Mental Health Assoc Of Frederck Cty

Causes: Bullying, Hot Lines & Crisis Intervention, Mental Health, Mental Health Associations

Mission: Building a strong foundation of emotional wellness for the whole community by preparing resilient children, securing vulnerable families, and facing crises together.

Programs: Preparing resilient children mha offers first-time parents guidance on vital topics including pregnancy, child development, and medical care; partners with early childhood educators to ensure that all children have an appropriate environment in which to learn; and supports children with behavioral issues because the key to a child's success tomorrow is building his/her mental and emotional resilience today. It makes a difference when every child in our community has the best start. Mha prepares childred to adapt to whatever situations and setbacks they face in life, and to become strong, stable members of the community around them. During fiscal year 2017, the mha conducted the foloowing activities to prepare resilient children. For 66 children at risk of abuse or neglect, it provided extensive services during 993 home visits. As a result, we have not had to refer any of our families to child protective services. Mha trained more than 2,593 attendees by providing nearly 541 hours of high quality training for early childhood educators; 93% of those educators gained knowlege from the training. Mha supported 91 children who were experiencing behavioral issues, and 80% of those children showed decreased behavioral issues after mha's intervention.

securing vulnerable families mha provides families with support, stability, and the promise of a better tomorrow with a safe neutral location for parents and children to develop, renew, and/or sustain a healthy relationship; secure transfer of children from one parent to another; and/or advocate for the best interests of children in the court system while facilitating their placemnt in loving, permanent homes. During fiscal year 2017, mha provided a safe, welcoming place for 51 children to visit with their non-custodial parent. A majority of those parents reported strengthened relationships because of those visits. Mha enabled children to transfer from one parent to another in a conflict-free environment by providing more than 151 monitored exchanges and recruited, trained, and supported more than 89 volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children living in foster care homes.

facing crises together from intervention and a supporting voice at the moment of crisis to resources and information that show the way forwared to sustained counseling and assistance for the weeks and months ahead, no one should have to face these struggles alone. Mha is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week helping people and saving lives. During fiscal year 2017, mha answered more than 43,262 calls via its call center, including one call every 5 hours related to suicide. It assisted 534 individuals through its walk-in crisis service and 22% of those individuals reported they would have gone to a hospital's emergency room if walk-in crisis service was not available. Mha provided more than 2,360 therapy sessions to 192 clients.

supporting the whole community mha does more than support the thousands of individuals who seek its services each year. It provides mental health education and advocacy on a community-wide basis, raising awareness of the importance of mental health and related services. This work strenghtens our whole community by encouraging those who feel alone to seek support; promoting understanding; and bolstering mental and emotional well-bing in shcools, businesses, and homes. Mha served community members and professionals in community-based training sessions, such as mental health first aid, safetalk suicide alertness, and applied suicide intervention skills training. Mha provided 23 mental health matters hours to inform community members about the services it provides through the stories of its clients.