New Space Coast Health Foundation program aims to tackle Brevard's mental health issues

The Space Coast Health Foundation plans to use a $625,000 state grant to beef up mental health services in Brevard County.

Most of the money will be used to cover the cost of mental health clinicians to provide service to local residents, and address the needs of people who do not have access to such services, either because of difficulty in getting an appointment with a private provider or a lack of health insurance.

Space Coast Health Foundation officials say the initiative — called "Thrive Within: A Journey to Resilience" ― is an early-intervention pilot program aimed at stopping burgeoning mental health issues from escalating. State data show that the rate of suicides in the county is significantly higher than the statewide average.

Adam Bird, chairman of the Space Coast Health Foundation board, said the initiative is one that he hopes will reverse the trend of increasing mental health issues in the community.

“We’ve long understood that mental health is a key component to overall health, but it’s an issue that for too long has been kept stigmatized, in the corner where few of us talk about it, much less seek remedies,” Bird said, adding that it is "a growing concern."

The goal of the project is to expand access to mental health prevention and early intervention services for children, adolescents and adults throughout the community, as well as to provide outpatient mental health and substance abuse counseling to uninsured residents of Brevard. Health Foundation officials say offering these services will help reduce the need for the much more expensive higher levels of care, such as crisis intervention, inpatient care and residential treatment.

Florida Sen. Debbie Mayfield and Rep. Tyler Sirois spearheaded efforts to get the $625,000 appropriation into the 2023-24 state budget.

The legislators, Space Coast Health Foundation officials and other community partners announced details of the program Monday.

Mayfield said behavioral health issues are "a growing concern, and reaching crisis level."

Bird noted these disturbing findings from the latest Community Health Needs Assessment, a study commissioned by Space Coast Health Foundation every three years:

• Space Coast residents who said they were receiving mental health treatment jumped from 13% in 2019 to nearly 24% in 2022.

• The percentage of those interviewed who said they were unable to access needed mental health services rose from 9.2% in 2019 to 15.3% in 2022.

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Separately, Florida Department of Health data shows that there were 19.4 suicides per 100,000 people in Brevard in 2021, significantly higher than the statewide rate of 13.8 per 100,000.

Bird said the program's aims include helping those who participate "improve their resiliency and enhance positive outcomes for those needing mental health assistance.”

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Details on individual program components, including how to sign up for them, will be announced in the coming weeks on the Space Coast Health Foundation website (https://www.schfbrevard.org/).

Dr. Lori Parsons, director of the foundation's Lifetime Counseling Center, said the programs will include a 30-day mental wellness challenge called "The Daily Thrive," a special event for families, support groups and a phone help line.

Parsons said the main goal of the new initiative "is to address these issues early, and work on solutions on the front end, so we’re not faced with a tragic situation on the other end.”

Sometimes, Parsons said, the general public doesn't understand how serious these issues are.

“As front-line mental health workers, our dedicated team at Lifetime Counseling Center and others in the field of mental health, see daily the anxiety and anguish that many others don’t see,” Parsons said.

Mental health issues also can lead to alcohol or drug abuse, Parsons added.

Janice Kershaw, president and chief executive officer of the Brevard Schools Foundation, said the Health Foundation will be working with her organization and the school district itself on coordinating efforts within the school system to build mental health resiliency among students.

Separately, Kershaw said, there also will be book study initiatives in sixth- and ninth-grade classes aimed at helping teach students about overcoming obstacles and building resiliency.

Mayfield and Sirois said, while state funding for the new program is for a single year, they hopes the Florida Legislature extends funding, dependent on its success in the first year.

Sirois sees it as a component of a multipronged effort in Florida to address mental health issues, adding that Brevard's program could become a model for the rest of the state and "make a meaningful impact" in reducing the problem.

Residents interested in finding out more about new Space Coast Health Foundation initiative can contact Wayne T. Price at 321-241-6600 or Wayne.Price@SCHFBrevard.org.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard's mental health issues focus of new Health Foundation program