(Feb. 23, 2017) Last September, we heralded the allocation of $15 million in federal grant funds in support of 17 new assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) programs across the nation. Now, just a few months later, many of these new AOT programs are up and running.
Last week, Treatment Advocacy Center Policy Director Brian Stettin visited Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (NNAMHS), a grant recipient serving the greater Reno area.
Before meeting with the newly hired staff and sharing insights with them on the practice of AOT, Brian had the simple pleasure of walking down the hallway of the new AOT unit and observing freshly mounted nameplates on the doors.
“It was unexpectedly moving to see the names and titles of the caring professionals who will be engaged every day in bettering the lives of people with severe mental illness,” Brian explained. “It really brought home that the SAMHSA AOT grant program we fought so hard to establish isn’t just talk anymore; it’s reality.”
We are proud to have played a role in the development of this program, and we look forward to their imminent success in helping clients live safely in the community. In time, NNAMHS and the other grantees will inspire many other mental health systems to implement the life-saving, evidence-based tool known as AOT.
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