Thanks to funding from the Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board, the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center will be able to offer evidence-based substance use treatment for adolescents and transitional age youth and their families, a first in Douglas County.
Money recovered by the Attorney General’s office through opioid settlements funds the grants.
In August, the Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board awarded the Bert Nash Center $200,000 for the new program, which will provide treatment for adolescents (ages 14-18) and transitional age youth (18-21) who have been identified as having mental health and substance use issues. The program includes a family and parents support component.
“The closest treatment program like this is 40 miles away, so something like this is really needed,” said Ashley Countryman, Bert Nash Center Director of Addiction Services.
The 12-month grant will cover startup costs for the new program, which will begin accepting clients by the first of next year.
Part of the grant funding will be used to purchase an evidence-based program called The Matrix Model for Teens and Young Adults. The Matrix Model is a 16-week outpatient program.
“This is a first,” Countryman said. “I don’t know of anyone else in our area using this curriculum. We will be using all of our resources and building a program around that.”
Over the course of 12 months, Bert Nash Center plans to offer three sessions of the 16-week program, with eight to 12 members per group. Approximately 40 adolescents/transitional age youth and their families will be served in the first year.
“As a result of this grant funding, Bert Nash Center will be able to create and start a much-needed dual diagnosis/substance use disorder treatment program for adolescence/transitional age youth and their families in Douglas County,” Countryman said. “We’re very excited about that.”