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Naples, Fl – David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC), Collier County’s only comprehensive, not-for-profit behavioral health treatment center serving children, adults and families, announced that the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation (RMSFF) Board of Directors awarded DLC a $250,000 grant to improve access to children’s mental health treatment and ensure early intervention.

The goal of the funding is to enhance and expand intensive inpatient crisis stabilization and partial hospitalization treatment for children with serious mental health challenges such as depression, bipolar, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. The grant will also expand DLC’s efforts to ensure early identification, intervention and swift linkage to services to prevent children from needing more intensive care when symptoms are at their worst.

The grant will help fund a clinical team of providers across the children’s continuum of care. Mental health treatment funds will support an Acute Care Clinician who will provide individual and group therapy as well as care coordination for children in the Crisis Stabilization Unit, Collier County’s only designated Baker Act Receiving Facility, for individuals who are a danger of hurting themselves or someone else. Treatment funds will also provide clinical services in the Children’s Partial Hospital Program (PHP), an intensive day program consisting of therapeutic, educational, wellness and therapy groups as well as individual and family therapy. Funds will support the entire PHP multidisciplinary team, which includes a pediatric psychiatric practitioner, licensed clinicians, and a nurse.

To enhance early intervention and outreach efforts, grant funds will also support a Children’s Integrated Care Liaison, who will serve as a link between pediatric and primary care providers, medical specialists, and DLC psychiatric specialty care. The Liaison works within the Access Center to facilitate access to intake assessments and will manage referrals and ongoing communication to ensure continuity of care. The grant will also fund a Children’s Outreach Specialist, who provides education, awareness, outreach, and prevention services to the community at large.

“Through this generous grant, Collier County children and their families will improve their ability to access and navigate care, and to receive critical treatment support in order to avoid costly crises for the child, family, and community,” said Scott Burgess, DLC Chief Executive Officer. “The RMSFF funding and other private donations from the community are critical to ensure DLC can carry out its vital mission. We greatly appreciate RMSFF’s continued investment in our programs and the lives of those we are honored to serve.”

RMSFF human and social services grants assist families with a variety of needs, including food and nutrition, housing or shelter, skill training and development, and serious medical challenges. These grants offer opportunities that help people lead self-sufficient, productive lives.

Mary Beth Geier, RMSFF, Florida Director, stated, “We are tremendously proud of our relationship with the David Lawrence Centers . The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation is confident that our funding, combined with the great work at the DLC, will allow for children and families in Collier County to have continual and consistent access to high quality mental health care.”

About Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation (RMSFF) was created in 2004 by Best Buy founder, Dick Schulze, to give back to the communities where he and his family grew up — in Minnesota, where he built Best Buy to become the world’s largest consumer electronics retailer–and in Florida, where he now maintains a permanent residence. RMSFF is focused on domestic causes and concerns in and around the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington in Minnesota and Collier, Lee, Hendry, Glades and Charlotte counties in Florida. RMSFF creates grant partnerships with organizations that generate transformational results in human and social services, education, as well as health and medicine.

About David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health

Southwest Florida nonprofit David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC) is a leading provider of compassionate, advanced, and exceptional mental health, substance use, and integrated healthcare solutions, available for children, adolescents and adults. DLC’s innovative treatment includes inpatient, outpatient, residential, and community-based services – a comprehensive system of care funded by community and government support. Clients can access services in person or through DLC’s Virtual Care Center. Each year, DLC serves more than 9,800 people through over 276,000 treatment sessions. To learn more, please call (239) 455-8500.