Outside In received a $2.5 million federal grant that will enable the Portland social service agency to triple the number of young adults it treats for mental health and substance use problems.
Outside In was one of 16 organizations across the country to receive a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to treat people with serious mental illness and emotion disorders who are experiencing homelessness.
The funding will be spread out over five years, said Amanda Antenucci, Outside In’s clinical services manager. Outside In is already training its current therapists on a new treatment model and will hire more providers and peer support specialists.
The current program at Outside In has a capacity of 50 youth a year. The new funding will allow it to expand to 170 per year, Antenucci said. The agency as a whole served 11,000 people last year in finding housing, improving their physical and mental health and becoming more self-sufficient.
Multnomah County’s Homeless Youth Continuum estimates there are more than 1,000 homeless young adults in the county who could benefit from mental health and substance use treatment. Oregon tied with Nevada, California and the District of Columbia for the highest child and youth homeless rate in a recent report from WalletHub.
Outside In has had to turn away many young people but will now be able to expand services for more diverse populations, including LGBTQ youth. The nonprofit will use the grant funding to create a new program called Rise Support to give young people, between the ages of 18 and 25, the skills to manage stress.
“We’re teaching people about interpersonal effectiveness, stress tolerance, emotional regulation and mindfulness practices are baked into the entire model,” Antenucci said.
The strategies have been shown to be effective in people with complex trauma histories and substance use issues, which describes many of Outside In’s clients.
“Most of the youth we’re working with have certainly trauma backgrounds and most have experienced multiple and compounding traumas,” Antenucci said. “That causes wounds and injuries that can make it hard to deal with stressers that come up in daily life. A lot currently are experiencing trauma with the life circumstances that come with being homeless. Even if stuff is still really bad, they’ll be equipped with the tools to manage situations as they come up.”
Outside In will partner with Portland State University’s Regional Research Institute to measure the new program's effectiveness.