The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded a $4 million expansion grant to the SOURCE, Elkhart County’s coordinated network of community partners, providing services and support for youth with mental health concerns. Anna Sawatzky, director of The SOURCE, said the grant targets a specific population.
“This grant is really for children with serious emotional disturbances or those at risk,” Sawatzky said.
The SOURCE, based out of Oaklawn in Goshen, works with 67 collaborating partners. Sawatzky said there’s a four month planning process to determine how to distribute the money from the grant.
“We’re going to be working on a process over the next four months to determine how best to spend that money,” Sawatzky said. “Where is it most needed? What does the community see?”
This is the third time the SOURCE has received this grant. Sawatzky said with the past grants, the SOURCE worked towards sustainability, because it’s uncommon to receive the grant multiple times.
“Sustainability is always the main goal,” Sawatzky said. “To get one of these grants is amazing. To get two is incredible. And to get three is unheard of, especially for a small county like Elkhart.”
Submitting the application for the grant was a long process and required a government agency. The SOURCE worked closely with the Elkhart County Health Department and the county auditor’s office to apply. The application was submitted in February.
“There are new challenges we need to address with this grant,” Sawatzky said. “The last grant dealt with the challenges of four years ago, and this grant will help with where we currently are.”
