Reaching Out Mental Health Educational and Awareness Campaign in NC's Public Schools. Reaching Out provides a comprehensive educational program for families and friends of persons with mental illnesses and for consumers of mental health services. The goal of this Program is to increase the number of North Carolinians who receive appropriate treatment for anxiety disorders, to reduce the stigma associated with these disorders and to bridge the gap between awareness and treatment. . . Respite Care Respite care is one of the most requested support services by families providing care for a child or an adult with special needs. Respite care services may be provided in the home or in a group setting such as a group home, child or adult care center or a residential center.
Families receiving respite for their individual with special needs report many benefits.
In the end, the family unit is stronger, with a higher sense of optimism and well being. However, families and established respite providers in North Carolina communities report that the availability of respite services is significantly disproportionate to the need. These sources also report that respite services are not available in many areas due to the lack of an ongoing, standardized recruitment and training process. In response to these needs, the Mental Health Association in North Carolina has partnered with the Child and Family Services Section of the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services for developing a comprehensive curriculum for respite providers. Since January 1999, a core set of educational modules has been developed for field-testing in the community college system.