MHAPC seeking input on community mental health needs

Mental Health America of Putnam County has a successful track record when it comes to programs tailored to a specific audience.

The MHAPC Children/Parents of Divorce program is mandated by the Putnam County courts and helps families through this challenging time of transition.

The Cloth a Child program helps raise the self esteem of underprivileged children by purchasing new clothing for school and play.

The "Puppet Power" program takes the message of mental well-being into preschools and elementary schools, teaching kids about the decisions they make in serious situations they encounter.

However, it's in the general audience programs that MHAPC finds a little less success. In spite of hosting informative programs in recent years about subjects such as dealing with stress, schizophrenia and keeping a fit mind, the programs have been poorly attended.

MHAPC executive director Eileen Johnson and her board decided to step back and take a closer look at the program. What board members found was that partnering with other organizations and having a targeted audience is most successful.

"To build on that idea, we'd like to talk to community leaders and specifically leaders of major employers and organizations," board member Mike Goss said. "We can have a clearer idea of what issues people in Putnam County are having."

The idea behind the community needs assessment is to see what steps MHAPC needs to take to better serve the mental health needs of Putnam County.

In conducting the assessment, MHAPC board members plan to contact the leaders of major employers, churches and other organizations to find out whom they need to talk to and if they can have a few minutes of their time.

For the groups that agree, board members will conduct a brief interview to learn more about the company or organization, its employees or constituents and what issues they face.

Based on this information, MHAPC leaders hope to design programs and forge relationships that will make its programming even more effective.

"We could help the organizations with programs and they could help us link up with people who have interest in a particular topic," Goss said.

As programming is identified, organizers also hope to build new partnerships with organizations that could provide venues, marketing, resources and financial support for MHAPC and its programs.

The hope is that by taking the message to targeted audiences, MHAPC can continue to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness and get people in need to reach out for help.

Established in Putnam County in 1952 as the Mental Health Association, MHAPC is a not-for-profit organization and agency of the United Way. It is an affiliate of Mental Health America of Indiana.

"We try to reach out to people and explain exactly what mental illness is," Johnson said. "It's very sad to see someone not reach out for help."

Anyone wishing to learn more about the community needs assessment or any MHAPC program may contact Johnson at 653-3310 or mhapc@cinergyme tro.net.