HANCOCK, MI— The Portage Health Foundation has issued a Request for Proposals to address gaps in local mental and behavioral health services.
Foundation officials have met with community stakeholders and service providers to better understand the need for services and the cracks that exist. They want to use the grant money as a way to mobilize new strategies, as well.
PHF Executive Director Kevin Store says over the past few years, there’s been an increase in anxiety, suicide ideation, and addiction issues and a decrease in coping skills, provider availability, and social connections. The RFP is a step toward recognizing the connection between mental health and those issues and to find ways to prevent them.
For instance, Store says officials are often finding a co-occurrence of mental illness in domestic violence that results in the abuse or helps perpetuate it.
“And we’re also seeing a more common occurrence, co-occurrence of substance abuse and alcohol dependency either contributing to the conditions of domestic violence and abuse and/or an underlying condition of people that are presenting as victims of domestic violence abuse,” he says.
$100,000 in grant money is available. Store says he doesn’t want to put a ceiling on the amount of each grant, so it doesn’t inhibit the creativity or innovation of the proposals.
Applications are due by May 12. More information is at www.phfgive.org/grants.
