CMU addresses workforce wants by coaching college students in superior social work levels at little or no price to them

Issues concerning provide and demand are in all places proper now, however the stakes are particularly excessive concerning psychological well being within the Grand Valley. Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of the Master of Social Work Program Michelle Sunkel, PhD defined the scenario.

 “There is a huge gap in terms of the mental health needs of our community and how they are being met,” Sunkel mentioned. “Our psychiatric hospital is almost always full so if someone needs a high level of treatment, we are often sending them to Denver. If someone is acutely psychotic, suicidal or gravely disabled they could end up five to six hours away from treatment.”

Because one can solely keep in a hospital for 3 to 5 days, the affected person then must be transported again to Grand Junction the place waitlists imply it may be three to 6 months earlier than a affected person can obtain the remedy and psychiatric medicine they want. 

“We don’t have enough providers, we don’t have enough clinicians and we don’t have enough places for people to go for high-level stabilization,” Sunkel defined.

To tackle the hole between present psychological well being service availability within the Grand Valley and the providers which might be wanted, CMU is using a state-funded behavioral well being grant that gives tuition help for eligible college students working in direction of a bachelor’s diploma in Social Work (BSW) or a Master of Social Work (MSW) diploma.

Funding has been secured for a complete of 4 years and funds had been first distributed final 12 months. To be eligible a pupil should both qualify for Pell Grants, dwell at a Qualified Census Tract tackle or present documentation of financial hardship. For people who qualify their tuition is almost, or fully, lined by the grant.

Abigail Bollinger lately graduated from the Bachelor of Social Work program at CMU. She is a recipient of this grant and is now enrolled within the MSW program. Bollinger shared that she has all the time been keen about serving others and she or he was drawn to social work as a result of it “acknowledges how truly complex people, and their situations, are.” She defined that she selected to enroll within the MSW program after the Grand Junction Police Department Co-Responder Unit got here and did a presentation in certainly one of her courses.

“I have been very interested in the criminal justice system and it solidified that everything I am passionate about doing in social work will require a master’s degree,” mentioned Bollinger. “During my practicum, it also became apparent that there is a huge lack of clinicians. I would like to contribute to filling that gap.”

Thanks to the behavioral well being grant, Bollinger and others in this system are on their option to making our group extra resilient.