NORWICH, CT – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded a federal grant totaling $3 million to United Services, Inc., a non-profit Community Behavioral Health Center serving 21 towns in northeast Connecticut. The new federal funding will support Project CREST—a crisis response, engagement, and stabilization effort operated by United Services. The funding was authorized by H.R. 133, a COVID-19 relief bill Rep. Courtney voted to pass in December 2020.

“United Services is extremely excited to bring a much-needed expansion to crisis services for northeastern Connecticut,” said United Services President/CEO Diane L. Manning. “We believe this program can save lives and we are grateful for the support of SAMHSA and Congressman Joe Courtney.”

“Eastern Connecticut has shown a lot of toughness throughout the pandemic, it’s a big reason why our recovery is going strong, but if you talk to local health care providers like United Services, you’ll know that the demand for mental health services and crisis recovery has never been higher,” said Congressman Courtney. “A decrease in local resources coupled with a sharp and unexpected increase in isolation for many people has really exacerbated mental health struggles across the U.S., and here in eastern Connecticut. Organizations like United Services have reported seeing over twice as many clients going through their mental health crisis programs these past two years, and the number of services they’ve delivered has shot up by over 500 percent. Their work is absolutely essential to our communities, but they need more resources to keep up with this demand. That’s a major reason why I voted to pass H.R. 133—the bill included support specifically for community health centers like United Services, whose work is essential here in our Quiet Corner communities. This funding is going to support their mission, and help them continue their lifesaving work while our recovery  continues.”

This federal funding was authorized and made possible by a COVID-19 relief bill that Rep. Courtney voted to pass in December 2020—H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act for 2021.

United Services has seen drastic increases across its programs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency’s Crisis Response Services program, which responds to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, has seen the largest increases. In the last two years, the number of clients seen by the crisis program has increased by 122 percent and the number of services delivered has increased by 534 percent.

United Services Inc. will receive a federal grant award of $3,000,000 through HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support Project CREST: Crisis Response, Engagement and Stabilization Team. The purpose of the program is to enable community mental health centers to restore the delivery of clinical services that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will provide mobile crisis intervention services for up to 45 days following a mental health crisis, and will be staffed with clinicians, peer recovery specialists, case managers, and psychiatric APRNs.

United Services is the non-profit Community Behavioral Health Center for 21 towns in northeastern Connecticut. The agency has clinical centers in Dayville, Mansfield Center and Wauregan and provides more than 30 programs, including outpatient mental health for adults, children and families, substance abuse treatment, family programs, crisis services and the region’s only domestic violence program. Last year the agency served more than 3,500 people with more than 101,000 units of service.