Bridges to care will provide mental health training for faith-based leaders in bexar county, texas to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders - westcare texas, INC. (wctx), a non-profit…

Bridges to care will provide mental health training for faith-based leaders in bexar county, texas to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders - westcare texas, INC. (wctx), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization is submitting this proposal to implement and sustain bridges to care to 1) educate faith communities to increase mental health literacy and awareness; 2) equip congregations for mental health ministry; 3) engage faith communities as partners in efforts to improve mental health system access, availability, and performance; and 4) embed mental health services in faith communities. The population of focus to receive mental health awareness training for the proposed bridges to care initiative are faith-based leaders in bexar county, texas with an emphasis on african american faith leaders. An emphasis on engaging african american faith leaders is because the african american community has the lowest usage rate in comparison to other races even though they have the highest rate of emergency room and jail admissions o people with mental health disorders according to DR. Roberto villarreal, MD, MPH and senior vice president of the university health system robert b. Green hospital that provides services predominantly to the medically indigent. The population of focus for which the training is intended to help is adult faith leaders over the age of 18 living in the eastside promise zone and other faith leaders in bexar county, texas. Included in this population are racial/ethnic minorities of hispanic/latinos and african americans and other racial/ethnic groups living in the SAN antonio eastside promise zone ZIP codes of 78202, 78203, and 78218. The goals and objectives are: goal 1: train faith-based leaders and members of their congregations to recognize and respond to the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly perinatal depression, serious mental illness, and/or serious emotional disturbances and make effective and appropriate referrals. Objective 1.1: provide mhfa and CPI training to 100 faith leaders (500 life of grant). Objective 1.2: 80% of program participants will increase in knowledge about the signs and symptoms and understanding of mental health disorders as measured by the mental health literacy scale (mhls). Objective 1.3: 80% of program participants will show a decrease in stigma associated with mental health and serious emotional disturbances as demonstrated by the opening minds survey (OMS). Goal 2: increase community knowledge of and establish referral linkages to appropriate services for individuals with serious mental health or emotional disturbances. Objective 2.1: strengthen and expand the existing partnership between WC-TX and the center for health care services which is the local mental health service authority for bexar county by implementing and maintaining the services and activities defined in the letters of commitment. Objective 2.2: 100% of faith partners will develop educational materials regarding mental health and emotional disturbance and treatment available to all members of their congregations. Objective 2.3: 90% of community members identified by program completers as having a severe mental illness or emotional disturbance will be referred to a treatment provider for treatment/counselling services.