University Of Central Florida receives $200K Center for Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Project compass (community outreach for mental health, peer support, awareness, support and services) - the University Of Central Florida will implement project compass (community outreach for mental health, peer support, awareness, support and services) with agencies serving youth, adults, and families statewide and community organizations in central and east Florida. The project will build mental health and suicide prevention training capacity, strengthen referral pathways, and improve service linkages for adolescents and adults experiencing behavioral health or suicide-related concerns. Mental health first aid, question, persuade, refer, suicide prevention for faith leaders, and peer support training will prepare professionals to recognize concerns, respond appropriately, and connect individuals to mental health, substance use, crisis, and other supports. Project compass will formalize at least 8 organizational partnerships; certify 18 professionals, including 8 in mental health first aid, 4 in question, persuade, refer, 2 in faith-based training, and 4 in peer support; and train 2,520 unduplicated professionals, or 840 annually. This total includes 225 law enforcement professionals trained in peer support skills, or 75 annually. The project will also develop or update referral protocols, resource directories, and quick-reference tools and disseminate 4,020 mental health promotion and suicide prevention resources, or 1,340 annually, through trainings, events, and outreach. Ucf will oversee evaluation, performance tracking, and quality assurance.