MCCC, MCMHA partner to offer mental health screenings, referrals to students

Monroe County Community College and Monroe Community Mental Health Authority officials cut a ceremonial ribbon Wednesday to announce their partnership to provide mental health screenings and referrals to students on MCCC’s main campus four days a week.

The ceremony took place in MCCC’s Student Success Center in Founder’s Hall, which is where students can access the services, a news release said.

According to Gerald McCarty, director of student success at MCCC, the services are all provided by MCHMA and include: coordination of mental health screening, referrals, crisis prevention and intervention, advocacy, and linking to resources including counseling and therapy, health services, financial assistance, housing, social services, and other services and supports.

The partnership began as a pilot program during the winter semester with MCHMA providing services on campus two days a week. Starting this fall semester, services were expanded to four days a week via funding from the American Rescue Plan Act's Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

“Through the pilot program, we really came to understand how truly great the need was for these services on our campus, and the federal grant offered the perfect opportunity for us to expand them, ” McCarty said.

Amber Kreichbaum, an MCMHA clinician, has been assigned as MCCC’s mental health counselor, and mental health screenings and referrals are now available on the main campus from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. After-hours, on-call staff is available to respond to crises.

“Student access and success is a major goal in MCCC’s 2020-25 Strategic Plan, and one of the main objectives we have been focusing on is improving academic and non-academic support services,” Kojo A. Quartey, MCCC president, said in the release.

“A task force was formed to support and assist with college-wide and community assessment of mental health services and its implementation with on-going input. This was really the impetus for this innovative partnership to provide mental health services on campus for our students, and we are so grateful to MCMHA and the MCCC faculty and staff who made this happen,” Quartey said.

“Providing individual health services for those with any type of behavioral health concern and offering support within the community for those in need is what the Monroe County Community Health Authority is all about,” Crystal Palmer, MCMHA chief clinical officer, said in the release. “We are pleased to partner with MCCC by being an inviting resource to help students in need to live fuller, richer lives.”

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: MCCC, MCMHA partner to offer mental health screenings, referrals