News from the Somerset County Board of County Commissioners
Shanel Y. Robinson, Commissioner Director • Melonie Marano, Commissioner Deputy Director
Doug Singleterry, Commissioner • Sara Sooy, Commissioner • Paul M. Drake, Commissioner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2022
Somerset County Richard Hall Community Health and Wellness Center Receives FEMA Funding to Provide Emotional Support for Victims of Hurricane Ida
SOMERVILLE, NJ – Somerset County’s Richard Hall Community Health and Wellness Center, a behavioral health organization, recently received a $305,767.07 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help support mental health programs for victims of Hurricane Ida. Through this funding, the Hope and Healing program will continue providing an array of free mental health services to Somerset County residents for the next eight months.
“I’m so grateful that Hope and Healing can continue to provide these valuable and free services to residents who are struggling emotionally after last year’s floods,” said Somerset County Commissioner Paul M. Drake. “Ida was traumatic and took an emotional toll on many families who experienced a loss of life, disruption in work and school, long periods of being displaced from their homes, unrecoverable property damage, and losing a sense of safety.”
Hope and Healing collaborates and networks with community leaders and organizations to identify the needs of county residents and to deliver free, accessible, creative services, which are provided virtually and in-person. Crisis counseling, support groups, public education, and access to community resources are some of the programs Hope and Healing provides.
Hope and Healing offers “Unprecedented,” an interactive disaster recovery workbook for adults, which teaches skills for coping with traumatic stress brought on by disasters such as Hurricane Ida. Mental health professionals can also receive training for how to use the “Unprecedented” workbook with their clients. Other services include support groups for community members and wellness workshops for employees and volunteers of businesses and organizations who have been impacted by Hurricane Ida.
Hope and Healing programs for children include a story time event featuring “Penelope the Powerful Parrot,” a therapeutic and interactive story that teaches children how to cope with traumatic stress through the use of storytelling, movement, and song. Other services, such as school assemblies, community story time events, and a six-week curriculum that teaches additional coping skills are also available through Hope and Healing.
For more information about the Hope and Healing program, please visit http://ow.ly/E6Rt30rrr9T.
Somerset County Richard Hall Community Health & Wellness Center
Richard Hall provides comprehensive community mental health services dedicated to the prevention, early detection, and treatment of mental illness and serious emotional and behavioral problems
through a wide range of services provided on a sliding-fee scale for county residents.
Somerset County Hope and Healing
This program is brought to you through Somerset County Richard Hall Community Health and Wellness Center and the NJ Hope and Healing Crisis Counseling Program (CCP). The CCP is provided in collaboration with the NJ Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and is funded through a FEMA/SAMSHA grant.
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