Three grant opportunities totaling $4.5 million will support local partners in developing community-based initiatives to improve equitable access to mental health services, expand peer support services and strengthen family and caregiver support services, says North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

“Behavioral health is essential to health and these investments build on the near $1 billion we’re investing to improve the mental health system of care in North Carolina,” said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “These grant opportunities will help close health disparities by focusing on the unique needs of marginalized communities and empowering those with lived experience to be key to the solution.”

NCDHHS will award Mental Health Block Grant funds to community-based partners to build or expand mental health services and supports for North Carolinians, including those with substance use and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Specifically, the grants will be used to implement:

  • Community-Based Mental Health Initiatives: Projects that expand access to mental health supports for the LGBTQIA+ community, faith-based communities, people over the age of 65 and non-native English speakers, who often encounter unique challenges to finding and accessing culturally competent care. Projects should address barriers to care, promote culturally competent and trauma-informed services and foster resilience among these communities.
  • Peer Services: Peer Respite and Peer Living Room Models that serve as community-based alternatives to emergency departments or hospitals for crisis and recovery services. These programs provide peer-supported crisis, mental health and substance use recovery services. Programs will be administered by Certified Peer Support Specialists, who provide trauma-informed services supported by their lived experiences navigating the mental health system.
  • Family and Caregiver Support Services: Programs that offer support for family members who are caregivers and siblings of loved ones requiring intensive care for behavioral health, substance use, intellectual or developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury or co-occurring conditions. Services provide an essential support and advocacy for family caregivers while ensuring continuity of care for their loved one.

Eligible organizations who would like to partner with NCDHHS in developing mental health solutions in their communities are encouraged to submit a proposal or application for funding through the Mental Health Block Grant. To learn more, visit the DMHDDSUS grant opportunities page.

“These grants are part of our ongoing work to improve how North Carolinians access mental health and well-being services both for themselves and for the people they love,” said Kelly Crosbie, MSW, LCSW, Director of the NCDHHS Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services. “We are committed to fostering a system of equitable, compassionate, whole-person care that can move families and communities from a state of crisis into long-term recovery.”

Investing in community-based services supports NCDHHS’ goal to ensure every North Carolinian has access to the right care, in the right place, at the right time to meet their mental health needs. The department is investing a historic $835 million to transform behavioral health services and build a system where everyone has someone to contact, someone to respond and a safe place for care whenever they need it.