Kaine and Warner announce Virginia funding for behavioral health education

HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – Virginia US Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced this morning that more $2.2 million dollars in federal funding will be earmarked for several education programs in the commonwealth, including Harrisonburg.

According to a news release from both senators, $101,716 will go to Eastern Mennonite University to strengthen mental health services for college students, including increasing protective factors that promote mental health, as well as reducing risk factors for suicide.

“Helping those who struggle with behavioral health needs starts with adequately funding programs to recruit, educate, and train the first responders and behavioral health professionals who will be on the front lines,” both Senators said in the news release. “This over-$2.2 million in grant funding will help us do that, and we will continue to do all that we can to bring resources to Virginia to support the mental health of our communities.”

The funding is being allocated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the U-S Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition to EMU and the City of Harrisonburg, funding will also be allocated for the following institutions and cities:

• $1,924,595 to the Alexandria-based Foundation for The Advancement of Human Systems via the Minority Fellowship Program to recruit, train and support master’s- and doctoral-level students in behavioral health care professions to address services disparities for racial and ethnic minority populations.
• $199,939 to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond to recruit and train first responders in rural areas on how to provide trauma-informed, recovery-based care for people with substance use disorders (SUD), and co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders (COD), in emergency situations.