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Grundy County Health Department secures mental health awareness grant

Morris Daily Herald (IL) - 10/6/2015

Oct. 06--MORRIS -- The Grundy County Health Department has secured a federal grant to support a new program aimed at curbing youth substance abuse and mental health issues by training adults to detect and respond to depression's early warning signs.

The three-year, $340,000 Project AWARE grant is made available through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The goal of the project's "Now is the Time" initiative is to build and expand the capacity of state and local agencies to increase awareness of mental health and substance abuse issues among school-age youth, according to a department news release.

Over the life of the grant, about 400 teachers, school support staff members, counselors, faith-based leaders, coaches, school administrators and others will be trained to provide mental health first aid with the hope of positively affecting the lives of 8,000 Grundy County youth ages 12 to 18, said Martha Jarmuz, project coordinator for the department.

"Unfortunately, things we may attribute to regular teenage moodiness, maybe a student becomes disinterested in activities ... in reality may be symptoms of depression," Jarmuz said. "Our goal is to reach out to that student."

The funding will help combat the county's comparably higher rates of bullying, alcohol use and marijuana use among teenagers. Jarmuz said she used data from the 2014 Illinois Youth Survey to showcase in the grant application the area's need for substance abuse and mental health awareness.

About 33 percent of 10th graders and 46 percent of 12th graders reported drinking in the past month, according to the 2014 data. Marijuana use in the last 30 days was reported among 16 percent of 10th graders and 24 percent of 12th graders, while 50 percent of eighth graders and nearly 40 percent of 10th graders reported being bullied at least once in the past year, according to data.

Increased knowledge, combined with community resources and referral sources, will result in Grundy youth being directed to needed services at earlier ages, thereby reducing more serious behavioral health issues later in life, according to the release.

The goal is to have the first set of training classes completed by the end of the 2015, Jarmuz said.

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