NJAMHAA FY2022 Annual Report

33 NJMHI’s Past Initiatives and their Impact NJMHI’s inaugural initiative was the Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics project, which aimed to enhance resources for New Jersey’s His - panic communities and the healthcare professionals who are uniquely able to serve them most effectively. The success of this project led to NJMHI’s expanded focus on other minority populations. including Black Americans. Southeast Asians and the lesbian, gay, bi - sexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) community. Many of NJMHI’s contributions have directly benefited NJAMHAA members. Examples include: • Policy recommendations that led to the estab- lishment of state-funded cultural competence training centers which are operated by NJAMHAA members, Center for Family Service and Family Connections; state funding for bilingual/bicultur - al clinicians at community-based mental health agencies; and mandatory training in diversity for mental health professionals. • Free and low-cost statewide conferences focused on cultural competence. NJMHI also developed the Model Mental Health Program for Hispanics, which was adopted by mental health professionals across the nation and cited by the World Health Organization as one of three best practices in 2004. Further building on these successes, NJMHI did business as the National Resource Center for His - panic Mental Health (NRCHMH) beginning in 2006 to address the nationwide lack of availability of and access to quality mental health services for Hispanics. NRCHMH developed an online repository of resourc - es for providers; hosted national Latino mental health conferences; and extended its reach nationwide and internationally by presenting on best practices for engaging, retaining and serving Hispanics. NJMHI’s second initiative was collaborating with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care) to provide training for New Jersey’s more than 11,000 Children’s System of Care partners. NJMHI provided logistical support, engaged speakers and performed back office functions. Back on the international front, Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and CEO of NJAMHAA, who also serves as NJMHI’s Executive Director, launched the Tsunami Mental Health Relief Project in 2005, shortly after she survived the tsunami in Southeast Asia in December 2004. She immediately provided assistance to relieve workers and imparted her knowledge of mental health issues to citizens of Sri Lanka through communica - tion with the Prime Minister’s Office and an interview on the country’s official television station. She also worked with members of NJAMHAA’s Pharmaceutical Advisory Council (now the Life Sciences and Innova - tion Council) to provide medications and supplies. Dr. Wentz also worked with the Neurosurgery Devel- opment Foundation, a non-governmental charitable organization in Sri Lanka, and experts in trauma from NJAMHAA to assemble a team, including an expert trainer on trauma treatment and a cultural ambassa- dor. This group developed a trilingual training program on recognizing symptoms of mental illnesses and substance use disorders (SUD) and, when appropri - ate, referring people to treatment. It was presented to more than 100 individuals in Sri Lanka. Through eval - uations, it was determined that more than 200,000 people were positively impacted directly or indirectly. In 2012, NJMHI transitioned the project into the Sri Lanka Mental Health Relief Project to have a broad - er focus and more lasting impact. As civil strife in Sri Lanka prevented NJMHI from sending individuals to provide more training, NJMHI worked with Sri Lank - ans to develop and distribute culturally sensitive, trilin- gual brochures about the symptoms of mental illness and self-care techniques. For the final phase of this project, NJMHI selected the Sri Lanka Center for Development Fa - cilitation’s (SLCDF’s) proposal, Program for Community Leaders to Enhance their Capacity as Facilitators on Basic Mental Health Needs/ Requirements , to train individuals from remote areas of Sri Lanka, which do not have a consistent cohort of clinicians, in 2018 and 2019. According to the SLCDF, 50 families (250 individu - als) directly benefited from this project and 1,500 families are ben - efitting indirectly.