HANCOCK COUNTY — A new Student Counseling Assistance Program from Mental Health Partners of Hancock County is offering free mental health counseling for children.
The new program is an offshoot of the nonprofit’s Behavior Care Assistance Program (BCAP), which has been providing financial assistance for mental health counseling, medications and sober living facility fees since 2009.
Mental Health Partner’s executive director, Kim Hall, said the nonprofit is currently using funding from the Student Counseling Assistance Program — SCAP —to pay for six students to attend counseling. Another student recently completed the program.
SCAP is designed to offer mental health counseling for any student that resides in Hancock County. Hall said it is being funded through support from the Hancock County Community Foundation.
The BCAP program is currently funded through an annual grant from NineStar Connect and Neighbors Against Substance Abuse.
Hall said the program will soon also receive federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, which has funneled hundreds of billions of dollars into state and local government programs.
“We are grateful for all these funding opportunities,” said Hall.
For both the BCAP and SCAP programs, those in need of services can contact Mental Health Partners for an appointment to complete paperwork and to be connected with counselors.
“Mental Health Partners pays for six sessions. After six sessions, the client will pay a portion and Mental Health Partners pays the remaining balance for six more sessions,” said Hall, and the client is responsible for paying for their sessions moving forward.
“In the event the client can not pay, the case is reviewed and decided on how to proceed,” she said.
While BCAP has been available to any Hancock County resident, regardless of age, Hall said the new student-focused SCAP offering is a much-needed expansion of the original program by placing an emphasis on the importance of children’s mental health.
“Mental Health Partners has mostly served adults, but we believe the stigma related to mental health has declined and parents are seeking counseling for their kids,” said the director.
Hall also believes the COVID pandemic has had a lot to do with reducing the stigma of seeking mental health support.
“People are now more open to discuss and say that they need help,” she said.
“I believe that parents have always cared about their kids and they have always thought their kid would ‘outgrow the problem.’ Now I’m seeing this generation of parents who are seeking help for their kids because they want to change their kids’ future, and not raise their kids in the same type of circumstances,” said Hall.
She said she’s not casting judgment on parents either way, but wants all Hancock County families to know that help is available when needed, “because I know kids need help too.”
For more information on Mental Health Partners’ services, including the BCAP And SCAP programs, contact Hall at 317-462-2877.
