System of care ST. Louis - project name: system of care ST

Louis (SOC-STL) populations to be served: the proposed SOC-STL expansion will serve youth aged 21 and under with a serious emotional disturbance (SED) or who have early signs and symptoms of serious mental illness, who disproportionately experience homelessness or are at risk of experiencing homelessness in ST. Louis city and ST. Louis county. Youth of color and lgbtqi youth experience significant disparities in homelessness, therefore the project focuses on these groups. Strategies/interventions: direct services will use a combination of clinical and non-clinical interventions. Clinical interventions will include trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and other therapeutic modalities. Non-clinical interventions will include peer support and youth leadership/mentoring. Training and technical assistance partners are led by people of color and/or lgbtqi people with expertise in serving these populations and training other organizations to improve services for target populations. Other infrastructure improvements include integrating a referral and resource guide created by and for lgbtqi people looking for mental health services. All strategies and interventions are culturally appropriate for the target populations and employ evidence-based, evidence-informed, and culturally responsive practices. Project goals and measurable objectives: the project will serve 95 individuals in year one and 190 in each of years two through four for a total of 665 individuals served during the project period. An abbreviated list of project goals and objectives follow. Goal 1: strengthen and enhance current infrastructure to connect youth to family support and culturally appropriate mental health services. OBJ. 1.1 within the first four months, complete a needs assessment to identify gaps in service delivery for youth with/at risk of SED disproportionately experiencing homelessness/at risk of homelessness with a focus on lgbtqi youth and youth of color. Goal 2: provide evidence-based and culturally appropriate mental health services to youth, under 21, with or at-risk of SED/SMI and their families that are disproportionately experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness with a focus on lgbtqi youth and youth of color. OBJ. 2.1 provide family support partner services to 125 unduplicated youth per year. Goal 3: significantly mitigate youth's mental health-related symptoms by posttreatment. OBJ. 3.1 70% of youth who receive TF-CBT will manifest significantly lower ptsd, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms by posttreatment. Goal 4: increase the knowledge of and skills about effective strategies to decrease health disparities and stigma related to lgbtqi and black youth seeking behavioral health services of SOC-STL direct service providers. OBJ. 4.1 annually, provide 4 trainings and 4 hours of technical assistance to 4 mental health service providers on the values, guiding principles, and practices required to effectively serve lgbtqi youth. Goal 5: provide outreach and engagement to increase access to family support and evidence-based and culturally appropriate mental health services. OBJ. 5.1 annually, receive 200 referrals from SOC linkage and referral platform/ youth connection helpline, sqsh's peer support warmline, courts, and community partners.