In March OceanMHS was awarded a grant of $1M from the New Jersey Division of Mental Health Services.  The grant, for the Ocean County Early Intervention Support Services (Ocean-EISS) program, is to provide “rapid access to short-term, recovery-oriented crisis intervention and stabilization services for persons with serious mental illness”.  This new program will allow us to provide a month of crisis and stabilization services, quickly linking consumers to resources and ongoing care.  Services will include:

¨ In-Community Crisis Stabilization

¨ Assessment by a Prescriber

¨ Supportive Counseling – Onsite and in-community as needed

¨ Groups (Wellness and Recovery, IMR, and others as needs arise)

¨ Linkages to Benefits, Community Services and Therapeutic Services

¨ Respite Care

Ocean-EISS is a partnership between OceanMHS, Preferred Behavioral Health and the Mental Health Association, with OceanMHS acting as the lead agency.  OceanMHS and Preferred will see the development of Fast Track Services to handle the increased volume of referrals, and the Mental Health Association will support the program with a peer position, a Community Inclusion Specialist.  In total, Ocean-EISS will employ 20 people between the three agencies and provide services to 700 consumers each year. We will be sure to let everyone know when Ocean-EISS is ready to open the doors and offer this valuable service to the community.