The Community Health Council of Lebanon County announced Jan. 4 that will receive a $150,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to address substance abuse and behavioral health concerns among young adults.
The 15-month grant will support various community-based programming and services, according to a press release from Nicole Maurer Gray, executive director for the Community Health Council. Implementation partners for the grant include Lebanon Family Health Services and EmPower the Mind LLC.
Goals set by the PCCD include increasing the availability of youth-focused substance use and behavioral health services, identifying and addressing local needs, and fostering partnerships within the community for better coordination of such services, the release stated.
The Community Health Council plans to use the funds to expand its current work around cessation, mental health, advocacy, and awareness programs in order to better serve students with mild to moderate substance abuse concerns and connect them with local mental health supports.
An immediate goal of the project, according to the release, is implementing “evidence-based intervention and cessation programs for youth caught with substances other than nicotine.” Previously, cessation services have been available only for teens caught with nicotine products.
Lebanon Family Health Services will now offer two new programs, Teen Intervene and What Teens Need to Know, aimed at youth using substance other than nicotine, including marijuana and opioids.
Also, building on the success of the Anti-Vaping and Tobacco Coalition, the grant will expand work in cessation, mental health, advocacy, and awareness programs through various coalition partners, school districts, justice systems, and organizations working with adjudicated teens.
“The coalition’s goal is to increase partnerships within the community to better coordinate services for students and their families across the county,” the release stated. “The project will serve as a conduit between students with mild to moderate substance abuse concerns and local mental health supports.”
By adding Teen Intervene and What You Need to Know curriculums and a trained counselor to existing substance abuse protocol, the project aims to support efficient referrals to appropriate mental health programs, addressing the shortage of school-based counseling options and long waitlists for adolescent services.
“We are very proud of the work that our coalition has been able to accomplish in such a short time on the issue of vaping nicotine in our schools,” Gray said in the release. “This grant will allow us to expand our model to address the use of other substances like THC and opioids while simultaneously addressing the mental health needs of our youth.”
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