Center For Health And Human Development

Programs: The national project in el salvador (acisam) has provided education, support, empowerment training and recreational activities to persons with mental illness and their family members since 2002. Training of police officers, health workers, social workers and other community leaders has been an important component to this program, which has served over 1000 individuals. Over 200 families have completed the 4 month educational program to learn about mental illness, self-care, and how to manage their loved one with serious mental illness. Randomized controlled studies in the u. S. Have shown a similar program to result in reduced burden and stress, and improved compliance, communication, and self-efficacy. Advocacy is an important goal of the program: to improve services, voluntary participation, and government funding for mental health programs across the country, as well as to involve persons with mental illnesses in human rights commissions and reform efforts at the national level. We have carried out 2 qualitative studies that show benefits from the project's different components. In 2015 we will carry out a quasi-experimental study to better understand the program and ways to improve it.

we recently obtained a "global mental health scholar" grant (fellowship) from the dorothy ann foundation to support our program efforts, part of which goes to our agency director in his otherwise unpaid voluntary efforts to carry out mhi's goals.

the mental health international project (mhi) has two components: 1) in january 2014 we began the formation of a national research collaborative focused on mental health needs in el salvador. Funding is being sought to carry out epidemiologic and other studies of import for decision makers as well as families and users in the country. 2) in september 2014 we began a new regional support effort (redsam) to strengthen user and family associations in nicaragua, costa rica and panama. Government health agencies and the pan american health organization have expressed interest in working with us in 2015 to incorporate our family education and support program into their work with families on a national level.

chhd provides capacity building advice, ingo international program advice, and fiscal management to the congo village school project (cvsp) in central drc. This is a start-up project run by congolese and supported by donors in the u. S. We work them them on program evaluation, fiscal management, and other best practices to achieve success. During 2014 two more classrooms were added to the elementary school. Supplies were purchased and teachers were hired to teach the children. The academic program includes french and english. Two students were brought to the us to study so that they will be able to return to the village as teachers and managers. Attempts were made to expand the farming, but drought conditions only allowed one successful growing season rather than two. The farm program did supply food and milk for the students at the upper level school as well as some villagers during a hard year. Cisterns were completed to collect rain water.