems of care by investing in paid, professional mentoring. Measurable objectives: 1) by september 29, 2023, friends will support =80% of youth to regularly access preventative health services by leveraging evidence-based strategies and partnerships with care providers. 2) by september 29, 2023, friends will support =90% of youth to accomplish something they'RE proud of, demonstrating evidence of hope, a key factor in the building of resilience. 3) by september 29, 2023, friends will support =90% of youth to progress on social and emotional development, such as practicing healthy ways to cope with stress.