1. United Way of Mid Coast Maine Mental Health Initiative Presentation to Midcoast District Coordinating Council March 8, 2011

2.  Key Objectives Raise awareness in the community about mental health issues and challenges, and Strengthen or create relationships amongst the providers of services. Develop a set of short-term recommendations that could be implemented locally, using local resources.

3. Description of the Project  Community Forum 50+ Stakeholders and mental health system participants.  Surveys and Focus Groups Mental health service providers, Hospitals, Schools, and Consumers of mental health services.

4.  Scope of the Project Review the state of mental health services in the region, Identify areas of excellence. Identify gaps and unmet needs, and Outline longer-term systemic issues beyond the control of this team.

5.  Study areas Law Enforcement, Youth & Education, Community & Outpatient Services, and Crisis & Inpatient Services.

6.  Important Themes Emerged Integration of behavioral and physical health care, “Medical Home”, and EMR, Continued improvement in lines of communication at all levels of the system, and Expanded access to mental health services for early detection and intervention.

7.  5 Areas for Immediate Action Support expanded Crisis Intervention Training, Improve public awareness and reduce stigma, Expand use of Peer Support Services, Explore use of non-traditional sites to reach those not currently getting help, and Expand case management services, possibly using group settings.

8.  How Our Project Improved Integration The process itself brought the players together and many relationships were renewed or created, Strengthened the relationship between law enforcement, corrections and crisis services, Worked with Maine National Guard and Togus Veterans Administration Center on issues unique to veterans in crisis,

9.  How Our Project Improved Integration Brought school personnel and service providers together to improve communication and access to services, and Worked with the Public Health system including ME-CDC and the Sagadahoc Board of Health.

10.  Lessons Learned, Challenges The landscape was changing as we were doing the study; this holds true today, Don’t assume the system participants know what the others do, There was potential for conflict when discussing system problems with all participants at the same table,

11.  Lessons Learned, Challenges Substance abuse and mental illness are fundamentally connected, and The stigma of mental illness is pervasive and hard to change.

12.  Lessons Learned, Successes Significant improvements in mental health services have been made and more are underway, and 2-1-1 is a valuable resource and enhancement of mental health listings is underway,

13.  Lessons Learned, Successes A connection between the VA, National Guard, law enforcement, and mental health service providers has been created, and Demonstrated the key leadership role law enforcement in playing in this arena,

14.  Lessons Learned, Successes Supported and strengthened regular meetings between law enforcement, crisis workers, and emergency departments, Received $50,000 from the John T. Gorman Foundation, and Supported a CIT program for 15 officers in December and another 25 next week, and

15.  Lessons Learned, Successes A strong, diverse network of system participants has been created and remains active. These relationships are essential as mental health services continue to evolve and improve.