The Savila Collaborative

Centro Svila provides preventative primary mental healthcare direct clinical services, including outpatient mental health screening, assessment, evaluation, counseling/psychotherapy, and drug and alcohol addiction recovery treatment available to individuals, couples, and families residing in Bernalillo County and the surrounding community, regardless of their ability to pay. Clinical support services include crisis intervention/suicide prevention, individual therapy, family therapy, and group therapy, as well as trauma-informed, strengths-based mental health evaluations of crime victims in support of their immigration cases. Centro Svilas licensed clinicians facilitated Psychoeducation and Peer-led support groups for Immigrant and refugee newcomers adjusting to life in the U.S., Womens support, Parenting/ Healthy family attachment, Adolescent/Young Adult Life skills, Co-occurring Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorder, and Grief/Bereavement. Our offices are located in Albuquerques South Valley and International District, neighborhoods with high health disparities, and clinical staff are bilingual in English/Spanish to reduce transportation and cultural and linguistic barriers to treatment. During FY 22-23, Centro Svila experienced growth in our clinical services, having moved the prior year towards a hybrid in-person/telehealth model of services, which allowed for more flexibility for staff in scheduling and more options and accessibility for our clients. We expanded our efforts to make our clinical services more accessible by revamping our website to be more user-friendly (dual language English-Spanish) making our intake and consent forms available online/digitally and by using newly federally authorized telephonic and telehealth protocols. These systems changes to our infrastructure allowed us to increase services and improve on outcomes from the immediately preceding years that were largely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As our target population became more familiar with remote services and more literate about COVID-19 safety protocols, our number of services delivered increased from the initial decline of services that began in March 2020. Centro Svila added new licensed clinicians to our team during FY 2022-2023 which: Provided behavioral healthcare to hundreds of families; Implemented mindfulness and stress management skills groups for patients experiencing anxiety and depression; Continued Spanish-speaking Grief Support Group to families that have lost a loved one; Provided outpatient drug and alcohol counseling to community and court-mandated patients; Collaborated with partner organizations to provide opiate/opioid holistic outpatient treatment services; Expanded and strengthened our Suicide Prevention and Crisis Management program; Continued trauma and crime victimization focused services; Provided integrated case management and clinical services to youth systems-involved in the criminal justice system and their families; Provided integrated clinical and case management services to victims of crime at our South Valley and International District sites and; Strengthened our REFRAME multi-tiered intervention program for refugees resettled in Central New Mexico. During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, Centro Svila sought out capital outlay and general operations funding during the New Mexico State legislative session to meet the increased demand for our services and the challenges of inadequate office space for our providers. Our administrative team has worked with the Bernalillo County Commission and Manager, as well as the New Mexico Children Youth and Families Department to eventually secure funds appropriated to Centro Svila by state legislators. Centro Svila intends to use the $1.5 million capital outlay dollars to purchase land, plan and design a new facility to carry out our services in that will be based in an underserved neighborhood of Bernalillo County. Unrestricted operational funding from donations, grants and philanthropic contributions, as well as agency participation in the National Health Service Corps, allowed us to offer clinical services regardless of clients ability to pay at each site. As part of Centro Svilas bilingual, bicultural behavioral health professional pipeline our clinical team continued to provide internship opportunities for student interns from Highlands University, New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico. Two of our case management staff continued to work towards clinical degrees.

Collaboration, Education and Professional Capacity BuildingCentro Svila participates in efforts with community allies and partners to improve services, strengthen referral networks and to build collective impact that will address systems-level improvement of public health. Centro Svila staff and administration collaborate with community, government and institutional efforts aligned with our vision of a healthy, engaged and equitable community. This year in our internal restructuring, we formalized this value by designating regular time in staff schedules to participate in strategic partnerships and collaborations. During FY 2022-2023, Centro Svila staff collaborated/participated in multiple efforts including (but not limited to): The Pathways to a Healthy Bernalillo County Immigrant and Refugee Collaborative with other 4 other non-profits in Albuquerque to address systems change and structural barriers for our clients; The University of New Mexicos Transdisciplinary Research, Equity and Engagement Center for Advancing Behavioral Health and other community partners in the Immigrant Wellbeing Project; The Community Partnership for Health Equity (CPHE) program, a national network of public health groups, that focus on upstream healthcare prevention, community engagement, and integration of healthcare and social services; The South Valley and Westgate Inter-Personal Violence (IPV) Providers Group to build collective impact around IPV; The Anne E. Casey Foundation supported Justice 4 Youth initiative to address juvenile justice reform and alternative interventions; The Immigrant Well-being Project (IWP), a study that works together with UNM TREE Center to identify obstacles that immigrants from Central and South America face when arriving into the United States; The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, to develop alternatives to detention including treatment; The City of Albuquerque Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) provider collaborative, to strengthen networks of support for immigrants and refugees; the NMCAN Community Connections Meeting, to strengthen partnerships and support for children aging out of foster care; The Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Initiative Adverse Childhood Experiences, Peer Support Worker and Suicide Prevention Collaboratives, to strengthen partnerships with organizations working to build behavioral health equity in Bernalillo County and; The New Mexico Behavioral Health Providers Association to address systemic changes to improve Behavioral Health Service Delivery in New Mexico; The Vaccine with Confidence study with UNM to improve COVID-19 vaccine outreach and education to Spanish speakers in New Mexico; The Case Processing Work Group with county Courts, to improve access to behavioral health supports within the juvenile justice system; The Deep End Committee with Juvenile Detention Alternatives to Incarceration to improve access to behavioral health supports to individuals and families in the juvenile detention center; and the Bernalillo County Transition Age Youth ECHO with NMCAN to improve access to needed resources for youth transitioning out of foster care; The Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) New Mexico Public Charge Coalition to provide outreach, education and advocacy throughout New Mexico on Public Charge concerns for immigrant families. Centro Svila is committed to building racial health equity in New Mexico by training and hiring the next generation of bilingual/bicultural behavioral health providers. During FY 2022-2023, Centro Svila expanded our Bilingual/Bicultural Behavioral Health Professional Pipeline work. In addition to our Pathways Navigators, and Peer Support Workers, Centro Savila supervises Masters in Social Work (MSW) interns from New Mexico Highlands University and New Mexico State University and New Mexico Highlands University in Albuquerque. Centro Svila provided work experience and training to student volunteers and interns from UNM, NMHU, and clinical programs on case management services and the social determinants of health. Our organization expanded our Community Health Worker (CHW)/Promotora efforts to integrate research, education and services to reduce behavioral health disparities with Hispanic and Latino populations and collaborated with researchers at the UNM Evaluation Lab. Centro Svila continued to integrate CHW training into our health insurance education, outreach and enrollment efforts to facilitate uninsured and newly insured in finding a healthcare home and other social supports. During FY 2022-2023 Centro Savila added a Data and Analytics position to our administration to improve our ability to run reports on our services and continue to use data to drive improvements in our services. This and other additions to our administrative team allows our pipeline program to expand to administrative roles that will ultimately benefit New Mexicos non-profit sector that directs services to minority and underserved communities.

Centro Svila provides systems navigation and case management services at no cost to clients that have difficulty accessing resources to meet their basic needs. Case Management services are available to assist child and adult clients with accessing services and community support systems such as housing and supported living, educational services, vocational services, welfare, food stamps, nutritional resources, and medical services. Case management/navigation services, include providing information about immigration, criminal justice, and health and social services benefit enrollment processes, referral to services, supports and resources, as well as assistance in applying for benefits and services, interpreter services, intervention with other agencies and institutions on behalf of clients. Case Managers assist clients through advocacy, educational activities, and coordination of services. Centro Svilas culturally and linguistically sensitive case management services are provided by certified Community Health Workers (CHWs), Certified Peer Support Workers (CPSWs), bilingual health insurance outreach, education and enrollment specialists who facilitate uninsured and newly insured in finding a healthcare home and other social supports and, social work interns who coordinate and provide services and resources necessary to promote recovery, rehabilitation, and resiliency to program participants and their family. Case managers identify and addresses the barriers that impede the development of skills necessary for independent functioning. Their work consists of a variety of interventions, with at a minimum 60 percent face-to-face and in-person that can include accompaniment and advocacy with clients in home, school and work environments as they navigate complicated systems. Case Managers, Community Health Workers, Peer Case Managers, Pathways Navigators/Promotoras and student interns conduct needs assessments, screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences, safety, trauma, substance use, and other risk factors and assist Centro Svila's clients in the development and coordination of a treatment plan that may include a recovery or resiliency management plan, a crisis management plan or a treatment plan for Comprehensive Community Support Services. When requested, our team may provide advocacy and accompaniment to ensure access to basic needs including behavioral health care, support and intervention in crisis situations and planning that incorporates the use of natural supports and alternatives to the utilization of emergency departments and inpatient services. During FY 2022-2023, Centro Svila participated in the Pathways to a Healthy Bernalillo County program providing services to some of the most economically, psychologically and physically vulnerable residents of Bernalillo County. Centro Svila also worked with our team of CPSWs to address the basic needs of residents at Albuquerques Westside Emergency Housing Center (WEHC) and Wellness Hotel that was set up to house and provide medical assistance to unhoused individuals and families that had either tested positive for, or been exposed to COVID-19. Peer Case Managers (CPSWs) in this program served over 753 unduplicated clients; held 4,016 separate appointments and; provided 6,873 service hours. In addition to our Pathways Navigators, and Peer Support Workers, Centro Svila supervises Masters in Social Work (MSW) interns from New Mexico Highlands University and New Mexico State University as well as Pathways program Community Health Worker (CHW) interns. Centro Svila provided work experience and training to student volunteers and interns from UNM, NMHU, and NMSU clinical programs on case management services and the social determinants of health. Our organization expanded our Community Health Worker (CHW)/Promotora efforts to integrate research, education and services to reduce behavioral health disparities with Hispanic and Latino populations and collaborated with researchers at the University of New Mexicos Transdisciplinary Research, Equity and Engagement Center for Advancing Behavioral Health and other community partners in the Refugee and Immigrant Wellbeing Project. Centro Svila continued to integrate CHW training into our health insurance education, outreach and enrollment efforts to facilitate uninsured and newly insured in finding a healthcare home and other social supports. During FY 2022-2023, Centro Svila continued to respond to community barriers accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. The majority of individuals and families served at Centro Savila are low-income and uninsured and are from newcomer immigrant and refugee families. Despite historically low levels of unemployment nationwide, Centro Svilas clients are disproportionately unemployed and underemployed. Given the high rates of economic inflation and increasing rents, many of our clients experienced loss of housing or were faced with the threat of eviction. Although government programs aimed at curbing the health and economic welfare impacts of the pandemic existed, many of Centro Savilas clients did not know how to or possessed the capacity to apply for these programs. Our case management staff responded to the immediate needs of our clients for basic resources to sustain their families including food and protection from eviction. We accessed funds for Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to support families needing rent/housing assistance and advocated with clients to prevent eviction. Centro Svilas case management team redoubled our outreach and education efforts to the Spanish speaking community around COVID-19 and vaccine safety in response to the racial health disparities that increased to our target population during the pandemic.During FY 2022-2023 Centro Savila provided over 900 hours of public benefits enrollment services including 713 separate appointments to assist clients with public benefits and to address questions and concerns of community members regarding Public Charge which can impact the immigration applications of newcomer families. In conjunction with the Protecting Immigrant Families national coalition, Centro Svila led a New Mexico statewide coalition of immigrant-serving organizations to address outreach and education about public charge to community members.