Published: Jan 12, 2023 18:19:10
Updated: Jan 12, 2023 18:16:04
GREENFIELD — A program piloted by ServiceNet in 2020 to help remove barriers to treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, recently received a $4 million grant through the Administration of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services. , expanded and enhanced its services over the next four years.
“The grant is to provide integrated and comprehensive extended services to the community,” said Karen Franklin, Vice President of Outpatient Services. “Initially, we could only provide therapy and psychiatric services because we billed third parties and that was how we supported clinicians.”
With continued federal funding, ServiceNet’s accredited Community Behavioral Health Clinics (located at 55 Federal Street in Greenfield and 50 Pleasant Street in Northampton) provide case management, recovery coaching, peer mentoring, and nursing care. can provide service. Prior to the grant, the agency offered outpatient clinics that provided treatment and medication.
“People came to us with these needs all the time, but we didn’t have the resources to give them what they needed,” Franklin said. definitely offers the ability to deliver truly comprehensive care.”
At the ServiceNet outpatient clinic in Greenfield, James Flood, program director for an accredited community behavioral health clinic, said the grant-funded program serves about 190 clients at the two clinics. said.
“One of the features of our program that has already impacted Greenfield is our peer-led recovery coaching, which focuses on substance use recovery,” said Flood, noting that Greenfield is making an impact. The opioid epidemic noted not to be affected. “The more resources available for drug use recovery, the better the community is generally served in terms of behavioral and mental health.”
Flood said there are eight staff members between the two clinics: two recovery coaches, two case managers, nurses, clinicians, peer specialists and smoking cessation specialists. ServiceNet hopes to increase that number to her 12 members of staff with this grant. In particular, Greenfield hired a case manager and Northampton hired a nurse, Flood said.
“Thanks to this subsidy, we can hire people that our insurance doesn’t cover,” he explained.
Both Flood and Franklin said the program seeks to focus not only on young people, but also on other underserved members of the community, including LGBTQ people and veterans.
“What we’ve seen is an increased need for mental health services,” Franklin said. “The pandemic year was already difficult for people who already had mental health issues. .”
Franklin said through the grant, accredited local behavioral health clinics will be able to reach out to people who were previously unable to receive services.
“Just being able to approach people with these needs as a team is so rewarding,” she said. “As they say, it takes a village, it takes a mental health village (for people) with all these needs.”
Flood added that she truly believes that the accredited community behavioral health clinic’s approach is “the future of behavioral health.”
“We need to treat people as multifaceted individuals,” he explained. “People are more than just mental illness diagnoses or substance use diagnoses. We have to deal with everything.”
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.
