The "Story Behind the Curve" helps us understand why the data on the amount of residents who have experienced more than 7 days of poor mental health in the past month, is the way that it is in our community. When we understand the root causes of our community problems, we have a better chance of finding the right solutions, together.

What's Helping? These are the positive forces at work in our community and beyond that influence this issue in our community.

• Mobile Crisis services
• Trained law enforcement officers able to respond to a mental health crisis
• Improved awareness of the issue
• Availability of walk-in crisis options
• "Polk County is strengthened by the collaborative efforts of many agencies working together toward a common goal"

What's Hurting? These are the negative forces at work in our community and beyond that influence this issue in our community.

• "lack of appropriate prevention and mental health treatment resources"
• "lack of local service providers, lack of sufficient funding for treatment"
• "social stigma around mental health issues"
• Number of Polk County adults indicating they are dissatisfied with life
• Percentage of Polk County residents indicating that their life has been negatively affected by substance abuse (by self or someone else)
• Percentage of Polk County residents who have experienced household substance abuse prior to age 18, an Adverse Childhood Experience
• Percentage of Polk County adults who have self-reported that they have used opiates/opioids in the past year, with or without a prescription.

Mental Health has been chosen as our long-term CHIP because we believe long-term strategies are needed to move the needle. According to NC State Center for Health Statistics, self-harm was the 7th leading cause of death for the period of 2012-2016 for Polk County. Self-harm is the 4th leading cause of death for the age group 20-39 years in Polk County (NC State Center for Health Statistics, 2018). These alarming statistics illustrate the importance of both short-term and long-term interventions to improve population health indicators. By ensuring every Polk County resident is able to receive mental health care or counseling when needed, we hope this will have a positive impact on our self-harm rates.

The Healthy North Carolina 2020 lists mental health as a focus area with an objective of decreasing the average number of poor mental health days among adults in the past 30 days to the 2020 target of 2.8. We will focus on evidence-based strategies and practices such as Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training to help reach this Healthy NC 2020 objective.

Partners in our Community Health Improvement Process: 

• Polk County Wellness Coalition
• Polk County Health and Human Services Agency
• St. Luke's Hospital 
• WNC Healthy Impact

Partners with a Role in Helping Our Community Do Better on This Issue:

• Polk County Library
• Thermal Belt Outreach
• NC Cooperative Extension
• Polk County Parks and Recreation
• Blue Ridge Health Center- Polk
• Senior Life Solutions
• VAYA Health
• NC Courts System
• CooperRiis
• Family Preservation Services
• Isothermal Planning and Development Commission
• United Methodist Church- Columbus and Saluda
• Polk County Wellness Coalition 
• Polk County Health and Human Services Agency
• St. Luke's Hospital
• RHA Health Services

The following actions have been identified by our Wellness Coalition, community partners, and community members as ideas for what can work for our community to make a difference on mental health.

Actions and Approaches Identified by Our Partners These are actions and approaches that our partners think can make a difference on mental health.

• Increased gatekeeper trainings sessions for suicide prevention using ASIST; QPR; CALM or Mental Health First Aid Training
• Increased use of depression screening tools for organizations serving at-risk groups such as Meals on Wheels
• Assist in the creation of suicide prevention policies for community organizations
• Increase in events to raise awareness for topics surrounding mental health and available resources
• Improve mental health resources available in schools

What is Currently Working in Our Community These are actions and approaches that are currently in place in our community to make a difference on mental health.

• A Mental Health Advisory Committee diligently working to find solutions to the mental health issues that Polk County residents are facing
• Walk-in Crisis Center available through Family Preservation Services
• RHA- Mobile Crisis Management is also available to anyone seeking assistance 
• The Polk County Substance Abuse Committee (PSAC), is actively seeking strategies that can be implemented in the community that addresses youth and adult substance abuse
• Resources provided by Blue Ridge Health Center- Polk

Evidence-Based Strategies These are actions and approaches that have been shown to make a difference on Mental Health.

What Community Members Most Affected by Mental Health Say These are the actions and approaches recommended by members of our community who are most affected by mental health

• Improved access to mental health resources
• destigmatize the use of mental health services
• Community knowledge regarding signs of crisis forming

Process for Selecting Priority Strategies

After reviewing various strategies to focus on for mental health, Polk County Wellness Coalition and other partners decided to focus on those strategies that were most feasible with the largest impact. Priority strategies were chosen based on their alignment with community values, feasibility, ability to address more than one root cause, and if the strategy had the potential to be high-leverage. This process occurred over the course of several committee meetings and community forums.