Coast to Forest: Mental Health Promotion in Rural Oregon

The Coast to Forest collaboration between the OSU Extension Family and Community Health Program and the OSU Center for Health Innovation works on mental health promotion and substance use prevention. Our goals work to:

• Improve mental health and well-being
• Expand training tools and technical assistance through the OSU Extension Service and College of Health
• Build capacity in rural Oregon to prevent and reduce opioid and stimulant use disorders and their consequences, and move people to recovery

The Coast to Forest initiative builds upon existing state and community strengths and resources. This includes a growing network of community health workers, radio stations covering communities' health and wellness, community-level partnerships and an expanding Mental Health First Aid network. Funding for the state and local initiatives was made available through the USDA and SAMHSA for land-grant universities like Oregon State University.

Our Programs

• Deploy and train Community Health Workers to coordinate and provide evidence-based training in two high-need regions of the state
• Assess population mental health needs, resources and readiness, and conduct strategic planning through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s program and through Community Conversations about Mental Health
• Build capacity to address needs by training community partners in Mental Health First Aid and sharing local mental health resource directories
• Implement health education strategies to reach broad community audiences, including through local Extension radio programming and educational offerings during Prevention Week
• Conduct monitoring and evaluation, and present project results to policymakers and other important audiences.
• Increase access to multiple resources through free-to-access web-based library of on-demand trainings, tools, and technical assistance materials.
• Present de-stigmatizing media training to provide best practices for covering substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery.
• Conduct Peer Support Fundamentals (PSF) Training that will provide trainees with increased knowledge, skills and attitudes related to substance use disorders and peer support fundamentals

Evidence-Based Activities

Community Conversations about Mental Health allow community partners to guide or facilitate strategic conversations according to the evidence-based toolkit. The four “sessions” include:

• Sharing Experiences
• Discussion of Challenges
• Exploration of Response
• Community Solutions

Mental Health First Aid Training for adult community members is delivered in each region at four specific times. Participants can include:

• Public health, social service and healthcare providers
• County decision-makers
• Community coalition leaders and members
• Law enforcement
• Farmers and agricultural sector workers
• Parents (through the parenting hubs)
• 4-H volunteers
• Other stakeholders.

OSU Extension Radio Programming provides:

• Broad-reaching education to rural listeners
• Multiple formats (e.g., personal stories, expert interviews, innovative solutions)
• Varied mental health and substance use topics.

County-Level Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Resource Guides, developed and distributed widely within each county (see county resources tab), include:

• Comprehensively compiled information for local referrals and support
• National resources and support

Prevention Week activities, held in each region during the second weeks of May 2021 and 2022, is an annual, nationwide event to:

• Raise community awareness about mental health and substance use
• Offer locally-driven educational events to highlight needs and opportunities for action and promote recovery.

Web-Based Library provides:

• Current resources and information on prevention and treatment of opioid/stimulant misuse for all audiences.
• Virtual trainings (publicly available and on-demand)

De-Stigmatizing Media Training developed to provide best practices for covering substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery:

• 90 minute virtual media training (live-moderated online session, repeated quarterly)

Substance Use Disorders 101 - OSU Continuing Education - an introductory online course for anyone interested in helping individuals or communities impacted by substance use disorders (SUDs)

• SUD 101 is a self-paced, introductory course that provides an overview of substance use disorders, along with evidence-based approaches to prevention, intervention and treatment. This course takes an inclusive approach and is designed for anyone interested in helping individuals or communities impacted by substance use disorders. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate of completion eligible for 12 hours of continuing education credit.
  
  This training is offered in partnership with Coast to Forest, a project that aims promote mental health and prevent substance use disorders across Oregon, and Professional and Continuing Education, a center of noncredit education at Oregon State University. Coast to Forest is led by OSU’s College of Health and OSU Extension Family and Community Health and is funded by USDA and SAMHSA grants.

Expected Outcomes

1. Increase knowledge and awareness about mental health, substance abuse, and available helping resources;
2. Decrease stigma related to substance use disorder and mental health;
3. Increase skills and confidence for helping community members in distress;
4. Increase helping behaviors and referrals for mental health and substance abuse;
5. Increase use of mental health and substance use disorder services;
6. Greater community efficacy to address local needs through community changes; and
7. Development of community-driven plans to promote mental health and prevent substance use disorder.

Marion Ceraso, MHS, MA, Co-Program Director is an Associate Professor of Practice with Extension Family and Community Health Program, at the Oregon State University College of Health. (bio)

• Two decades of experience providing collaborative leadership, training and technical assistance to communities mobilizing to advance local population health and health equity
• developed health promotion curricula and training on opioid prevention for primary care physicians, and worked as an investigative journalist covering community public health issues and as a community organizer in economically distressed communities.

Allison Myers, PhD, MPH, Co-Program Director is the Director for the Oregon State University Center for Health Innovation, responsible for launching new projects at the intersection of public health for the College of Health and the state. (bio)

• Co-founded two organizations that depend on her expertise engaging community stakeholders and equipping them with the tools for policy, systems, and environmental changes that promote health and well-being.

Dusti Linnell, PhD, Outreach Coordinator is a Lincoln and Tillamook county-based Assistant Professor of Practice, Family and Community Health Extension Program at the Oregon State University College of Health has facilitated a national award-winning community partnership in Tillamook county and has been engaged with both Lincoln and Tillamook County health improvement initiatives since 2016. (bio)

• Scholarship and expertise in health promotion and disease prevention and her dedication to providing service in her communities positions her well to provide support and open doors to the community partners for the project.

Robin Maille, MA, MF, Outreach Coordinator is a Baker and Union county-based Assistant Professor of Practice, Family and Community Health Extension Program at the Oregon State University College of Health. (bio)

• Cultivated strong local partnerships and participated on multiple local coalitions
• Trainings in Mental Health FirstAid, Trauma Informed Oregon, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and her continued professional development around substance abuse (Oregon Opioid Summit)

Sandi Cleveland Phibbs, PhD, MPH, Evaluator is a public health and evaluation consultant. As a health educator she has planned, implemented, and evaluated community substance abuse prevention and health promotion programs. (bio)

• Expertise is in evaluation design, data collection, and data analysis and interpretation for both qualitative and quantitative studies.
• Currently serving as an evaluator for a three-year project to expand access to opioid treatment in a rural Oregon countyView Sandi’s bio here

Marc Braverman, PhD, Senior Evaluation Consultant is a national recognized, evaluation research award-winning Professor and an Extension Specialist, Family and Community Health Extension Program at the Oregon State University College of Health. (bio)

• Recently evaluated three non-opioid pain treatment centers in northwest Oregon.

Roberta Riportella, PhD, Senior Collaborator is Associate Dean for Outreach and Engagement and Leader of the Family and Community Health Extension Program at the Oregon State University College of Health. (bio)

• Worked with many state-based agencies, non-profits, and local groups focused on community health

Madeleine Seifert, Student Intern, is based in Corvallis and is working on projects with the Allison Myers at OSU Center for Health Innovation. She is in the OSU Honors College and majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. She is working on developing resource guides and radio programming.

• Experience with organizing mental health awareness week at her high school and QPR suicide prevention training.

Kasey Purcell, Student Intern, is working with Dusti Linnell in Tillamook and Lincoln Counties compiling resource guides to increase access to local behavioral and mental health resources. Kasey is pursuing a degree in dietetics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is working towards a career in community nutrition.

Coast to Forest programming is grounded in collaboration with partners. New partners are welcomed with gratitude!

Special thanks to those who offered letters of support for the Coast to Forest proposal to the USDA/NIFA Rural Health and Safety Education Program:

• Adventist Health – Tillamook Regional Medical Center
• Alexandra Communications – Tillamook Radio
• Center for Human Development, Inc.-Public Health and Mental Health Services (Union Co.)
• Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization
• Elkhorn Media Group -Union and Baker Radio and Social Media
• InterCommunity Health Network Coordinated Care Organization
• Lincoln County Board of Commissioners; Lincoln County Health and Human Services
• North East Oregon Network
• Oregon Office of Rural Health
• Oregon Department of Human Services – District 13 Administration (Baker and Union Counties)
• Oregon Health Authority - Prescription Drug Overdose Program
• Oregon Mental Health First Aid/Association of Community Mental Health Programs
• Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative
• Oregon State University Pesticide Safety Education Program
• Union County Safe Communities Coalition-Prevention of Youth Substance Abuse