California is awarding 63 organizations across the state $30.5 million to support youth mental health services.
Transitions-Mental Health Association is receiving part of that funding and plans to use the funds to support its Positive Parenting Program (PPP).
Transitions will add a lead youth position to its PPP services in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties to help educate parents on how to deal with children who suffer from mental health issues as well as behavioral issues.
“It can be emotional and behavioral. Health issues can range from social anxiety to depression to more severe symptoms,” explained Shawn Ison, TMHA Family Services Program Manager. “The stepping stones allow us to work with those youth with autism or any other kind of disabilities that may be challenging for parents to navigate and need more support and more education.”
Ison says the program's goal is to develop a positive relationship between the parents and the child. The program gives parents tools and resources while offering families youth support groups.
“All of these are offered in English and Spanish — all of our classes, support groups, and our one-on-one support from our staff,” Ison added.
Classes are free and the grant will also cover materials and supplies needed for the families.
“We are talking about doubling our class offerings with this and I think it's very necessary,” Ison addressed. “I think it will be really great for our community if we are able to offer a lot more than we have been able to because trying to find that balance with the regular workload and those courses have been challenging.”
“There's been a lot of focus and awareness of youth and teen mental health needs coming up to the pandemic,” said Barry Johnson, TMHA Director of Education and Advocacy. “But once COVID hit, it really just brought it to the forefront for so many parents and so many providers as well just as far as what the needs are and how in a lot of ways ill-equipped we are as a system or a community to address those needs.”
PPP offers stepping stones within the curriculum that outline what a parent needs to do to help communicate with their child who is experiencing issues or anxiety in school.
“The Children Healthy Kids Survey that the state does have shown just kind of rising graphs and rising data as far as the severity of what's happening for our kids both in school and in the home,” Johnson stressed.
The California Healthy Kids Survey has shown a drop in attendance and grades with a rise in fights as well as suicide rates for teens and youth since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transitions-Mental Health Association asked for more than $360,000. The State of California has not yet notified them of exactly how much they’ll be getting.
The Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara County is also among the grant recipients.
