The National Alliance on Mental Health Western Nevada affiliate, which provides mental health services across rural Nevada has just been named a finalist in the nationwide Recovery Innovation Challenge. Laura Yanez and Carissa Parsons worked together to submit a five-page application that led to them being chosen as a top 20 finalists in the challenge and they will now advance to the final round of judging scheduled for September 12.
Their application featured the Nevada Caring Contacts program, a partnership NAMI has with clinicians across the state who refer patients who are at risk of suicide or hospitalization to NAMI WNV for services. NAMI is then able to “wrap services” around that person, referring them to necessary providers and giving a high level of individual care through their extensive resources.
“From discharge to follow-up is often a very long gap,” said Yanez. “Through this program, we are able to provide daily contact through specialized operators and enable patients to contact support when they need it. Sometimes the contact is very intense, providing contact two times per day every day until eventually, they are down to one call per week. It is not linear, but person-centered.”
Nevada Caring Contacts goes hand in hand with two other initiatives started by NAMI, the Nevada Teen Peer Support Text Line, and the Nevada Warmline, both created by the local organization.
“Carissa was instrumental in developing the Teen Text Line,” said Yanez, “she actually partnered with me on the concept and secured the funding. Carissa really deserves kudos for the work she put in to develop this program.”
The Teen Text Line has been in operation since May of this year and serves 14- to 24-year-olds from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and is staffed by young adult peers who have completed extensive training to provide services. The program is one of only two like it in the country and was started in rural Nevada where some of the biggest gaps in mental health resources are found.
The Nevada Warmline is a non-crisis program that provides peer support across Nevada to those experiencing mental health challenges. Support is provided by trained peers who have lived through their own mental health challenges and have the ability to relate to a broad range of issues. The service is provided remotely across Nevada from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will soon be running 24 hours a day.
The Nevada Warmline receives over 2,000 calls per month from Nevada residents needing mental health assistance, and Parsons said the Teen Text Line receives nearly 3,000 contacts. “This month in August, though, we are already at 3,000 and anticipate doubling that by the end of the month.” She said that much traffic can be attributed to students gearing up to go back to school.
There were a total of 360 applications for the Recovery Challenge which is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Final presentations will be held on September 12, with Yanez and Parsons presenting a video that Parsons is currently producing and taking part in an interview. From there, 10 finalists will be chosen and sent to the Assistance Secretary for HHS for the final pick. The award comes with a $40,000 prize which if they win, Yanez said will be put back into the programs to continue expanding and improving them.
“We are just honored to have been selected at this level and for the recognition of these programs,” she said. “To be recognized as one of the top innovators for a program started in Nevada, a state that is consistently ranked 51 for mental health services, is a huge honor. The competition is so stiff, this is a feather in our cap.”
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