Meeting People Where They Are to Improve Behavioral Health

In southern California, New Beginning, which provides mental health and addiction prevention
services, teamed up with a thriving Baptist church to bring behavioral health services directly to
people who need it. “We wanted to get Second Baptist Church to help us access the population we wanted to work with: African Americans needing mental health intervention,” says Leroy Thompson of New Beginning Fellowship Center in Orange County. “These two organizations are only about four
miles apart, but we weren't in contact with each other. I wasn't sure where to begin. I reached
out and called” the Second Baptist Church.
“We vetted New Beginnings,” said Kelita Jackson with Second Baptist Church of Santa Ana.
“We said, ‘Okay, we need culturally sensitive counselors. We can't just send them ‘anywhere.’
New Beginnings was definitely a great fit. So, we have decided to add them to our list of
organizations that we would refer someone where there is a need, and it would be appropriate.”
The partnership was fostered through a learning collaborative run by the California Institute for
Behavioral Health Solutions with support from the California Health Care Foundation. Learn
more: www.chcf.org/coebtn southern California, New Beginning, which provides mental health and addiction prevention
services, teamed up with a thriving Baptist church to bring behavioral health services directly to
people who need it.
“We wanted to get Second Baptist Church to help us access the population we wanted to work
with: African Americans needing mental health intervention,” says Leroy Thompson of New
Beginning Fellowship Center in Orange County. “These two organizations are only about four
miles apart, but we weren't in contact with each other. I wasn't sure where to begin. I reached
out and called” the Second Baptist Church.
“We vetted New Beginnings,” said Kelita Jackson with Second Baptist Church of Santa Ana.
“We said, ‘Okay, we need culturally sensitive counselors. We can't just send them ‘anywhere.’
New Beginnings was definitely a great fit. So, we have decided to add them to our list of
organizations that we would refer someone where there is a need, and it would be appropriate.”
The partnership was fostered through a learning collaborative run by the California Institute for
Behavioral Health Solutions with support from the California Health Care Foundation. Learn
more: www.chcf.org/coebt