New federal initiatives are making community mental health programs more visible (and, thus, easier to find by those in need). In early February, Secretary Kennedy of HHS announced an investment of $100 million in the Great American Recovery (including the STREETS Initiative and Assisted Outpatient Treatment or AOT). Funding will provide community-based programs to those who are homeless and/or have serious mental illnesses through the use of community outreach programs and housing-based services along with intensive supportive resources.
Supportive services will be provided by clinicians, peers, and case managers at locations that individuals in encampments, shelters and/or public areas can access without having to navigate paperwork and/or attend appointments.
Under the authority of AOT, Court-supervised treatment plans provide AOT support for individuals with severe mental illness who have a pattern of frequent, repeated involuntary admissions to jails and the emergency room (ER), and high frequency, repeated use of the ER for care. Advocate groups state there are strong protections to ensure that AOT connects people with services and housing available within a community. Their belief is that by providing safe connections to the community, fewer people will be harmed due to repeated trauma, or lack of access to necessary services/housing prior to falling.
As part of a broader $794 million block grant program administered by SAMHSA for mental health and substance use services, the coordination of community-based behavioral health service delivery and crisis-driven care represents a major shift toward providing care earlier in the process of experiencing a crisis. For those who suffer from serious mental illness and their families, this provides a greater hope that they will be able to access community mental health services without having to navigate through a maze, but instead provides a strong, supportive network to prevent them from falling.
Leave a Comment