Foothill Family Services receives mental health grant

Kaiser Permanente Southern California announced a $6 million, five-year Community Mental Health and Wellness Initiative with an immediate Local Partnership Grant (LPG) grant allocation of $1.28 million to combat and improve access to mental health services. The initial grant allocation is funding a group of two-year grants to support 16 nonprofit community partners working to improve mental health and wellness in under-resourced Southern California communities.

“The prevalence of mental illness is significant and growing in Southern California and across the country,” said John Yamamoto, vice president, Community Health & Government Relations, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals/Health Plan. “For adults and youths affected by mental illness, the effects can be devastating, increasing their risk for serious medical conditions, diminished quality of life, and even suicide. These grants are designed to address the mental health needs within our most under-resourced communities by funding trusted nonprofit organizations that serve these areas and populations.”

In Kaiser Permanente’s continued efforts to improve mental health and wellness in the communities it serves, it once again identified mental and behavioral health as a top community health initiative.

The grant will award approximately $80,000 to each of the 16 nonprofit community partners to aid these organizations that are representing the clinical, social service, advocacy, public, and primary and secondary school sector in Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. These organizations’ efforts include:

• Improving access and connection to care to mental health services in clinical and community settings.
• Enhancing and building the current and emerging mental health workforce to meet community mental health needs.
• Reducing self, public, and institutional mental health stigma and boosting resilience in individuals, communities, and organizations.

Every day, millions of adults and youths with mental health issues struggle in silence, either because they cannot get the appropriate care or are too ashamed to seek help. Mental health disorders are among the most common health conditions faced by Americans and Californians, with nearly one in five American adults experiencing mental illness and one half of all chronic mental illness beginning by age 14.

Kaiser Permanente’s mental health and wellness initiative seeks to address these issues in communities through improving equitable access to high-quality care and reducing the effects of mental health stigma. Some of the grantees supported by this funding have found unique ways to address mental health through a grassroots approach directly into at-risk communities. An example can be seen through one of Kaiser Permanente’s mental health grant recipients, Foothill Family Services and their Workforce Development Project that provides training and education for at least 200 of their mental health staff, including graduate interns, to be culturally competent and current in evidence-based practices.

“Foothill Family is honored to be awarded Kaiser Permanente’s Mental Health Workforce Development grant,” said Steve Allen, Foothill Family CEO. “Meaningful and successful mental health care begins with quality caregiving, and we are committed to providing our Foothill Family team with opportunities to continually grow and learn, resources to enhance skills and develop career trajectories, and the right tools to adapt and respond to the steadily changing landscape of our communities’ needs. Empowerment, the foundation of our mission and one of our core values, is our aspiration for both our internal as well as external family. We are grateful for Kaiser Permanente’s partnership in these crucial efforts.”

The mental health workforce is an important component in addressing communities’ barriers to accessing mental health services, where the distribution of mental health workers varies considerably by region and the workforce does not fully reflect the area’s racial and ethnic diversity. To serve San Gabriel’s Valley diverse populations, the project will provide their mental health workforce with the tools needed to provide high quality care to the most under-resourced communities who are struggling with mental health issues. At the end of the project, they will also increase the number of graduate interns (e.g., Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker) by 10% annually, who can empathize with the communities they serve and provide culturally and linguistically competent mental health care.

Foothill Family Services provides a broad range of community-based mental health and social services along with educational and outreach programs to over 20,000 children, youth, adults, and families annually throughout the San Gabriel Valley. Their efforts are focused on high-need communities including Baldwin Park, West Covina, El Monte, South El Monte, Rosemead, San Gabriel, and La Puente. Facilities are located in Duarte, El Monte, Pasadena, and West Covina.

The complete list of all 16 community grant recipients of the Local Partnership Grant are:

• Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
• San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
• Mental Health of America of Los Angeles (MHALA)
• National Alliance for Mental Illness Orange County
• Cajon Valley Union School District
• The Achievable Foundation
• Jewish Family Service of the Desert
• Foothill Family Services
• California State University, Bakersfield
• California State University, San Bernardino
• Family Service Association
• Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc.
• Riverside University Health System Foundation
• Mental Health of America of Los Angeles – Antelope Valley
• Coalition for Human Immigrants Rights of Los Angeles
• Village Family Services (VFS)