HopeHealth Edisto: SAMHSA Grant Updateposted on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 In our last newsletter we announced that in October 2010, HopeHealth Edisto, serving Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties, was awarded a competitive grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The award was $1.5 million to implement a 5-year HIV and substance abuse program on the campuses of four historically African-American colleges and universities in Orangeburg and Bamberg Counties. Four Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and SAMHSA intervention model programs were chosen: Video Opportunities for Innovative Condom Education & Safer Sex (VOICES), Many Men, Many Voices (3MV), Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS), and Challenging College Alcohol Abuse (CCAA). This quarter has presented some major milestones and opportunities for HopeHealth Edisto's SAMHSA project. We completed three very important reports, two of which result in an up-to-date Community Needs and Resources Assessment of needs and services available in Orangeburg and Bamberg Counties, as well as a five-year strategic plan. The process in completing these reports allowed HopeHealth Edisto to visit with and hear the ideas and concerns of various stakeholder groups including local health department staff, HIV prevention volunteers, university staff, and students. Both documents have added great structure and guidance as HopeHealth Edisto looks ahead to implementation in the fall. The SAMHSA project has presented new opportunities for building prevention capacity for Orangeburg and Bamberg Counties. SAMHSA staff will be trained to deliver the SAMHSA model program BASICS, as well as become certified trainers in July. As trainers, staff will be able to train other local providers and volunteers to implement this training at their sites, adding additional capacity for alcohol and substance abuse in the counties. This training will be open to HopeHealth Edisto staff as well as university representatives. By the end of the summer, HopeHealth Edisto's SAMHSA project will add two new staff members: a Graduate Assistant and a Substance Abuse/Mental Health Counselor. HopeHealth Edisto has also begun efforts to elicit additional funding that will provide additional support for universities in which campus health center staff will become certified Waived Rapid HIV Testers. This added capacity will help ensure HIV and substance abuse services can sufficiently meet the needs of the population at greatest risk. Project Coordinator Shawn Maxwell and Program Specialist Katrina Gardner are key staff members in the development and implementation of the SAMHSA project. They receive support and assistance from Edisto Site Director Sallie Bachman, Prevention and Outreach Coordinator Willie Simon, and Prevention and Medical Case Manager Shiheda Furse, as well as all other members of the HopeHealth Edisto team. Together, we are impacting attitudes and beliefs, providing knowledge, and empowering people to live healthfully and responsibly. * This is a printer friendly version of the original page, made to save you ink and paper.
|
News and Press
|
|
|
