Community Crisis Services And Food Bank

COMMUNITY CRISIS SERVICES PROPOSAL FOR THE DISASTER DISTRESS HELPLINE - COMMUNITY CRISIS SERVICES PROPOSES TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A NATIONAL, 24/7/365 DISASTER DISTRESS HELPLINE (DDH) TO PROVIDE IMMEDIATE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND CONNECTION TO RESOURCES FOR INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED BY NATURAL DISASTERS, PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES, AND MASS VIOLENCE EVENTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND U.S. TERRITORIES. AS DISASTERS CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY, MORE INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES ARE EXPERIENCING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS WHILE TRYING TO NAVIGATE DISRUPTED SYSTEMS AND OVERWHELMED RECOVERY RESOURCES. BECAUSE DISASTERS CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE AND OFTEN INTERRUPT THE SUPPORT PEOPLE RELY ON MOST, DDH WILL PROVIDE A TRUSTED AND ACCESSIBLE PLACE FOR ANYONE IMPACTED BY A DISASTER, PARTICULARLY THOSE EXPERIENCING GREATER VULNERABILITY OR BARRIERS TO CARE. COMMUNITY BRINGS SUBSTANTIAL EXPERIENCE RESPONDING TO PERIODS OF HEIGHTENED NATIONAL DISTRESS, INCLUDING PREVIOUSLY SERVING AS A NATIONAL DDH PROVIDER DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. COMMUNITY ANTICIPATES TRAINING APPROXIMATELY 26 FTE OF DDH STAFF AT PROJECT LAUNCH, INCLUDING COUNSELORS, SUPERVISORS, AND KEY PERSONNEL RESPONSIBLE FOR OVERSIGHT OF SERVICES. STAFF WILL COMPLETE AN INITIAL TWO-WEEK INTERACTIVE TRAINING FOCUSED ON CRISIS COUNSELING SKILLS, INCLUDING PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID (PFA), JUST-IN-TIME TRAINING, AND ALL SAMHSA-REQUIRED TRAINING. THROUGHOUT THE FIVE-YEAR PROJECT PERIOD, STAFF WILL PARTICIPATE IN ONGOING CONTINUING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES, SUCH AS IN-SERVICE PRESENTATIONS AND ADDITIONAL DISASTER-SPECIFIC RESOURCE ALERTS. PROJECT GOALS FOCUS ON ENSURING UNINTERRUPTED NATIONAL ACCESS TO DISASTER-SPECIFIC CRISIS COUNSELING; REDUCING DISASTER-RELATED EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND IMPROVING COPING AND RESILIENCE; IMPROVING ACCESS TO DISASTER-RELATED RESOURCES; AND INCREASING ENGAGEMENT WITH DISASTER-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES AND REFERRAL PARTNERS. COMMUNITY WILL ESTABLISH FULL DDH OPERATIONS WITHIN TWO MONTHS OF AWARD AND MAINTAIN AT LEAST 99% ANNUAL SERVICE AVAILABILITY THROUGH THE PROJECT PERIOD. DDH WILL REDUCE BARRIERS TO SUPPORT THROUGH MULTILINGUAL SUPPORTS, INTERPRETATION SERVICES, AND ASL VIDEOPHONE ACCESS. COUNSELORS WILL RECEIVE SPECIALIZED DISASTER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING AND ONGOING QUALITY REVIEW TO ENSURE HIGH STANDARDS OF CARE AND CONSISTENT USE OF EVIDENCE-INFORMED APPROACHES. THESE WILL INCLUDE PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID AND SAMHSA DTAC GUIDANCE. PROJECT EVALUATION WILL EXAMINE WHETHER HELP-SEEKERS REPORT FEELING SUPPORTED, BETTER ABLE TO COPE, AND SUCCESSFULLY CONNECTED TO DISASTER-RELATED RESOURCES AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES FOLLOWING CONTACT WITH DDH. COMMUNITY WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN AWARENESS OF DDH THROUGH DISASTER-READY OUTREACH MATERIALS AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH DISASTER RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONS.

BASIC CENTER PROGRAM

ENHANCING IOWA 988 FOLLOW-UP CAPACITY - THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ENHANCE CAPACITY IN IOWA TO PROVIDE 988 USERS WITH UP TO ONE YEAR OF FOLLOW-UP CARE. IT WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN COORDINATION BETWEEN 988 AND OTHER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS IN THE STATE, ULTIMATELY IMPROVING ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED SERVICES. THE KEY OUTCOMES ANTICIPATED ARE REDUCTION IN SUICIDE RISK, REDUCTION IN OVERDOSE RISK, INCREASED UTILIZATION OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES AMONG IOWA 988 USERS, AND EXPANDED FOLLOW-UP COMMUNICATION MODALITIES. IOWA CONSISTENTLY HAS HIGHER SUICIDE ATTEMPT AND MORTALITY RATES THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. THIS IS ALSO TRUE FOR THE RATE OF OVERDOSES. WHILE 988 CURRENTLY PROVIDES IMMEDIATE CRISIS RESPONSE AND SUICIDE PREVENTION, ITS EFFECTIVENESS IS LIMITED BY THE SHORT DURATION OF ASSISTANCE. ELONGATING FOLLOW-UP CARE WILL OFFER MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR CLIENTS TO ESTABLISH MULTI-LAYERED SUICIDE PREVENTION STRATEGIES AND CONNECT TO RELEVANT RESOURCES. ONGOING SUPPORT WILL GREATLY BENEFIT THE ESTIMATED 10% OF IOWA 988 CLIENTS WHO ARE AT HIGH RISK OF SUICIDE. 988 CENTERS IN THE STATE DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT STAFFING CAPACITY TO EXPAND FOLLOW-UP. HIRING ADDITIONAL STAFF WILL BE THE PRIMARY CAPACITY-BUILDING STRATEGY. COMMUNITY CRISIS SERVICES AND FOUNDATION 2 CRISIS SERVICES, IOWA’S TWO 988 CENTERS, WILL CUMULATIVELY ONBOARD 4 FTES OF FOLLOW-UP SPECIALISTS. THESE WORKERS WILL CONDUCT SUICIDE AND OVERDOSE RISK SCREENING, REINFORCE SAFETY PLANS, CONNECT CLIENTS TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RESOURCES, SUPPORT CLIENTS WITH EMOTIONAL PROCESSING, AND COLLABORATIVELY HELP CLIENTS IMPLEMENT LONG-TERM WELLBEING STRATEGIES. THIS PROJECT’S FIRST TARGET POPULATION IS 988 CLIENTS WITH ANY LEVEL OF SUICIDAL IDEATION. SPECIALISTS WILL PROVIDE THIS POPULATION WITH TWO FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATIONS (24 HOURS AND WITHIN 14 DAYS), PER LIFELINE GUIDANCE. USERS WHO ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR SUICIDE WILL BE ENROLLED IN FOLLOW-UP FOR 3-12 MONTHS. THE SECOND TARGET POPULATION, CLIENTS WITH RECENT SUBSTANCE MISUSE OR ADDICTION, WILL ALSO BE ENROLLED FOR 3-12 MONTHS STARTING IN YEAR 2. CAPACITY BUILDING WILL ALSO FOCUS ON INTEGRATING 988 AND OTHER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES, A FOCUS OF YEAR 1. WE WILL ESTABLISH MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING WITH MOBILE CRISIS, CERTIFIED COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTERS (CCBHCS), AND SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT PROVIDERS. MOUS ARE INTENDED TO FACILITATE CLIENT REFERRALS, CONFIRM CLIENT CONNECTION TO SERVICES, AND SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT CONTINUED SERVICE USE FOR CLIENTS RECEIVING LTFCS. IN ALIGNMENT WITH PROJECT GOALS AND SAMHSA’S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, KEY MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES FOR THIS PROJECT INCLUDE: 75% OF FOLLOW-UP CLIENTS WILL SHOW REDUCED RISK OF SUICIDE IN MONTHS 2-12 25% OF FOLLOW-UP CLIENTS WILL REPORT INCREASED MOTIVATION TO REACH OR MAINTAIN SOBRIETY 25% OF FOLLOW-UP CLIENTS WILL ENGAGE WITH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES AFTER REFERRAL IN MONTHS 1-12