Alpena – Partners in Prevention has secured a $60,000 added value grant from the GAINS Center to bring their SIM (Sequential Intercept Mapping) Workshop to Alpena County. This workshop will bring together key partners to create a local “systems map” and establish local priorities for change and strategic plans. SIM Mapping Workshops result in a map that illustrates how people with behavioral health needs come in contact with and flow through the criminal justice system utilizing the framework of the Sequential Intercept Model.

Partners in Prevention is pleased to have gained the participation of key community partners in this workshop; Alpena County Sheriff’s Department, Michigan State Police, City of Alpena Police, City of Alpena Fire Department, Alpena County EMS, 911, and Emergency Management Departments, Northeast Michigan Community Mental Health, Alcona Health Center, MyMichigan Health Center, Thunder Bay Community Health Services, NAMI, Catholic Human Services, Hope Shores Alliance, Sunrise Center, Bay View Center, the Alpena County Prosecutor, Alpena County Probation Department, 26th Judicial Circuit Court, the Public Defender’s Office, local defense attorneys, the Mayor, County Administrator, and City Manager among others. These entities will come together over this two day workshop May 28th and 29th to build a SIM map for Alpena county and collaborate to further improve how all these agencies work together on procedure and policy in the future.

For the past several years the GAINS Center has solicited applications from jurisdictions interested in better identifying and responding to the needs of individuals with behavioral health needs who are involved or at risk for involvement in the criminal justice system, through Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) Mapping Workshops. The workshops are designed to bring together a local, cross-system, multidisciplinary group of key partners from a particular jurisdiction to facilitate cross-system collaboration and to identify and discuss ways in which barriers in and between the criminal justice and behavioral health systems can be reduced through the development of integrated local strategic action plans.

The GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA), is known internationally for its work regarding individuals with behavioral health needs who are involved in the criminal justice system.

This important mapping project is yet another important piece of the years long work Partners in Prevention has been doing to bring Crisis Intervention Training and Mental Health Awareness and Training to our region and to strengthen resources to help effectively deal with mental health crises in our community.

Partners in Prevention in Alpena MI offers a valued array of training, facilitation, and support services designed to promote individual and community resilience. Partners in Prevention helps our community raise children who are safe, loved, and resilient, and helps adults increase knowledge and skills to address life’s challenges.