Breakthrough, a youth mental health program operated by RISE Community Solutions, is now servicing Osceola County with support from an AdventHealth Central Florida Community Impact Grant.
The program focuses on families with children ages 9 to 17 who are experiencing significant mental or behavioral health needs— including psychiatric hospitalization (Baker Act)—and connecting them to vital therapeutic resources within seven days of their enrollment. The expansion to Osceola County comes from the success of its impact in Orange County, where 90 percent of participating youth avoided repeat psychiatric hospitalizations while enrolled in the program.
“We are ready to take cases and serve the Osceola community,” said Ana Nascimento, Breakthrough Program Director at RISE Community Solutions. “We see there’s a huge gap in Osceola and we want to be able to fill that and address the resources that are missing. And we want to connect families to these resources as soon as possible.”
One of the biggest resources being the peer-support model Breakthrough offers —which guides families in need of resources by pairing a participating family with a Family Support Navigator, an individual who acts as a liaison between the family and program, and has lived experience and connections to needed support. The navigator is available to meet the family wherever best serves them, from the hospital to their own homes.
“Parents are often overwhelmed and scared [in these situations],” said Nascimento. “Our peer support work really helps them feel seen and heard, and that they have a support system… Someone to walk this walk with them.” Since the program’s beginning, it has walked alongside 158 families with teens. Community partners, schools, and healthcare providers can refer eligible youth in Osceola County who have experienced a Baker Act within the last year. Nascimento said the organization “wants to serve as many families as possible in Osceola County”—and is hopeful the future of Breakthrough will expand to one day serve the tri-county area inclusive of Seminole County.
RISE Community Solutions was founded in 2013 and is rooted in the child welfare system with a preventionfocused philosophy. In addition to Breakthrough, RISE Community Solutions is home to more signature programs including Pathways to Home, Children’s Advocacy Center Osceola, Public Allies Central Florida, as well as community education efforts.
To learn more about RISE Community Solutions and its programs, including Breakthrough, www.risecs.org.