BayCare Behavioral Health has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop the Veteran, Family and Community Network.
The VFCN, based in Clearwater, Fla., will provide enhanced and expanded behavioral healthcare intervention and outreach services for veterans and families in Florida’s Pasco County.
The program is designed to support the families of active and inactive military personnel with a primary focus on soldiers from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. The VFCN is targeted for at-risk veterans and their families in need of intervention, brief intervention, counseling, peer navigation and outreach services.
BayCare's new resource center in New Port Richey, Fla., will offer counseling as well as on-site support groups. In addition, a peer navigator will be available to explain the resources available to veterans through the military, Veteran's Administration and other community sources.
"As an organization, BayCare Behavioral Health has been working to meet the behavioral health needs of the Tampa Bay area for more than 30 years," said Doug Leonardo, BayCare's executive director. "We are dedicated to improving the overall quality of life for area veterans and the VFCN grant will enable us to provide additional behavioral health counseling, vocational services and housing assistance for these important members of the community."
Incidental funds available through the VFCN will be used to aid families with financial emergencies that are barriers to treatment.
BayCare Behavioral Health also operates the Veterans Initiative, which provides clinical, recovery and support services to veterans and their families. This initiative includes 20 no-fee patient slots at BayCare Behavioral Health facilities in Pasco County, and the program has been full since its initiation in 2008.