b'2RAPPORT | Feature StoryBridging the Mental Health Services Gap Across the CommonwealthWILLIAM JAMES COLLEGE TRAINS THE NEXT GENERATION OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERST he COVID-19 pandemic has changed thingswith community resources, especially affordable for most Americans. These social, medical,treatment options.economic, personal, professional, and lifeThe innovative Community Health Workers changes have taken a toll on mental health, with study(CHW) Training Program combines a rigorous after study showing increases in stress, anxiety, andcurriculum and facilitated learning with real-world depression, and among some populations, suicidalexperience and the opportunity to gain professional ideation, substance use, and other harmful behaviors.certification. The CHW training is available to adults, In recent years, media outlets in Massachusetts,18 and older, who want to make a difference in the and across the country, have reported on thelives of young people and families in unserved and dramatic increase in rates of depression, anxiety,underserved communities, but have yet to complete a stress, insomnia, and substance use. When coupledbachelors degree. The inaugural cohort of 18 students with a catastrophic shortage of behavioral healthfrom across the Commonwealth recently graduated professionals, patients in need are forced to waitfrom this model program. longer and longer for essential services, and sadly,The CHW program is a natural extension of the some abandon their search and go without the helpBehavioral Health Service Corps, which is designed they need. The devastating impact of the mentalfor college graduates interested in working in under-health crisis is especially pronounced among ourresourced communities while exploring behavioral youth and in communities of color.health career options and earning credits towards a masters degree.Addressing the HealthcareFunded by the Health Resources and Services Needs of the CommonwealthsAdministrations (HRSA) Behavioral Health Diverse Cities and Towns Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program for Paraprofessionals, the CHW initiative In response to this healthcare crisis, William Jamesaims to recruit, instruct, mentor, and train College has introduced a pathway to education,culturally responsive healthcare practitioners who careers, and professional growth. This new initiativeare underrepresented in the field. Through CHW, is part of a concerted effort to build a robust pipelinestudents develop the skills needed to work in a variety of skilled health workers who can connect patientsof community-based settings.'