After almost two decades of leading the work of the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health (NNED), Change Matrix (CM) is embarking on an expanded endeavor! The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Office of Behavioral Health Equity (OBHE) sought to enhance the work into a broader initiative — Achieving Behavioral Health Equity (ABHE). After putting out a call for proposals, SAMHSA has awarded Change Matrix and Abt Associates the contract to help combat inequities in behavioral health.
With our partners at Abt Associates, Change Matrix kicked off this work in early October and we have hit the ground running! The goal of the ABHE initiative is to improve behavioral health in communities that have been historically underserved. The team will use multiple strategies to foster ongoing partnerships, collaboration, and innovation with and for disparity-vulnerable communities.
Under the 4-year contract, we will:
- Design and implement consultation with groups with expertise and lived experience through a behavioral health equity steering committee, technical expert panel, and listening sessions
- Utilize culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) to assess community needs
- Analyze behavioral health disparity research and data to develop responsive community engagement strategies and interventions
- Expand upon the NNNED work and reach more community-based organizations (CBOs) across the nation
- Provide technical assistance and capacity building activities such as training workshops, learning collaboratives, and behavioral health equity toolkits
- Improve both OBHE and NNED web site design and function to enhance their reach and impact
We look forward to the next four years of this amazing work, seeing the NNED and ABHE evolve, and working closely with community leaders to address behavioral health disparities.
