Oakland Family Services and Easterseals Michigan will be able to enhance and expand online provision of essential behavioral health services for distressed individuals and families during the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to a $160,000 grant from United Way of Southeastern Michigan.

Through the COVID-19 Fund Collaborative Grant, the agencies will work together to coordinate emergency response during a time of grave uncertainty. The funding will help cover the cost of transforming traditionally in-person services to virtual platforms, allowing Oakland Family Services and Easterseals Michigan to continue providing high-quality services to the vulnerable children, individuals, and families both organizations serve.

More than 80% of the individuals and families served by Oakland Family Services are low income and experience compounded stress from substance use disorder, abuse, neglect, trauma, or mental illness. Easterseals Michigan serves individuals and their families with disabilities from early childhood to senior services. A high proportion are Medicaid eligible, low-income individuals with mental illness, substance use disorders, autism spectrum disorder, or other special needs.

The COVID-19 crisis has made support of vital health and safety net services even more critical as people struggle with isolation from friends and family. It also has posed a financial hardship for Oakland Family Services and Easterseals Michigan. Both organizations are simultaneously experiencing declining program revenues and canceled fundraising events, while also incurring increased expenses in the shift to provide services online.

“Mental health and substance use disorder issues haven’t stopped because of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Jaimie Clayton, president & CEO at Oakland Family Services. “In fact, it’s even more likely we will be facing an even larger mental health crisis due to the isolation, grief and loss, and economic hardship people may be facing. This United Way of Southeastern Michigan funding, and collaboration with Easterseals Michigan, allows us to provide vital therapy in the safety of the home for even more people struggling right now.”

"Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic we have found the telehealth services, combined with our home, office, and community-based services, were the best way to continue providing life-saving services to the people we serve,” said Brent Wirth, Easterseals Michigan president & CEO. “This grant, along with the partnership with Oakland Family Services, will help to expand these services to reach more people in need of mental health services. We rely heavily on our partnerships and we are thankful to have United Way of Southeast Michigan and Oakland Family Services as partners in this initiative."

Under the COVID-19 Fund Collaborative Grant, Oakland Family Services and Easterseals Michigan will collaborate through information sharing, joint purchasing, promoted social media, and uniform training. They also will develop a standardized survey assessment to evaluate service effectiveness, identify areas of improvement, and formulate future strategic direction to match community needs. Funds will cover hardware and software purchases to deliver services virtually as well as support social media promoted posts to provide vital information to the public.