By Anita Weier
Northside News
Kennedy Heights is one of just five neighborhood and community centers chosen by Dane County to receive $25,000 grants for 2020 through the Behavioral Health Community Center grant program.
Kennedy Heights will partner with the Rainbow Project to provide on-site behavioral health referrals, support and case management services to fourth- and fifth-grade students.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced the grant recipients in August. Other organizations chosen were the Goodman Community Center, Deerfield Community Center, Bayview Foundation and the Lussier Community Education Center.
County officials found there were gaps in mental health services on the Northside, so they were interested in having a partner here, said Connie Bettin, administrator for the prevention and early intervention division for Dane County. Parisi also had previously visited the Kennedy Heights Community Center and so was familiar with what the staff had to offer.
Kennedy Heights Executive Director Patrina White said the mental health program will be a collaboration with the Rainbow Project.
“At the center, we will work with the students’ families to support them,” White explained. “The folks from Rainbow will come in and meet with the families. It depends on what they reveal and what needs have to be met. When families say they want support, there will be more case management. Rainbow has awesome counselors.”
The mental health work will build on previous efforts by Kennedy Heights staff to help with online schoolwork during the pandemic by handing out packets and books and providing supplies, as well as computer training. “It is important to get the necessary training for using Zoom for school and at the center. Kids get burned out, so we have to help them keep energy and stay focused,” White added.
Activities are also important, including bike rides every Friday with different age groups. “We have been doing walks to parks and hiking. We also do artwork and talk about what is going on in the world with race issues,” White said. “They know a lot more than what we might think.”
“This community needs a lot of support. There is a lot of trauma here,” White added. “Moms have lost pregnancies and one woman’s son was shot at.”
Some people do not get services because of stigma, lack of comfort about seeking help, lack of transportation or lack of understanding of what is available, county official Bettin explained.
A good foundation will be set at Kennedy Heights during the rest of this year and the program will be refined in 2021.
The county did not consider proposals for mental health or substance use crisis intervention services, or interventions for severe and chronic mental health treatment needs.
“The goal of this initiative is to make behavioral health services more accessible to children and youth who need support, and to help mitigate stigma associated with accessing mental health treatment,” Bettin said.