The Cook County Department of Public Health has announced Shelter is one of 18 recipients out of 140 applicants to receive a Behavioral Health Initiative Grant (BHI) to support behavioral health services for Cook County’s most vulnerable communities.
The BHI program will address mental health and substance use inequities and aims to increase and enhance access to a full continuum of integrated and equitable behavioral health and substance use services, support, and treatment.
“This initiative strengthens our commitment to promoting and building health equity across the County,” said County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “It focuses on the significant and negative impact that inequities in mental health and substance use have on the people and communities in suburban Cook County.”
Data shows that behavioral health needs have increased globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the U.S., depression, and anxiety increased by more than 25% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 50% of Americans reported recent symptoms of anxiety or depression, and 10% felt their mental health needs were unmet.
According to the National Institutes of Health, people who are more likely to experience mental illnesses or disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic include: children, mothers, and pregnant people; people from racial or ethnic minority groups; people with financial or housing insecurity; people with disabilities, pre-existing mental illnesses, or substance use problems.
“Shelter is excited to receive the BHI funding,” says Shelter’s executive director Carina Santa Maria, “ as our clients are youths in crisis who are historically under-served, and we believe everyone has the right the quality mental health care.” The BHI program will provide community outreach, education, and in-home mental health care at no cost to clients or their families.
For more information about CCDPH’s Building Healthier Communities: Behavioral Health Initiative grantees, visit cookcountypublichealth.org and follow CCDPH on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter for continued news and updates.