Professionals throughout four Counties Collaborate to create Student Mental Health website
www.mentalhealthconnect.org
MentalHealthConnect.org has recently been launched in our area to support professionals who care for young people with mental health challenges. Mentalhealthconnect.org offers easy access to a variety of referral resources, forms, and information about effective strategies for caring for young people with mental health concerns. The site also contains news articles, contact information for service organizations and a local calendar of events. The website is the first dynamic resource of this kind throughout this region serving mental health professionals, teachers, school districts and other community providers.
Produced through Expanding Possibilities, a federally funded grant initiative to promote student mental health and increased collaboration between stakeholders, the website has been one of a number of projects completed over the last two years. In 2008 a group of concerned mental health professionals came together to focus on ways to collaborate and find more effective ways to help students in our local communities with mental health concerns. Upon researching funding streams, a year later one of the partners, TST BOCES was awarded a federal grant for the Integration of Mental Health and Schools. Building upon the strong foundation of “Possibilities” a partner program with Franziska Racker Centers, and with the help of this larger group of concerned professionals who evolved into what is now known as CHAMPS (Child and Adolescent Alliance for Mental Health Planning and Services,) the collaboration of the Expanding Possibilities program began.
Jaydn McCune, Director of the Expanding Possibilities project and Program Director of the Lighthouse and Possibilities Programs all of which are collaboratively delivered through TST BOCES and Franziska Racker Centers states, “Initial feedback from a soft launch of this website has revealed excitement from school staff members and the human service community.” McCune continues, “Anything that we can do to support the professionals that care for students with mental health challenges and to make their jobs easier goes a long way. In the future we hope to create a family resource section on the website, and possibly offer educational opportunities through webinars and other online resources.”
The generous efforts of many individuals went into the development of mentalhealthconnect.org including Drew Pushlar and Pushlar consulting for the hosting and development of the website, Jess Nordquist, LMSW for the design, and the Tompkins County Human Service Coalition for their collaboration and information provided for the development of the site. Those who are interested in becoming involved with the Expanding Possibilities program can use the “Contact Us” form available on the website.
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