Dane County Announces Grant Recipients Set to Offer Behavioral Health Services at Neighborhood and Community Centers

August 05, 2020
Ariana Vruwink, 608-267-8823

Today, County Executive Joe Parisi announced the recipients of Dane County’s Behavioral Health Community Center grant program. Each of the recipients will work to make behavioral health services more accessible to Dane County children and youth who need support and to help mitigate stigma associated with accessing mental health treatment. The five award recipients will each receive $25,000 for 2020, totaling $125,000. Pending Dane County Board approval, an additional $50,000 will be distributed to each of the organizations in 2021, totaling $250,000.

“Childhood mental health, trauma, and poverty are all barriers to the future success of young people in our community. Neighborhood and community centers see firsthand the effects of mental health challenges and trauma on young people,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “By meeting youth where they already gather, we hope to bring important services straight to them and in a place they already feel comfortable. We are excited to form partnerships with these organizations and enter into this next phase of our initiative to help youth access mental health services.”

Dane County requested proposals to deliver behavioral health services and supports to child and youth who attend community and neighborhood centers with the overarching goal of reaching a cohort of young people who have numerous barriers to accessing traditional behavioral or mental health services. Delivering services where children and youth gather in a trusted environment mitigates access challenges and reduces the stigma associated with mental health needs and treatment.

Community centers working with mental health partners will now have the on-site capacity to identify and respond to the behavioral health needs of youth who attend their center, offer mental health case management, support or intervention services, and provide education and messaging to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health needs and services. Grant recipients will address mental health stigma through creative means including youth-led after school multi-media projects and short series workshops for youth and parents.

Recipients of Dane County’s Behavioral Health Community Center grant program include:

• The Irwin A and Robert D Goodman Community Center will partner with Anesis Counseling Center to provide individual and group counseling services to middle and high school youth in the near eastside neighborhood of Madison.
   
• Expanding the mental health capacity in eastern Dane County, the Deerfield Community Center will partner with Catholic Charities to identify youth with unmet behavioral health needs and provide case management, individual support, and referral to ensure elementary age youth receive needed services.
   
• The Bayview Foundation will hire a social worker to provide one-on-one case management and group programming to deconstruct intergenerational trauma while building social and emotional wellness for middle and high school youth living in the Bayview neighborhood of central Madison.
   
• On the far west side of Madison, the Lussier Community Education Center will work with Anesis Counseling Center to provide individual counseling and therapeutic groups to middle and high school youth.
   
• The Rainbow Project will enhance mental health services on the north side of Madison by providing on-site behavioral health referral, support, and case management services to 4th and 5th grade students at the Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Center.