Sweetwater County will see an expansion of community-based mental health treatment for adults with serious mental illness, thanks to a new five-year federal grant awarded to Southwest Counseling Service (SCS) by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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SCS received an initial grant of $1,046,926 to initiate the Sweetwater County Assisted Outpatient Treatment Expansion Project, with an expected total funding of approximately $2.69 million over the five-year period, contingent on continued federal support and successful performance. The initiative aims to assist 325 adults facing frequent mental health crises, hospitalizations, difficulties in maintaining treatment connections, or co-occurring disorders.
This assisted outpatient treatment approach integrates civil and court-connected methods to provide coordinated support for individuals with serious mental illness while allowing them to remain in the community. The project will enhance outpatient mental health services, incorporating intensive case management, psychiatric care, medication management, peer and family support, transportation, and collaboration with medical and social services.
Melissa Wray-Marchetti, SCS Finance Director, noted the challenges individuals face in maintaining connections to necessary services after initial crisis interventions. She emphasized that this project aims to create a more coordinated care system to support these individuals and their families, in partnership with the community.
The initiative also seeks to establish local infrastructure and long-term collaborations necessary to sustain assisted outpatient treatment in Sweetwater County. The project aims to improve treatment engagement and community stability, ultimately reducing emergency detentions, psychiatric hospitalizations, and recurrent crisis system involvement. The five-year project officially commenced on September 30 and will run through September 2031.