Project MAP Feature Interview

An Interview with Project Heal of Santa Barbara County
Executive Director ​Marie D Corbin, APRN (Ret.),
MPHc & Project MAP Director of Health Services
​By Keera Saylor, Georgetown University (GWU) Student

​Keera-What is Project Heal?
Marie-Project Heal of Santa Barbara County a 501(c)(3) charity that basis its mission around the Integrative Care Model we aspire to empower those living with mental and chronic health challenges in our community via access to healthcare navigation stations, health literacy campaigns/events, resources, referrals, care management that includes integrative health, nursing, neuropsychology, and peer support evidence-based theories. 
 
Keera -What is the overall goal of Project Heal?
Marie-Creating awareness of the impact of Integrative Health principles when incorporated with behavioral modification evidenced based practices, peer support and holistic nursing models to help reduce stigma by removing barriers that exist in the current mental and chronic health system.

Keera -What is Project Heal’s role in promoting adolescent mental health?
Marie- At this time our role is to create awareness to the pre-teens, teens, and Freshman generations of how health literacy can provide them with valuable information that can help them navigate this challenging mental health care system we currently have in place and to be there for them when they have concerns, questions or even they’re own concerns.  We also invite them just to come in, volunteer at events and help us out to gain better more insight into mental health and the industry. 


Keera- What kind of social determinants do you think impacts the mental health of adolescents in Santa Barbara County?
Marie-According to the Cottage Health Community Assessment report completed in 2019 using the healthy 2020 health determinants
the results revealed pretty much our why?  We advocate for access to safe and complete healthcare to communities that face multiple disparities, discrimination, indifferences, lower standards of healthcare services inhibited by language and social barriers.  I believe these older standards of care theories impeded healing for those who endure repeated traumas and crisis in a 21st century time due to these disparities gaps; which in turn ignores stigmas and increase barriers to  access to healthcare, especially for the youth because they still don’t know the ends and outs of the mental health care system, driving them even more to social media for the bulk of their therapy or lack thereof ​
​(CHPH (2019).  

The results show that on many health indicators, Santa Barbara County is slightly lower than California and has already met five Healthy People 2020 targets. The benefits of good health and well‐being do not extend to all groups in the county, with Hispanic residents, people with low incomes, and those with less education suffering the most from health disparities. Overall, five areas emerged as priority health areas in Santa Barbara County (alpha order): Access to Care, Behavioral Health Chronic Conditions Resiliency, Social Needs
​(CHPH (2019)

Keera What kind of initiatives seem to be the most successful when working with adolescents?
Marie-Healthy Food Initiatives
Engaging positive social media campaigns
Engaging creation of Youth apps with text talk initiatives
Improved emotional support Groups with inclusiveness for those with launguage barriers, cultural beliefs, family support inclusiveness, Facebook/IG Events/ Live Online events


​Citations:
Cottage Health, Population Health (2019). Cottage Health Community Health Needs Assessment Report, 2019. Santa Barbara, CA.

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