Success in numbers

The Southern Ohio Behavioral Health Initiative (SOBHI) is a comprehensive student enhancement program aimed at promoting the recruitment, retention, graduation and credentialing of students to enhance the behavioral health workforce pipeline across 20 Southern Ohio counties. Behavioral health generally refers to aspects of health that contribute to mental health and related physical symptoms.

Created by the Ohio Alliance for Population Health (OAPH), SOBHI provides scholarships, stipends and enhanced education for students in high school, two-year and four-year colleges, and graduate-level social work programs. Findings from an Appalachian Regional Commission report indicated the supply of mental health providers per 100,000 people in Appalachian Ohio was 51 percent lower than the national average and 41 percent lower than the average in other Ohio regions. These statistics are a driving force for SOBHI, especially their goal of training high school and college students alike as Community Health Workers (trusted individuals who improve health within their own communities). 

Since the initiative’s summer 2024 launch the alliance has gathered outcomes illustrating the benefits of the new program.  

Scholarships

21 BSW and MSW students received a total of $359,000 in scholarships, paid field placements and living expense stipends.

Mentorship

Professional mentors provided structured career exploration and guidance to all MSW, BSW and CHW participants in the SOBHI program through a collaboration with the Appalachian Children’s Collaboration.

Credentials 

Eight community members earned Ohio certified prevention specialist assistant credentials through the Ohio Chemical dependency Professionals Board. (Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist Assistant)

High School Students

Twelve HS students explored careers in healthcare and completed a total of 100 hours of community health worker coursework.

Inter-professional Education Opportunities

All SOBHI participants were invited to additional trainings by content experts in harm reduction, care skills, neuroscience, rural healthcare and more.

CDCA Credentials

Twenty-seven students and community members earned a chemical dependency counselor assistant credential.

Feedback from participants and partners alike has been similarly positive. 

“Graduate school is expensive, supplies are expensive, and attending an unpaid internship two days a week that you have to travel to is also expensive,” an MSW student who took advantage of the SOBHI said. “When I first started my graduate program, I attended one semester and withdrew. The SOBHI project has provided me with the emotional and financial support that I needed to push through for graduation that I am now so close to reaching. I am so thankful for the SOBHI project.”

SOBHI continues to expand their reach, hoping to increase the above statistics, educating and assisting students in the Southern Ohio region. For more information, visit the SOBHI website or contact Associate Professor of Instruction and Director of Community Health Workforce Development Kerri Shaw.