MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Thursday, October 26th, the Superior Health Foundation was turning the spotlight on the many projects and developments that have been made in health care and those who help make it happen. It was the Fall Grant Celebration, where SHF recognized the countless hours of effort put toward mental health services, educational initiatives, and youth-focused projects.
“To be able to provide funding all across the Upper Peninsula and serve all fifteen counties I think is incredibly important for us we take this very seriously and we’re honored,” commented Superior Health Foundation Executive Director Jim LaJoie. This year’s awards flew over $900,000 dollars, and the Executive Director of SHF commented that there continues to be a need to address pediatric mental health throughout the Upper Peninsula.
“We’re gonna be doing a little more than $700,000 to 7 different organizations to provide the funding that they need to make sure that our children have the right resources in place to deal with mental health issues that are really paramount in our society,” continued LaJoie. Many organizations recieved funding tonight that will head toward the “whole student” with school indoor agriculture programs and even a new Day Treatment program initiated by the Great Lakes Recovery Center.
The GLRC’s initiative is partnered with Marquette-Alger RESA and aims to help students in school who are struggling with mental health and educational needs in a traditional classroom. Great Lakes Recovery Center Service Director Derrick DePetro says the funding “allows us to be able to all encompass with the student and then give them the coping skills and reintegrate them into traditional school”.
Michigan State University also recieved an award on Thursday to help fund primary care practices and set a model for expanding its mental health understanding. The University says in addition to supporting pediatricians and family physicians, it’ll be hiring a pediatric nurse practitioner who specializes in child psychiatry.
“We wanna help them be able to screen for these conditions and do a great job of treating these conditions and referring children with these problems to specialized care when it’s necessary,” commented MSU Department of Pediatrics Keith English MD.
Organizations continued to rally behind a common bullet point at the award celebration: facing pediatric mental health issues and supporting our future generation is going to be a team effort in education and in more resources.
