December Substance Abuse Task Force meeting focuses on teen mental health

Steve Miller, a prevention specialist with Community Partnership of the Ozarks (CPO), was the guest speaker at the Dec. 10 meeting of the Ozark County Substance Abuse Task Force. 

Ten members of the task force were present at the meeting, which was held in the Century Bank of the Ozarks conference room due to a conflict with the meeting’s usual location in the Missouri Ozarks Community Health (MOCH) building. 

The next Ozark County Substance Abuse Task Force meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 14 in the MOCH conference room. The meeting is open to the public, and task force members encourage visitors to join them. For more information email emailOCSATF@gmail.com or mail a letter to P.O. Box 793, Gainesville, MO 65655.

Teen mental health

Miller gave a presentation focused on what CPO is doing to address teen mental health and substance abuse issues in the area. He explained that CPO has partnered with Springfield public school district to implement a teen mental health first aid program (tMHFA). The initiative is a joint effort between the National Council for Behavioral Health and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. Springfield was chosen as one of eight sites for the initial pilot program. 

Miller says if the Springfield program is successful, he hopes to bring the program to Ozark County and other area school districts.

Through the tMHFA program students in 10th through 12th grades participate in an in-person training focused on common mental health challenges teens face, and gives students tools to support their personal mental health or help a friend who is struggling. 

Miller presented several statistics about teen mental health issues from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s 2017 Youth Risk Behavior survey.

Some of those statistics are:

• 7.4 percent of students in grades 9-12 report they have made at least one suicide attempt in the last year.

• 2.4 percent of all students reported making a suicide attempt that required the assistance of a doctor or nurse.

• Female students (9.3 percent) attempted suicide almost twice as often as male students (5.1 percent).

• Black students reported the highest rate of suicide attempt (9.8 percent) compared with white students (6.1 percent).

Miller said the topic is sensitive, and teens often shy away from talking openly about mental health or substance abuse issues. He said teens are worried they will get in trouble with their parents or be “labeled” by their peers.

Sheriff’s office applies for grant

Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Curtis Dobbs told the task force members that the sheriff’s office has applied for a grant to help secure two new sheriff’s vehicles and other field equipment that will be used to combat substance abuse in the area. 

The grant proposal was submitted to the Community Facilities Direct Grant Program through the United States Department of Agriculture. The grant program focuses on providing funding to help secure equipment and facilities to provide an essential service to communities. 

In the past, the program has funded K9 police units, incinerators used to dispose of illegal substances and recovery facilities where individuals can be treated for substance abuse and other issues.

Grant proposal to be submitted to CRH

Gainesville pharmacist Dr. Sandra Wade and Dr. Massa Kinoshita of Theodosia Medical Clinic gave a short update on a grant proposal they are working on to submit on behalf of the task force. 

After the proposal is finalized, it will be submitted to the Christian Research Hospital Grant program, a 501c3 charitable initiative whose mission is to work with local communities to “cure the physical and spiritual aliments among the poorest and sickest of the world through education, care and research.”

Wade and Kinoshita said the proposal, which includes a short essay on the task force’s mission, was due Dec. 15. Grant winners will be announced after the first of the year, they said.