Northeast arkansas mental health awareness training expansion project - this project is designed to create a more responsive environment for individuals who exhibit mental health issues,…

Northeast arkansas mental health awareness training expansion project - this project is designed to create a more responsive environment for individuals who exhibit mental health issues, particularly those who experience serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, substance use disorders, and trauma. The geographic area for the project is a 20-county catchment area that mostly borders the mississippi delta region, and includes the following arkansas counties: clay, craighead, crittenden, cross, fulton, greene, independence, izard, jackson, lawrence, LEE, mississippi, monroe, phillips, poinsett, randolph, sharp, ST. Francis, white, and woodruff. The overall aims of this project are to (a) increase community awareness of mental illness, (B) increase capacity for, and provide, mental health awareness training, and (C) establish community linkages where individuals are referred to appropriate treatment and services. We will first build upon our current capacity by ensuring additional individuals are trained in mental health first aid (MHFA), question-persuade-refer (QPR), and crisis intervention team (CIT) training. In addition to mental health awareness, we plan to incorporate trauma-informed approaches into our training sessions because of its relevance in both the mental health arena and the covid-19 pandemic. We will then partner with various community groups and agencies to provide that training more broadly across the catchment area, which in turn will increase knowledge and confidence in those trained so they are better equipped to assist persons with mental illness as they encounter them. Across the 5 years of grant funding, this approach is expected to result in hundreds of individuals who are able to recognize the signs of mental illness and know how to refer individuals to appropriate resources as needed. In the longer term, this more responsive mental health environment will lead to improved access to services, and subsequent outcomes, for those with mental illness in the catchment area. The purpose of the proposed project is to create a more responsive mental-health environment for individuals in the 20-county catchment area by increasing capacity for, and providing, mental health awareness training and support, and establishing community linkages where individuals are referred to appropriate treatment and services. The specific goals of the project include (1) increasing the capacity of individuals in the area of focus to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders in adults and youth, especially serious mental illness (SMI) and serious emotional disturbance (SED), (2) increase community awareness and knowledge of mental illness and work to reduce stigma associated with that illness, (3) establish and enhance community linkages to train, respond, and refer individuals with signs and symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services, (4) develop and implement a mental health awareness training plan for consistency and sustainability. Throughout the 5-year grant period, we propose to serve 500 individuals (100 each year).