Valley nonprofit receives $4M grant to expand behavioral health services

PHOENIX — Valle del Sol announced Tuesday it has received a $4 million grant to boost community-based behavioral health offerings over the next two years.

The grant allows the community health organization to expand services including 24/7 intervention for people with serious mental illness or substance use disorders, according to a press release.

This includes opioid use disorders, children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance and individuals with co-occurring mental and substance disorders.

The nonprofit as part of the grant was also designated a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) program by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, which is a designation for a program model aimed at increasing access and improving the quality of treatment services for mental and substance use disorders in a community.

Valle del Sol is the only organization in Maricopa County with that designation, according to the release.

“The Certified Community Behavioral Health Center model has become a nationwide movement in the healthcare industry with beneficial, demonstrated outcomes,” Carmen Heredia, chief executive officer at Valle del Sol, said in the release.

“We are honored to receive this designation, highlighting the work being done at Valle del Sol.”

The designation allows the nonprofit to increase its reach for person and family-centered integrated health care services while focusing on disorders and mental health illness in marginalized communities.

“This certification will apply to two of our locations in Phoenix,” Heredia said. “We will be working closely with partners to launch the program and in the future hope to collaborate with state agencies and health plans on the sustainability of this program beyond the two-year funding investment.”

Launched in 1970, Valle del Sol aims to fill the gap in behavioral and social services available to the Latino community in Phoenix, according to the release.

Valle del Sol has seven Valley locations, with five in Phoenix and two in Mesa.

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