The Richmond Behavioral Health Authority has been awarded a nearly $5 million grant to expand mental health programs in Richmond Public Schools and its clinic.

The $4.97 million grant was awarded about three weeks ago by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, but won’t take effect until Dec. 30. The SBIRT Project — which stands for Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment — aims to help with case management and wraparound services for youths and adults with substance use disorders or behavioral health conditions.

“It really allows us to put in a lot of infrastructure in terms of screening processes, really putting in clinical staff, building on what we already have in [RPS] schools,” said Shenee McCray, RBHA’s chief operating officer for mental health services.

RBHA has a long-standing partnership with RPS, providing mental health services in over 28 schools. These services include clinicians offering intake, individual therapy, group therapy and mobile crisis response. McCray said there’s a greater need for mental health services due to a high number of cases stemming from the pandemic, as well as helping students who are coming of age and experiencing peer pressure.

“The brain continues to develop through age 25 and so middle school years and high school years are ages where youths are really developing and figuring out who they are, who they want to be,” McCray said. “There is a lot of social pressure at that age.”

RPS officials and School Board candidates have been vocal about the need for more mental health resources in schools, a prominent topic during candidate forums this election season.

As society moves away from stigmatizing mental health, RBHA welcomes the positive attention it’s now receiving.

“I love the direction that we’re going in terms of breaking down the stigma that’s been our mission for decades is to normalize seeking help and to be able to say, ‘I’m not okay,’” McCray said. “That’s what our mission has been, that we want to normalize seeking mental health. We want to normalize taking care of our mental health, just as you would your physical health.”

RBHA is one of 10 grantees selected from nationwide applicants. The $4.97 million grant will be divided into about $1 million annually for five years.