Building capacity for positive mental health outcomes - the metropolitan ymca of the oranges' (metro ymca) project entitled building capacity for positive mental health outcomes will serve the seven…

Building capacity for positive mental health outcomes - the metropolitan ymca of the oranges' (metro ymca) project entitled building capacity for positive mental health outcomes will serve the seven branches of the association, which are: the greater bergen county ymca, west essex ymca, east orange ymca, sussex county ymca, south mountain ymca, the wayne ymca, and fairview lake ymca camps. Through the implementation of this project, the metro ymca will hire and integrate three mental health professionals into the metro ymca's programmatic planning and operations and serve assigned branches and/or communities through staff support, promotion of positive mental health, and early identification, intervention, and referral services for constituents experiencing mental health challenges. These professionals will be assimilated into the metro ymca's programmatic planning and operations and serve assigned branches and/or communities through staff support, promotion of positive mental health, and early identification, intervention, and referral services for constituents experiencing mental health challenges. These professionals will work to integrate mental health and behavioral wellness into pre-existing programs, like pre-school and school age childcare, and free community programming, as well as create new programs that serve both youth and adults in groups. Under the direction of the metro ymca director of mental health, the newly hired mental health professionals will also provide staff guidance on adaptable framework to support crisis services and suicide prevention activities, including awareness activities, screening, and referral to direct service treatments, when appropriate. In addition to these activities, the mental health team will create and deliver education materials and imperative training on mental health first aid, diagnostic tools, and support mechanisms, and escalation pathways. The goals and objectives of this project are to: increase organizational capacity to address the mental health needs of our staff, youth and adult members, and communities served; improve behavioral functioning of youth participants; and improve mental and emotional wellness of adult participants. The measurable objectives of this project include: hiring three mental health professionals; increase staff awareness of mental health education, early intervention tactics, DE-escalation pathways, and referrals to appropriate parties through mental health first aid trainings and mental health and wellbeing certifications; integrate social-emotional learning (SEL) into all pre-school and school age child care programs; implement social and emotional health enrichment programming for youth and adults across the association; and collect and analyze impact through program participant and staff assessments. Through this program, approximately 125 staff members will receive mental health education/training, 1,600 children will have SEL programming integrated into their childcare programs, 72 children will participate in SEL enrichment programming, and 30 adults will participate in mental health and social wellness programming across the association. The metro ymca plans to train all staff members past this project period and anticipates sustaining the above participation numbers year over year.