IMPACT cville

Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together

You are here: Home / Archives for Uncategorized

New Focus on Early Intervention and Psychiatric Care

By

From the research committee meeting on January 16th:

After meeting with six local care providers and mental health organizations, our research committee has identified two reoccurring and urgent problem areas:

Psychiatric Care

Individuals have trouble accessing quality affordable psychiatric care for their children regardless of their income. There is a shortage of child psychiatric care in our area and many providers do not accept insurance and require private payment; limited providers accept Medicaid payments.

  • The average wait time for a psychiatric assessment through Region Ten is three months.
  • Region Ten only provides 9 hours of child psychiatric care each week for Charlottesville and Albemarle. They conduct only 3-8 psychiatric evaluations a month.
  • Care providers and mental health organizations shared that many kids are getting access to medication through their primary care physicians. Psychiatric medications are often outside their areas of expertise, and routine management is often outside their scope of service.
  • Anecdotal evidence from both our listening process and research visits alike has shown that there is a major lack in coordination between counselors and psychiatrists

Early Intervention

In the past, individuals have had trouble accessing preventive counseling services and do not know where to begin when they feel they are in need of help. Access to care and counseling early on is essential, seeing as one-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14; three-quarters by age 24.

  • 910 students utilized Student Assistance Program (SAP) counselors in public schools last year, which provide counseling for direct mental health problems (such as depression) as well as issues connected to mental health (such as bullying, family issues, or substance abuse).
  • SAP counselors are able to act as a central entry point in public schools, referring to 55 different mental healthcare providers and organizations.
  • Due to a loss in grant funding, the number of counselors in area schools will be reduced from 9 to 5 counselors in the 2014-2015 school year.

Last night’s committee meeting raised more specific questions about these two areas that we will continue to pursue in the coming weeks.

2013 First Rung Healthcare Careers Collaborative

By

The problem: IMPACT has worked over the past two and half years on the problem of youth unemployment that impacts an estimated 3,000 young adults.  One of the largest barriers for young adults is the cost of training programs leading to careers that can support a family. Virginia Workforce estimates growth of about 12,000 healthcare positions between now and 2018.

A solution: We are asking the UVA Health System to fund a pilot program that has 30 local participants at approximately $3,000 each, totaling $90,000 that will begin in August 2014, the start of Piedmont Virginia Community College’s fall semester. This program would include:

  • Tuition waivers at $3,000 for each local student based on need
  • Commitment to hire successful graduates of the program
  • On-the-job coaching and mentoring (preceptors)
  • Eye toward program expansion following evaluation

Having a public commitment from motivated employers is the first step to making this happen. We are asking UVA Health System to make the first step for an initial pilot program.  Our research has shown that:

  • At Piedmont Virginia Community College, the most expensive entry level healthcare training program is approximately $3,000
  • Martha Jefferson Hospital had a similar program. In its pilot phase, they had 30 participants

Following evaluation we envision a collaborative and sustainable program to develop between UVA Medical Center and Martha Jefferson Hospital to form an employer-led collaborative that would:

  • Provide employers with skilled, credentialed and loyal local workers
  • Provide entry-level workers with education opportunities that lead to career mobility

Mental Health Initiative Fact Sheet, 12/20/13

By

IMPACT team and network members- please distribute this information to your congregations via phone calls, emails, letters or any way that you can think of to effectively engage your own congregation’s justice ministry and rodef tzedek networks!

The goal of research visits to this point has been to get a clearer picture of, and to clearly define the problem that we can take action on. After each visit, committee members in attendance shared the information about problems that they found to be the most glaring. The results are highlighted below.

Problems our community faces:

+ 376 students in Charlottesville and Albemarle public schools have seriously considered suicide at least once (SS/HS)

+ On average, families must wait three months to see a psychiatrist through Region Ten. Region Ten can only offer 9 hours of psychiatric care each week for all of Charlottesville and Albemarle families.

+ Due to a lack of psychiatric care, many individuals are being prescribed mental health medication through their primary care physicians who do not help with medication management (THC, CYFS).

+ Families and professionals both lack clarity on who can provide counseling and psychiatric services and at what price. As a result, finding services is done through word of mouth and informal networking (MHWC, THC, CYFS).

+ Access to counseling and other services often become inaccessible when a child turns 18 years old due to coverage changes (CYFS).

+ Student Assistance Programs, one of our community’s most effective preventive services that serves roughly 1,000 individual students each year, will be losing its grant funding in June (Region Ten, SS/HS).

This information has been gleaned from visits with:

+ Region Ten Child and Family Services: Our local Community Service Board (CSB). A CSB is the point of entry into the publicly-funded system of services for mental health, intellectual disability, and substance abuse in the state of Virginia. CSBs fall under the Virginia Department of Behavioral health and developmental services. Region Ten serves mostly provides services for people who are eligible for Medicaid or with low-income.

+ UVa Teen Health Center (THC): A UVa clinic that serves area teens. While they provide many other health services, in the area of mental health their main contributions are mental health assessments, referrals to other providers, and medication prescriptions by nurse practitioners.

+ Mental Health and Wellness Coalition (MHWC): a coalition of 17 agencies and organizations that work to improve mental health services in the region. They work specifically to improve care and access to care for adults.

+ Children, Youth and Family Services (CYFS): A local non-profit agency that provides free counseling to children, teens and families in crisis.

+ Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS): a federal grant program which seeks to gather information about student needs in local schools and develop appropriate programs from that information. In conjunction with Region Ten, they have funded 9 counselors in 13 schools who have collectively seen roughly 1,000 students a year.

Mental Health Jargon and Abbreviations

CHIP- Comprehensive Health Investment Program CHIP of Virginia is a non-profit organization responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of a statewide network of community-based child health and family support programs in Virginia. In Charlottesville, they provide mostly home visits to help parents to navigate health care for their children.

CSA- Comprehensive Services Act The Comprehensive Services Act for At-Risk Youth and Families (CSA) is a law enacted in 1993 that establishes a single state pool of funds to purchase services for at- risk youth and their families. The state funds, combined with local community funds, are managed by local interagency teams who plan and oversee services to youth

CSB- Community Service Board A community services board (CSB) is the point of entry into the publicly-funded system of services for mental health, intellectual disability, and substance abuse. Our local CSB is Region Ten. CSBs fall under the Virginia Department of Behavioral health and developmental services

CSU- Court Service Unit Locally- or state-operated entities that provide services to a juvenile court, including intake, investigations and reports, probation, parole, case management, and other related services in the community. There are 35 CSUs in Virginia. In our district (16), services offered by the CSU and through community resources include: Shoplifting Program, Community Service Work Program, Community Attention Program, Restorative Justice, home-based counseling and substance abuse services provided through CSA funds.

CYFS- Children, Youth and Family Services A local nonprofit organization that addresses critical issues such as: child abuse and neglect, parenting support and education, childcare quality, teen and family conflict, and early learning opportunities for children.

Estimating Local Prevalence of Mental Health, (Study by Steven Stern) Focuses only on potential recipients of public mental health services and makes no attempt to estimate individual demand. Studies adult populations only.

FAPT- Family Assessment and Planning Team Develops service plans for eligible youth and families and reviews cases funded by the Comprehensive Services Act to determine progress, prepare transition plans, and adjust services as needed. The FAPT studies and discusses information from case managers, parents and/or guardians, psychological reports, school records, and other pertinent data sources. The youth’s family is strongly encouraged to attend and participate in the FAPT meeting.

Integrated Care (Information gleaned from meeting with the Mental Health and Wellness coalition) A whole care team working with a patient, having a full spectrum of care within one agency. This results in “warm hand-offs” from one provider to another. When this happens patients are more likely to return for mental health services. This is being best developed for adults with the coalition, however we haven’t found an agency or group that is building this for children.

MHA- Mental Health America The main goals of MHACA have been and continue to be education and advocacy for protecting and improving the mental health of persons in the local region of Charlottesville City and Albemarle County. They are connected to the Mental Health and Wellness Coalition via a community nurse who conducts screenings and refers patients to appropriate care.

MHI- Mental Health Initiative State funds used to cover kids who do not qualify for Medicaid. Region Ten uses these funds.

NAMI- National Alliance on Mental Illness A non-profit self-help support and advocacy organization made up of consumers, families and friends of people with severe mental illnesses. Part of a national network.

Region Ten Our local Community Service Board. Mostly provides services for people who are eligible for Medicaid or with low-income.

Safe Schools/Healthy Schools Program funded by a federal grant-making program to stop violence and risk behaviors in schools. Safe Schools/Healthy Students has worked with our schools and grant partners to identify needs and gaps. Neta Davis at Region Ten said that their Student Assistance Program (SAP) is one of the most effective prevention programs our community has, but that the grant funding for this program runs out in June.

SAP- Student Assistance Program Counselors A program of Safe Schools/Healthy Schools. By placing counselors in all of the Albemarle County and Charlottesville City middle and high schools, support is making access to quality mental health care possible for all students. Services can be initiated by teachers, parents, counselors, students themselves, or other school professionals. Nine Counselors across 13 schools are seeing almost 1,000 students each year.

 TDT- Therapeutic Day Treatment An elementary and middle school-based program that helps children who are having behavioral difficulties. Through in-class behavioral coaching, problem solving and daily positive reinforcement, kids learn how to be aware of and change their behavior, enabling them to be more successful as students. Region Ten currently has 40 staff in 26 schools. Also know as Educational Support Services (ESS).

TJHD- Thomas Jefferson Health District Falls under the Virginia Dept. of Health. Provides public health services to Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson

Pooled Resources for the Homeless Proposed (Daily Progress)

By

IMPACT’s Roundtable to Reduce Homelessness has increased collaboration between homeless care providers in only three months. Read an update from the Daily Progress below to see exactly what’s happened since the start of the Roundtable at the 2013 Nehemiah Action!

By Aaron Richardson

Posted: Monday, August 5, 2013 10:07 pm

Charlottesville officials plan later this month to consider proposals to pull the city’s resources for the homeless under one organization, according to a request for proposals on the city website.

The request calls for an organization to coordinate city and Albemarle County nonprofit groups in leveraging local, state and federal money to reduce homelessness.

The project is designed to help Charlottesville and Albemarle meet state and federal mandates that localities have mechanisms to coordinate care for the homeless, the request said.

“We believe that a more cooperative approach is currently necessary,” officials said in the request.

City officials declined to say Monday how much money the two localities have set aside for the project. Albemarle officials were not immediately available for comment.

The move should give Charlottesville and Albemarle County access to more state and federal money to fight homelessness, said Mike Murphy, Charlottesville’s director of human services.

“We are trying to provide some incentive and structure for agencies to come together and provide the kind of structure that we believe the funders at the state and federal level are looking for,” Murphy said.

The move also should get organizations working together before receiving money rather than after, said Jesse Boeckermann, program director at PACEM, a Charlottesville nonprofit group that provides warm beds for the homeless during the winter.

“Instead of collaborating after the fact, you do it beforehand, so when the funding comes out you kind of have an idea and a bigger goal,” he said.

The ultimate goal is to reduce homelessness, said City Councilor Dave Norris. ‘

“It will look at how we help more of our residents to either avoid falling into homelessness in the first place, or get back into housing as quickly as possible,” Norris said.

PACEM is putting together a response to the request, said Colleen Keller, PACEM executive director.

“The beauty of this is this is a request for proposals asking people to prove they are going to work together toward a goal … to focus on the ends, focus on the solutions to homelessness,” she said.

Proposals are due 5 p.m. Aug. 16. City officials hope to award a contract by October, Murphy said.

See the original article here.

Abraham’s Stars

By

IMPACT Rally

The Rev. James Richardson

St. Paul’s Memorial Church

April 9, 2013

Abraham’s Stars

Genesis 15:1-6

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great…” He brought him outside and said, “Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

I want you to look around – look at each other tonight and count the stars among you, for you are Abraham’s stars. The Lord has reckoned you as righteous and good and beloved. Do not be afraid, God told Abraham, and God tells us: Do not be afraid. You are Abraham’s stars.

Tonight I want to spend a few minutes talking about IMPACT, what we are, how we got here, what we’ve accomplished and why we do what we do the way we do it.

I’d like to start with a show of hands.

How many of you are here at the rally for the first time?

How many of you will be going to the Nehemiah Action for the first time?

How many of you will be bringing people to the Nehemiah Action who have never gone to a Nehemiah Action before? How about everyone?

So let’s have a little refresher on IMPACT.

We were founded in 2006 by a group of congregations who came together wanting to make a difference in our community.

Many were already involved in ministries of mercy like PACEM and the Salvation Army. They wanted to see if they could change the system so that ministries like PACEM and the Salvation Army would no longer be necessary one day.

The group affiliated with a training organization based in Florida called DART that began showing our congregational leaders and clergy how to create a listening-based community organizing structure that would tackle tough issues in Charlottesville.

Rabbi Dan Alexander of Congregation Beth Israel came up with the acronym, IMPACT, which stands for:

Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together.

IMPACT’s method is based on listening to members of our congregations to find out what issues are most on their minds and hearts.

We do that every year in our congregations. In my congregation we have a series of house meetings.

From there we narrow the issues. In the fall, we hold the Annual Team Assembly and hear presentations on the problems we’ve heard about from you.

Everyone in our congregations is invited, and we vote to narrow the issue to one or two for the year.

Then members of our congregations volunteer to serve on research teams to find out all we can about the issue for the year.

They come up with proposed solutions, and they meet with decision makers to further refine these solutions. Our goal is to not blindside anyone.

That’s where we come in tonight – to hear about the progress on the two issues we are working on this year: youth unemployment and homelessness – and how we are pushing for action with decision makers in our community.

You will hear more on these topics soon.

Then comes the Nehemiah Action where we ask you to bring at least three people with you to fill the John Paul Jones Arena.

We ask that the decision makers who can make changes in the system come to the Nehemiah Action and appear in on stage.

We ask them if they will commit to the solutions. We will applaud them for positive answers and remain scrupulously polite at all times.

We do this in public because this is a public process we are engaged with. We ask they make their commitments in front of you, the people who have raised these issues and worked on finding solutions.

We ask that you bring as many people as possible to show that there is support in our congregations for these solutions.

This is about grassroots support for realistic solutions, but that also can make some people very uncomfortable because it may not be the way they are accustomed to conducting business.

There is another level to this that I want to talk to you about.

What we do with IMPACT is to share the influence that we have together – power that we have by being together rather than working apart.

We are being asked to come together to share our collective power especially with those in our community who are not accustomed to having much influence or having their voices heard, like our unemployed young people or the homeless.

And IMPACT is remarkable for another reason: In world torn apart by religious differences, we come together looking for what we have in common as heirs to Abraham.

That may make some of us uncomfortable for many reasons.

But this is not about our personal comfort.

You are being asked to be uncomfortable by standing with those who don’t have much influence on their own.

All of us are being asked to stand up with one voice, to use our voice, and to use keep standing together to change our world.

And you know what? We already have, right here in Charlottesville. Let’s count our successes in the last four years:

In 2007, IMPACT won new bus routes serving low-income neighborhoods so that people can get to school and work, or go to the grocery store.

In 2008, IMPACT won approval of a free dental clinic serving thousands of people who have no dental insurance.

In 2010, IMPACT won approval from local law enforcement agencies to develop translation services for non-English speaking people who encounter the Justice system.

Many of our successes take more than one year.

It took two years to win expansion of pre-school education programs.

It took two years to win approval from the city and county for the healthy transitions program for the mentally ill.

It took three years to win approval of an affordable housing trust fund and the refurbishment of hundreds of housing units for low-income people.

And now we are engaged in the most difficult and complex issues we have ever engaged with: jobs and homelessness.

The outcome of this year’s Nehemiah Action is still uncertain. You will hear more on these issues a little later, but let me underline this year – more than ever – it especially important that you bring as many people as you can to the Nehemiah Action on April 29.

Last spring, we brought 1,537 people to the Nehemiah Action to speak with one voice and have an impact in our community, and that got us part of the way on our issues.

But we still have a long distance to go. We will not get there without you.

If we were to bring the equivalent of one day’s average worship attendance we would have 4,000. Think of the impact we would have with that many voices and the bigger issues we could tackle in the years ahead. Think of what we might accomplish together.

Tonight we are on a journey like our ancestor Abraham. We are walking together on a road with many bumps and curves. We will make our share of mistakes and a wrong turn or two.

But know this: This same God, the God of Abraham, the God of Moses, the God of Jesus, the God of Mohammed is with us, and will guide us, and will bring us safely through. Do not be afraid, God told Abraham. Do not be afraid, God tells us.

You and I are Abraham’s stars.