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Overview/Purpose
This project seeks to increase the level of mental health services access by underserved groups through addressing the barriers that limit access. These groups include ethnic minorities, GLBT, Transition Age Youth and Older Adults. The primary barrier that will be address is the stigma associated with mental illness. MHAC will be using public educational forums to directly address the stigma related to mental illness. For this project, the Mental Health Association in California (MHAC) will partner with the local affiliates of the National Mental Health Association in Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego counties. In addition, we are working with many of 46 grantees of The California Endowment's three-year Special Opportunity in Mental Health Funding Initiative, which was launched in 2001. MHAC will build on and contribute to the findings and accomplishments of these grantees, whose services included outreach to communities that are underserved by mental health service.
Project Goals for Target Populations
- Reduce stigma as a barrier to accessing mental health services
- Increase help seeking behavior and mental health services access
- Increase participation in county decision-making process
- Conduct community needs assessments
- Identify and develop tools and strategies for reducing stigma
- Conduct regular anti-stigma educational forums in each county
- Identify cultural brokers to help engage stakeholders in this program
- Conduct ongoing meetings to developing a knowledge base for best practices in outreach services
- Identify means of sustaining the networks established by this project, for ongoing outreach services
- Widely disseminate the findings of this project for replication purposes
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