Empact Inc

ARIZONA COVID-19 SUICIDE PREVENTION PROJECT

ARIZONA MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING PROJECT - EMPACT SUICIDE PREVENTION CENTER’S PROPOSED “ARIZONA MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING PROGRAM” (AZ-MHATP), WILL EXPAND ARIZONA’S CAPACITY TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING A SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI) AND/OR SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE (SED), AND CONNECT THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO NEEDED SERVICES THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY. OVER THE FIVE-YEAR PROJECT PERIOD, THE ARIZONA MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP A HIGHLY TRAINED POOL OF MHFA INSTRUCTORS, INCLUDING CERTIFICATION AND EXPERTISE IN SPECIALTY MODULES SUCH AS PUBLIC SAFETY, VETERAN, AND YOUTH TO TRAIN 4000 INDIVIDUALS (YEAR 1 - 600, YEAR 2 - 750, YEAR 3 -850, YEAR 4-900, YEAR 5-900) WITH A PRIMARY FOCUS ON VETERANS, ADULTS WITH A SMI AND YOUTH WITH A SED. THESE FIRST-AIDERS ARE ANTICIPATED TO REFER APPROXIMATELY 15,125 INDIVIDUALS INTO SERVICES AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES. (YEAR 1 - 600, YEAR 2-1575, YEAR 3 -2950, YEAR 4-4250, YEAR 5-5750) EMPACT-SPC WILL LEVERAGE PARTNERSHIPS WITH VETERAN GROUPS, PUBLIC SAFETY AND SCHOOLS TO ENSURE FOCUS ON PRIORITY POPULATIONS. THE CATCHMENT AREA FOR THIS PROJECT IS STATEWIDE ARIZONA. ARIZONA IS HOME TO NEARLY 7.3 MILLION RESIDENTS ENCOMPASSING TWO DIVERSE AND DIFFERING REGIONS: THE URBAN CENTERS OF PHOENIX- AND TUCSON-METRO COMMUNITIES WHICH ENCOMPASSES APPROXIMATELY 5.3 MILLION INHABITANTS, WITH THE BALANCE OF THE POPULATION SCATTERED ACROSS THIRTEEN RURAL COUNTIES AND TWELVE NATIVE AMERICA TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. THE POPULATION BREAKDOWN IS APPROXIMATELY: 83% WHITE, 5% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 4% ASIAN AMERICAN, 5% AMERICAN INDIAN AND 3% OTHER. 32% OF RESIDENTS ARE HISPANIC, 14% OF RESIDENTS LIVE IN POVERTY, AND 488,000 ARIZONIANS ARE VETERANS. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE PROJECT’S ADVISORY COUNCIL, THE PROGRAM WILL BUILD COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH VETERAN SERVICE AGENCIES, COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AGENCIES AND SCHOOL-BASED RESOURCES. IN ADDITION, EMPACT-SPC WILL LEVERAGE ITS EXISTING COMMUNITY-BASED CRISIS SERVICES, VETERAN SPECIFIC HOTLINE, AND ITS ACCREDITED SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE CRISIS CALL CENTER, AS WELL A VARIETY OF ADDITIONAL OUTPATIENT OR COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES, SUCH AS, OUTPATIENT TREATMENT FOR YOUTH, FAMILY, ADULT AND INDIVIDUALS WITH SMI, TO ENSURE THAT MHFA-AIDERS HAVE ADEQUATE COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO REFER TO, PROVIDING AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEANINGFUL EARLY INTERVENTION. THE AZ-MHATP IS DESIGNED TO BE IMPLEMENTED WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF UNCERTAINNESS DICTATED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. IN ADDITION TO MHFA, AZ-MHATP INCORPORATES ADDITIONAL MODALITIES AND METHODOLOGIES SUCH AS QPR AND KOGNITO ON-LINE SIMULATIONS, WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO MEET THE EVER-CHANGING LANDSCAPE, ALLOWING THE PROGRAM TO ADAPT TO THE REALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE EBB-AND-FLOW OF THE PANDEMIC. THIS INCLUDES THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE IN-PERSON, VIRTUAL AND BLENDED/HYBRID TRAINING IN THIS LANDSCAPE TO MEET THE EVOLVING NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY.

EMPACT-SPC MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING PROGRAM

EMPACT-SPC NATIONAL 988 FOLLOW-UP & CONTINUITY OF CARE PROJECT - THE EMPACT-SPC NATIONAL 988 FOLLOW-UP & CONTINUITY OF CARE PROJECT WILL DELIVER SYSTEMATIC, 24-HOUR POST-CRISIS FOLLOW-UP TO 988 LIFELINE CALLERS NATIONWIDE, REACHING ALL 50 STATES, D.C., AND U.S. TERRITORIES, WITH ENHANCED LOCAL SERVICES IN MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA. OVER THREE YEARS, THE PROJECT WILL SCREEN AND FOLLOW-UP ON 1,300 AT-RISK CALLERS, FACILITATING REFERRALS TO ONGOING CARE, DESIGNED TO REDUCE SUICIDE RISK AND MORTALITY AMONG 988 CONTACTS. EMPACT-SPC, A 988 LIFELINE-CERTIFIED CRISIS CALL CENTER AND COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ORGANIZATION HEADQUARTERED IN TEMPE, ARIZONA, OPERATES FOUR NATIONAL BACKUP SUBNETWORKS: NATIONAL BACKUP VOICE, NATIONAL BACKUP CHAT/TEXT, SPANISH CHAT, AND SPANISH PHONE, HANDLING APPROXIMATELY 10,000 CRISIS CONTACTS MONTHLY. BECAUSE SYSTEMATIC POST-CRISIS FOLLOW-UP REMAINS INCONSISTENT ACROSS THE 988 NETWORK, PARTICULARLY FOR BACKUP-NETWORK CALLERS UNKNOWN TO THEIR LOCAL AFFILIATE, THIS PROJECT BUILDS THE STAFFING AND PROTOCOLS NEEDED TO CLOSE THAT GAP NATIONALLY. ITS DUAL-TRACK MODEL PROVIDES EVERY ELIGIBLE CALLER, REGARDLESS OF LOCATION, WITH INDIVIDUALIZED FOLLOW-UP INITIATED WITHIN 24 HOURS AND CONTINUING FOR UP TO 90 DAYS, USING STRUCTURED RISK ASSESSMENT, BILINGUAL COUNSELORS, AND A NATIONAL REFERRAL NETWORK. LAYERED ON TOP, A LOCAL ENHANCEMENT TRACK GIVES THE APPROXIMATELY 5% OF NATIONAL BACKUP CONTACTS ORIGINATING IN MARICOPA COUNTY DIRECT WARM REFERRAL INTO EMPACT-SPC'S MOBILE CRISIS, OUTPATIENT, AND RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT SERVICES AND ACCESS TO IN-KIND PEER NAVIGATION SUPPORT. THE PROJECT’S GOAL IS TO REDUCE SUICIDE RISK AND MORTALITY AMONG INDIVIDUALS WHO CONTACT 988 IN SUICIDAL OR PSYCHIATRIC CRISIS BY PROVIDING STRUCTURED, EVIDENCE-INFORMED FOLLOW-UP AND IMPROVING CONNECTIONS TO ONGOING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES THAT SUPPORT LONG-TERM RECOVERY - ADVANCING SAMHSA’S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES OF EXPANDING CRISIS INTERVENTION CARE AND IMPROVING ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT. OVER THE THREE-YEAR PROJECT PERIOD, EMPACT-SPC WILL SCREEN 1,300 INDIVIDUALS FOR SUICIDE IDEATION DURING FOLLOW-UP CONTACT, REFER 650 TO CRISIS OR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, AND SUPPORT 190 IN SUCCESSFULLY ACCESSING CARE AFTER REFERRAL. THE POPULATION OF FOCUS IS 988 CALLERS REACHING EMPACT-SPC NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING INDIVIDUALS IN ACUTE OR SUBACUTE SUICIDAL CRISIS, SIGNIFICANT PSYCHIATRIC DISTRESS, OR CO-OCCURRING SUBSTANCE USE EMERGENCIES, MANY FROM RURAL, RESOURCE-LIMITED, OR SPANISH-SPEAKING COMMUNITIES. AMONG CALLERS WHO REPORT DEMOGRAPHICS, NEARLY 60% ARE UNDER AGE 30, 56% ARE FEMALE AND 44% MALE, AND LEADING PRESENTING CONCERNS ARE SUICIDAL CRISIS (ABOUT 23%) AND ANXIETY (ABOUT 21%); THE POPULATION ELIGIBLE FOR STRUCTURED FOLLOW-UP REFLECTS A HIGHER-ACUITY SUBSET OF THIS BASE.