Resilience Alignment Beekeepers

Project Description Narrative:

Advancing Behavioral Health Initiative Phase II The cost of a mental health crisis is both psychological and financial, and can be staggering to individuals and their communities. In addition, each call has a "ripple effect." Families, friends and classmates left behind experience trauma. Schools and workplaces lose days of participation. In a four-county community with strained resources, partner recognize a need to address behavioral health before a point of crisis. Through a collaborative effort, this project seeks to reduce the number of behavioral health crisis calls in the four counties (Ashland, Bayfield, Sawyer and Washburn Counties) from current totals by 30% by 2022 by:

• Creating a framework for systemic coordination which will allow cross-sector partners to use resources more efficiently and effectively, and address complex needs
• Increasing access to services for underserved populations in Ashland and Bayfield counties through a mobile drop-in site in high-traffic locations staffed by a trusted high-level cross-trained coordinator who will give clients warm-handoff referrals to resources that address socio-economic conditions as well as clinical needs
• Improving responses to behavioral health crises through data sharing and increased collaboration among partner agencies

This project is part of AHW's Advancing Behavioral Health Initiative, an eight-year, $20 million initiative bringing together 10 community coalitions from across Wisconsin to address pressing mental health needs within their communities. The initiative is designed in three phases, providing a funded planning year, a five-year implementation period, and a two-year sustainable transformation phase.