Rural Collaborative Equity Project Updates

All Counties had to revise their focus or activities due to COVID-19.

Adams County has chosen its measures and will begin work on increasing access to preventative care for women living in Adams County. Quarterly story reports will be available for partners to track progress.

Lincoln County will be posting a job for the Equity Focused Prevention Specialist in the coming weeks. This position will lead the equity work in Lincoln County and outreach low-income adults in Lincoln County, with a goal to increase access to behavioral health services.

Stevens County is waiting until Commissioners are in place to move forward with a revised equity project plan.

Ferry County has chosen to focus on suicide prevention, as suicide rates have increased in rural areas during the COVID pandemic. They will be working to saturate the Ferry County population with suicide prevention training and de-stigmatization of behavioral health issues. This project is set to start in January 2021 and will include an online resource site and free to the public online trainings.

Pend Oreille has begun its work to improve the mental health of youth in their region, with a commitment from multiple partners, in multiple sectors working to outreach the Pend Oreille County youth.