Law & Psychiatry Program Awarded $3.8 Million SAMHSA Grant to Support Behavioral Health and Community Safety in Massachusetts

The Law & Psychiatry Program at UMass Chan Medical School was awarded a new $3.8 million, five-year capacity-building grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) titled Implementing a Behavioral Health and Community Safety Partnership.

This project supports Massachusetts communities in reducing the behavioral health impacts of crime, violence, and disorder; strengthening community safety; and improving outcomes for youth and families, with a focus on youth ages 12 to 25. The initiative will bring evidence-based practices for violence and aggression reduction among youth to the Commonwealth. In addition, it will bolster crisis response services, the peer support workforce, and devise solutions for youth homelessness.

This grant represents a partnership between The Law & Psychiatry program at iSPARC, forHealth Consulting, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, and child-serving agencies across the state. Geneva Weymouth, MS, LMHC, will lead the project, with senior advisors Gina Vincent, PhD, and Meaghan Dupuis, MA, LMHC, and co-investigator Spencer Lawson, PhD.

The Law & Psychiatry Program is grateful for the opportunity to continue this important work in partnership with DMH collaborators: Omar Irrizary, MA, Director of Cross-Agency Initiatives; Joanne Barros, PhD, LMHC, Acting Deputy Director of Forensic Operations; and Liam Seward, Director of Compliance and Emergency Management.

The success of this grant speaks to the quality of the project, the importance of the topic it addresses, and the expertise of the team. We look forward to what we can accomplish together!