KU School of Medicine-Wichita

15 "Folks were interested in serving the community and doing this one-on-one work with community members." — Amanda Aguila-Gonzalez, Ph.D., MPH, post-doctoral fellow "I think the eect has been that we provided education and knowledge that people didn't have before, specifically in regard to mental illnesses, and how to help and connect people with mental illnesses to resources," Scott said. "That's the feedback we got." "We have already heard back from some folks who have been able to make connections and find employment opportunities after completing their training," Aguila-Gonzalez said. During the last three years, Facts Not Fear ICT hosted community sessions at several locations, including the Urban League of Kansas, Atwater Neighborhood Center, and the Evergreen and downtown branches of the library. These sessions were intended to promote healthy habits and improve health literacy to promote positive health outcomes. Each session focused on a dierent health topic including: physical activity and nutrition, stress and mental health, health visits and screenings, COVID-19 and prevention, and substance use disorder. Four cohorts totaling 60 participants completed 40 hours of training, each over a four-week period. Amanda Aguila-Gonzalez, Ph.D., MPH, lead evaluator at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, described trainees as "folks who were interested in serving the community and doing this one-on-one work with community members" in the area of mental health. Most were women, with an average age of 45. The training included how to assess clients' needs, how to develop a client care plan, mental health and wellness, and preparing trainees on how to interact with individuals with a mental illness. The intent was to improve mental health literacy and prepare trainees to join the mental health workforce. Organizations such as Guadalupe Clinic, MHASCK and COMCARE joined the final day of training to share information about open positions and possible roles and responsibilities for trainees. Angela Scott, COPE community health worker field supervisor, helped train the community mental health workers. In addition to preparing those people for entry-level jobs, she said, Facts Not Fear impacted the priority populations. KU School of Medicine-Wichita began serving as the administrator for the Facts Not Fear ICT project in April 2023. Facts Not Fear ICT had four main goals: improving health literacy, engaging Wichita communities, improving patient-provider communication, and improving access to COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Although open to anyone 18 years and older, the priority populations for FNFICT were Wichita adults who were Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian or Asian American. In response to mental health needs shared by the community at large and FNFICT priority populations, an intervention was developed to improve mental health literacy, mental health care access, and the mental health workforce. FNFICT partnered with Mental Health America of South Central Kansas and Communities Organizing to Promote Equity to develop a training for individuals, especially from FNFICT priority communities, to become community mental health workers. Part of the grant was used to recruit and train community mental health workers. Amanda Aguila-Gonzalez, Ph.D., MPH, post-doctoral fellow Population Health

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