05 Jul Comprehensive Mental Health Services, Inc. (CMHS) Receives $48,700 Grant from Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City
Comprehensive Mental Health Services, Inc. (CMHS) recently received a grant for $48,700 from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City (now the Health Forward Foundation) Applicant Defined Grant to support the expansion of School Prevention services in Jackson County school districts.
Funding will be used for staff salaries (adding one FTE prevention specialist), supplies (computer, art supplies), mileage, new curriculum for grades 3-5 (Botvin LifeSkills), and indirect costs.
An increasing number of Jackson County students demonstrate risk factors for behavioral health issues as well as engaging in violence and/or substance use. Recently, there have been a high number of youth suicides in the Metro area as well as increasing issues of violence in schools around the country. This is coupled with the fact that youth today live in a highly digital world and must navigate an array of complex issues such as social media and cyber bullying. Due to the prevalence of these issues, psycho-educational prevention groups are desperately needed in Jackson County schools. While school districts in the county provide available resources to students such as school counselors/social workers and Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), they need community partners who specialize in behavioral health care to provide services that will help to decrease the risk of suicide, help identify mental illness, reduce risk factors for substance use, and curb violence, bullying, or other high-risk behaviors.
Comprehensive Mental Health Services, Inc. (CMHS) is a community mental health center that has provided a safety net of mental health and substance use treatment services for low income people in Eastern Jackson County and the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri for over 47 years. CMHS’s mission is, in partnership with individuals, families, and the community, to provide the highest quality behavioral health services with a whole person approach to treatment delivery that creates a safe environment of respect and acceptance. The agency’s target population includes people with serious or chronic mental health or substance use issues.