Coinciding with May as Mental Health Awareness Month, Tri-Town Youth Services (TTYS) has drafted a proposal to provide behavioral health services for children and teens in the Lower River Valley over the next two years.

The proposal was recently presented by Allison Abramson, the executive director of the non-profit organization, at a Chester Board of Finance meeting on April 21.

“We hear constantly that there is a national health crisis in America. Working in Chester, Deep River, and Essex, we are seeing that in our community as well,” she said.

TTYS is looking to apply its Strategic Prevention Framework with its multi-sector coalition including the town governments and schools to address the current mental health crisis, in order to provide increased access to mental health services and early intervention and reduce youth substance abuse, depression, and suicide attempts.

The proposal was approved by the town of Essex on Jan. 5, for a per capita share of $39,820 in funding for the first year. The boards of Finance and Selectman in Deep River have already approved moving the proposal to a public vote as part of its annual town meeting for the 2022-’23 fiscal year budget, and would allocate $48,140 over the next two years if approved, according to Abramson. The Chester BOF and American Rescue Plan (ARPA) Committee have also voted to move the proposal forward, after which it will have to be approved by the town’s Board of Selectman before moving to a public vote as part of its budget for next year as well. Chester is planning on allocating $$44,820 in ARPA funds over the next two years if approved, according to Abramson.

The proposal aims to deliver services for children and teens in the three towns, specifically for mental health conditions such as elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, all of which Abramson said have been exacerbated by the impact of coronavirus pandemic and possibly by higher usage of mobile devices and social media.

As part of the proposal, TTYS is looking to bolster three key staff positions as part of its efforts for the next two years.

One of the positions will include a new part-time clinician to provide direct and immediate access to clinical services for families.

The proposal calls for an upgrade in resources and salary for a prevention and wellness program director to run the community’s juvenile court diversion program and work as a liaison with Valley Regional High School (VRHS) in teaching courses on social-emotional skills development.

The proposal also reinforces its youth community engagement program director to oversee social-emotional development and prevention education focusing on teen substance abuse.

According to the proposal, the new part-time clinician would be able to provide critical services underwritten with ARPA funds, so that they are not billable to patient insurance, with those services including school-based support, case management for basic needs, and counseling for those uninsured or under-insured.

The director positions for prevention and youth community have been funded by a 10-year Drug-Free Communities Grant administered by the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Although the grant is set to expire on Sept. 30, TTYS has the necessary systems in place to hold federal dollars in a separate account and provide reports on expenditures, hours worked, and desired outcomes of service, according to Abramson.

One of the main motivating factors for increasing prevention and early intervention is due to the lack of personnel and resources to address mental health issues. According to Abramson, TTYS receives an average five calls per day from people seeking help, not all of whom can be assisted, while social workers as part of the Region 4 school district have struggled to find local providers to whom to refer youth.

“Especially when we’re talking about young people in crisis, there are very few openings for a lot of private mental health providers in our community. The demand is so great that we don’t have enough resources to meet the needs of everyone seeking support,” said Abramson.

According to a TTYS survey conducted last year on students at John Winthrop Middle School and VRHS, 21 percent of youth reported frequently feeling depressed or having attempted suicide at least once, with a higher figure at 36 percent for VRHS upperclassmen. The results also found that depression and suicidal ideation was disproportionately common among LGBTQ+ youth at the schools, where out of surveyed students who reported having attempted suicide, 70 percent were LGBTQ+, representing a 24 percent increase from 2019 and which follows a national trend, according to Abramson.

Survey results also found that while substance abuse among tri-town youth declined during the pandemic, depressed and suicidal youth reported using substances at higher rates than before, including 39 percent of such youth who had attempted suicide through use of alcohol.

As part of their efforts in addressing mental health, Tri-Town will be mailing out to residents in the region a series of postcards to help the community understand mental health conditions, how to create a self-care plan, and on suicide prevention, which Abramson views as one of TTYS’s premier objectives to tackle over the course of the next years. Later this summer, TTYS will be holding a Teen Wellness Series also as part of its efforts, focusing on experiential and group activities to address mental health.

Pending final approvals from two towns being awaiting, Abramson sees that TTYS will serve as an example of a new period of awareness for mental health.

“One thing that has happened locally and in many parts of the country, is that there are a lot more people turning towards mental health providers. I’m hopeful that we as a culture have broken through some of the stigma that exists around mental health.”

For more information on Tri-Town Youth Services,, visit tritownys.org or contact 860-526-3600 or info@ttysb.org. If you or if someone you know is considering suicide or other forms of self-harm, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.