Priority Health Issue 3 and the related result "Children, Adolescents, and Adults of Clay County will have Access to Mental Health Resources and Prevention Education" are aligned with the following Healthy NC 2020 Focus Areas/ Objectives. 

• Reduce the percentage of high school students who had alcohol on one or more of the past 30 days.

How would we experience [insert result] in our community?

Clay County would be a thriving community with access to mental health resources. We would see a decrease in our jail in the amount of substance related arrests. Clay County would see more students identifying coping skills and utilization of those coping skills. We would see a decrease in stigma related to mental health. We would see education around mental health issues and prevention education. We would see an increase of mental health professionals who are providing resources to individuals. We would see an increase in recovery services. We would see a decrease in youth misusing substances because they know of the harmful effects that they have on the body.

What information led to the selection of this health issue and related result?

Clay County Health Department and Healthy Carolinians compared multiple community health assessment priorities to the recent data to determine what was making a difference, what was working, and what we should concentrate more on during the coming years. Through a group decision three priority health issues were declared that we believe will have the most impact on the community. Mental Health Access to Care – Abundantly clear that the needed resources are not available to adequately serve our community along with the need for more prevention education within the schools.