4 . Expand criminal justice system services to reduce jail system recidivism and address the needs of highly acute inmates .
• Provide more focused care structures for the first responders and those in the criminal justice system .
o Create the equivalent of Peer Support Specialists for first responders . Work with Polk County Sheriff ’ s Office , city police departments , fire departments , and other first responder groups to create or expand trauma and other support groups . o
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Expand or replicate the Lakeland Regional Health " VIP " program at other facilities , in which first responders , hospital staff and others in high profile groups in need of care can receive discreet access to E . D . and behavioral health services to maintain confidentiality .
5 . Engage diverse community groups in immediate and ongoing activities to improve community health and wellness and to support efforts to enact behavioral health initiatives .
• Institute focused awareness and education programs that fight self-stigma , community stigma , and institutional stigma .
o Create greater access to AA , ALATEEN , and NA meetings and support groups . Provide virtual access to meetings , increase awareness of meetings and ways to get involved . Link group attendance as an optional part of discharge planning and / or outpatient service use . o o
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Work with churches and other cultural leaders to break culturally based stigma .
Engage representatives from the Downtown Streets Team to advise on the possibility to establish the first non-West Coast chapter of this successful model .
Work with public sector entities , large employers , and insurance providers to review parity between the way that physical and behavioral health needs are covered . Where imbalance is found , advocate for legislative changes ( or , in some cases , changes of internal policies ). Develop a “ toolkit ” that can be shared with area Chambers , employers and their EAPs , nonprofit member organizations , neighborhood resources , and others to communicate anti-stigma messages and training to their constituents . Recent research shows that the majority of employees ( 63 %) thought that there was mental health stigma in the workplace ; while 25 % of HR managers had never received any training regarding ways to support employees with
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