EPCOG earns national award

The Eastern Plains Council of Governments received a 2023 Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations for its Eastern Plains Mental Health Program project.

“This project is a collaborative project with the United Way of Eastern New Mexico … and the Eastern New Mexico Consortium to target the mental health needs and opioid or drug use mitigation,” a news release from EPCOG stated.

“The consortium is a public-private partnership with local school districts, institutes of higher learning, local governments, detention centers, mental health providers, and rural/regional hospitals. With this program, we gather data concerning substance use disorders, create a pipeline project for students to enter the mental health profession, create internships for mental health student placement in rural schools, provide funding to local hospitals and detention centers for discharge coordinators, and provide technical support for existing and emerging mental health related assets.”