Newport Mental Health Center Gets $2 Million Federal Grant

The Newport County Community Mental Health Center will receive $2 million in federal money to serve 24,500 residents over the next two years.

U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Congressman David N. Cicilline, announced the grant award on Tuesday. All four members of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation advocated for the funding earlier this year in a letter to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“These funds will allow the Newport County Community Mental Health Center to enhance its tireless work supporting Rhode Islanders in need by providing accessible, affordable mental health services,” Reed said in a statement.

“The Newport County Community Mental Health Center is a lifeline for many residents of Aquidneck Island,” said Whitehouse. “This federal funding will enable the Center to expand services and provide tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders the care they need to live healthy, productive lives.”

"I’m pleased that we are delivering this funding, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the Congressional Delegation to deliver results for Rhode Island,” Cicilline said.

The grant will enable NCCMHC, along with its two partners – the Kent Center and Community Care Alliance – to provide expanded and enhanced services to those with serious mental illness, to children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances and to young adults with emerging SMI.

Rhode Island has the nation's highest rate of mental illness among adults -- 24 percent -- and 34 percent of children in the state who need mental health treatment or counseling do not receive it.