NJAMHAA 75th Anniversary

Commemorative Journal 51 N JMHI’s work has also reached well beyond New Jersey, while continuing to generate resources with strong local impact. The Model Mental Health Program for Hispanics is one such example. “This invaluable resource was adopted by mental health professionals across the nation and cited by the World Health Organization as one of three best practices in 2004,” said Debra L. Wentz PhD, President and CEO of NJAMHAA, who has also served as NJMHI’s Executive Director since its inception. Through partnerships with educational institutions, private industry, government agencies, advocacy organizations and family support groups, the NRCHMH extended its reach nationwide and internationally. Presentations on best practices for engaging, retaining and serving Hispanic populations were delivered throughout the United States and in Argentina, Egypt and Greece. Dr. Wentz established the Tsunami Mental Health Relief Project in 2005, in the months following her own survival of the December 2004 tsunami that took the lives of approximately 230,000 children and adults in Southeast Asia in December 2004. As she understood the short-term, as well as the long-term, mental health impacts of the tsunami, she acted quickly to support relief workers and share her mental health knowledge and recommendations with the citizens of Sri Lanka, engaging the Prime Minister’s Office directly and giving an interview on the country’s official television station. She also partnered with members of NJAMHAA’s Pharmaceutical Advisory Council (now the Life Sciences and Innovation Council) to deliver medications and supplies to Sri Lankan communities. Dr. Wentz identified and partnered with the Neurosurgery Development Foundation, a local, non- governmental Sri Lankan charitable organization, and with NJAMHAA trauma specialists to build a NJMHI team that included a trainer with deep experience in post- disaster trauma treatment and a cultural ambassador. The team developed a training program and spent two weeks in Sri Lanka delivering trilingual (Sinhala, Hindi NJMHI’s International Initiatives and English), culturally appropriate sessions to more than 100 counselors, medical professionals, teachers, community leaders and volunteers. The training focused on recognizing signs of mental illness and substance use disorders and, when appropriate, connecting individuals to treatment. Evaluations indicated that more than 200,000 people benefited directly or indirectly, and attendees requested additional training to expand their ability to provide referrals and treatment in support of the healing process. In 2012, NJMHI transitioned the Tsunami Mental Health Relief Project into the Sri Lanka Mental Health Relief Project, with a focus on educating residents about the signs and symptoms of mental illness and addictions and how to access help. When civil unrest in Sri Lanka made further in-country training infeasible, NJMHI partnered with a native Sri Lankan to develop culturally sensitive, trilingual brochures about the symptoms of mental illness and self-care techniques. These were printed, distributed across Sri Lanka and evaluated for their impact. For the final phase of this 15-year effort, NJMHI selected a proposal from a second local non-governmental agency, the Sri Lanka Center for Development Facilitation (SLCDF): Program for Community Leaders to Enhance their Capacity as Facilitators on Basic Mental Health Needs/ Requirements , to deliver training and follow-up to individuals from rural and remote areas of Sri Lanka where clinicians are scarce. The course combined theoretical foundations with practical skills for individual counseling and was delivered in 2018 and 2019. According to the SLCDF, this project directly benefited 50 families totaling 250 individuals and indirectly benefited 1,500 families.