Outreach Development Corporation

PROJECT TITLE IS OUTREACH CERTIFIED COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC. THE OUTREACH CCBHC WILL PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE TO CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND ADULTS. - THE OUTREACH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CERTIFIED COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC (ODC-CCBHC) WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE PRIMARY CARE, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, AND SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT SERVICES IN SOUTHWESTERN QUEENS, NY. WE WILL SERVE 250 CLIENTS ANNUALLY, PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENTS, FOR CLIENTS WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI); SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS (SUD, INCLUDING OPIOID USE DISORDERS); CO-OCCURRING MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS (COD); AND CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE (SED). SERVICES WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A MENTAL HEALTH AND/OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER, INCLUDING INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING A MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE USE-RELATED CRISIS. THE ODC-CCBHC WILL SERVE ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS ACROSS THE LIFESPAN, INCLUDING PREGNANT WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN; VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES; AND THE DIVERSE RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND CULTURAL COMMUNITIES THAT RESIDE IN SOUTHWESTERN QUEENS. THE SOUTHWESTERN QUEENS NEIGHBORHOODS OF WOODHAVEN AND RICHMOND HILL ARE RACIALLY, ETHNICALLY, AND SOCIOECONOMICALLY DIVERSE. THE AREA’S 143,642 RESIDENTS LIVE IN 43,357 HOUSEHOLDS, REFLECTING A POPULATION DENSITY THAT IS 1.3 TIMES THE NYC AVERAGE. THE MEDIAN PER CAPITA INCOME IS $29,887, AND 22% OF RESIDENTS LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE. MORE THAN HALF (51.1%) WERE NOT BORN IN THE U.S., 26% HAVE LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY, AND 60.3% SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH AT HOME. LATINOS ARE THE PREDOMINANT RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (41%), FOLLOWED BY ASIAN (27%), WHITE (18%), AND BLACK (9%). RICHMOND HILL IS KNOWN FOR ITS LARGE INDO-GUYANESE, INDO-TRINIDADIAN AND TOBAGONIAN, AND INDO-CARIBBEAN IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS, AND IS SOMETIMES KNOWN AS LITTLE PUNJAB FOR ITS LARGE PUNJABI IMMIGRANT POPULATION THE DATA ON MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE IN SOUTHWESTERN QUEENS MASKS A HIGH LEVEL OF HEALTH DISPARITIES. WHILE THE LEVEL OF SERVICES AVAILABLE TO QUEENS RESIDENTS IS SUBSTANTIAL, ACCESS TO THESE SERVICES VARIES BY POPULATION, AND THE ODC-CCBHC WILL SERVE RESIDENTS WHO ARE OFTEN UNABLE TO ACCESS SERVICES DUE TO LIMITED RESOURCES, POOR SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH (SDOH), AND UNDERLYING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND SUBSTANCE USE ISSUES. MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE NEEDS ARE ALSO SIGNIFICANT IN SOUTHWESTERN QUEENS. DATA SHOW A 6.7% PREVALENCE RATE FOR DEPRESSION FOR RESIDENTS OF SOUTHWESTERN QUEENS AND THAT 6% OF EMS DISPATCHES IN 2019 WERE FOR MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS, AND A RATE OF PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALIZATIONS OF 479 PER 100,000 RESIDENTS IN 2015. DATA ALSO INDICATE THAT 3.2% OF RESIDENTS REPORTED SERIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS (A COMPOSITE MEASURE OF SIX QUESTIONS REGARDING SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND OTHER EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS). HEAVY DRINKING IS REPORTED BY 5.2% OF RESIDENTS, AND THE OPIOID BURDEN IS SIGNIFICANT. PHYSICAL HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE ACCESS ARE ALSO CONCERNS IN SOUTHWESTERN QUEENS, WHERE 15% OF ADULTS ARE UNINSURED AND 7% REPORTED GOING WITHOUT NEEDED HEALTHCARE IN THE PAST YEAR (DATA COLLECTED BETWEEN 2017 AND 2019, PRIOR TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC). RATES OF AVOIDABLE HOSPITALIZATIONS (1.83/100,000 RESIDENTS) ARE HIGHER THAN RATES SEEN IN QUEENS AND IN NYC. RATES OF DIABETES (14%) AND HYPERTENSION (29%) ARE ALSO HIGHER THAN CITYWIDE AVERAGES. THE ODC-CCBHC HAS THE FOLLOWING FOUR GOALS AND MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES: 1) PREPARE THE FOUNDATION FOR A STRONG CCBHC PROGRAM BY HIRING STAFF AND CONDUCTING A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT; 2) PROVIDE THE NINE REQUIRED CCBHC SERVICES; 3) DEVELOP AND IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET CCBHC CERTIFICATION CRITERIA; AND 4) DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A SUSTAINABILITY PLAN TO SUPPORT THE CCBHC PROGRAM ONCE FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING ENDS. THE ODC-CCBHC WILL IMPROVE THE QUALITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT TO A