"Vida sin Limites"- the development, implementation and evaluation of a mental health promotional organization in Yuma county, Arizona

Mexican- Americans are traditionally reluctant to seek mental health services and therefore experience mental health disparities. As a vulnerable population for mental illness, issues of stigma, dismissiveness of Latino culture, discrimination and access have been studied as possible causal factors. This presentation provides a review, discussion and evaluation of the first year in operation of a mental health promotional organization in a US/Mexico rural border community. Yuma county, Arizona is the 3rd most populated county in Arizona. It borders California along the Colorado River and Mexico, with its sister city of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. The 2010 census reported a population of 57% Hispanic, 40% Caucasian, 4% African American and 3% Native American. Foreign born residents account for 24% of the population, with Spanish the primary language of 46% of Yuma county residents. A Life Unlimited – Vida sin Limites, Inc. is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote mental health and wellness through bilingual public awareness, advocacy, education and service to the culturally diverse communities at the US-Mexico border. The rationale for its development, the community based strategies utilized in program planning and the initial marketing and community outreach of the initiation of programs will be discussed. Grant funding issues and community/resource utilization efforts will be outlined. Staff development, education and certification issues for the organization will be reviewed. Implementation strategies of mission goals and programming plan will be outlined with barriers/facilitating factors examined. Community response and programming evaluation for the first year of the organization's operation will be reviewed, with local and bi-national collaborations delineated. Implications for future directions, education and community programming as well as methods for the proliferation of these types of community based mental health promotional organizations in other communities is addressed.