Spartanburg, region gets $11M grant to expand mental health services in underserved areas
Herald-JournalSep 14, 2021
Mental health center Executive Director
The clinician-staffed peer living room concept is designed to provide a warm, comfortable place in an informal setting for mental health patients who can receive peer support before a crisis arises.
It also helps cut down crisis visits to the crowded hospital emergency department, where many mental health patients end up, even though they may not have had an emergency, according to
"Our mission is to make sure that children and families with severe needs can access the resources they need," he said. "We want to provide an alternative for the child and family facing crisis that might bring them to the emergency room."
He said the grant, which breaks down to
He said the first hire will be a project coordinator to oversee the hiring and program development. He said he hopes to hire a diverse group that can identify with the people they are serving and break through any language barriers.
To deliver the care, Williams said the mental health center will work with a network of program providers such as the
Williams said
The purpose of the grant is to expand services to minority populations, whether in urban or rural areas, he said.
"A particular focus of the grant is identifying two populations -- black indigenous people of color and the Latinx community," Williams said.
According to the
Transportation issues, difficulty finding childcare/taking time off work
The belief that mental health treatment "doesn't work"
The high level of mental health stigma in minority populations
A mental health system weighted heavily toward non-minority values and culture norms
Racism, bias, and discrimination in treatment settings
Language barriers and an insufficient number of providers who speak languages other than English
A lack of adequate health insurance coverage (and even for people with insurance, high deductibles and co-pays make it difficult to afford).
The
Williams said
"It's not a physical barrier," he said of transportation. "There is a perception that the care is not geared toward people like you, however you define you. We need to make sure our services are not just lip service to diversity, equity and inclusion, and make sure we are actually doing that."
Contact
___
(c)2021 the Spartanburg Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.)
Visit the Spartanburg Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.) at www.GoUpstate.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.