OCES has been awarded an Elder Mental Health Outreach Team Grant. The agency is expanding older adults’ access to behavioral health services and supports.

BROCKTON AND PLYMOUTH, MA... Old Colony Elder Services (OCES), the non-profit agency proudly serving older adults and individuals with disabilities throughout greater Plymouth County and surrounding towns, has been awarded an Elder Mental Health Outreach Team (EMHOT) grant from the Massachusetts Councils on Aging (MCOA). Funding for EMHOT has been produced from a grant awarded to the Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs.

 

With this funding, OCES is expanding their scope of in-home services to include behavioral health services and support for older adults who may be isolated or encounter barriers that limit access to behavioral health care. 

 

Deana Andrade, LICSW and OCES’ Behavioral Health Supervisor will oversee these services and the EMHOT program as the agency expands to provide these critical services. 

 

OCES’ EMHOT is trained to support individuals coping with a variety of behavioral health issues. The team is skilled in assessing individuals 60 years of age and older for risk and symptoms that may affect their ability to achieve a positive sense of health and wellness. The Team is trained to use the industry’s best practice methods for assessment, interaction, and interventions.  

 

OCES’ EMHOT supports older adults 60 and older who have complex behavioral health conditions, chronic illness, substance misuse, or who are in crisis situations that may require counseling or long-term case management to improve overall wellbeing.

 

OCES provides support, referrals, and resources on a case-by-case basis. The agency began accepting EMHOT referrals in November. 

 

“We would like to thank Massachusetts Councils on Aging for this generous grant which essentially enables OCES to expand in-home services and provide older adults access to behavioral health services and supports,” explained Nicole Long, CEO of OCES. 

 

OCES provides vital information, resources, and coordination of services that promote healthy and safe living, and which aid their consumers in staying active and engaged in their lives and in their own communities for as long as possible.

 

To learn more about OCES’ services, call 508-584-1561 or visit www.ocesma.org.

Founded in 1974, OCES proudly serves greater Plymouth County and surrounding communities. OCES is a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Brockton with a second office in Plymouth. OCES is designated as one of 23 Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. OCES’ mission is to support the independence and dignity of older adults and individuals with disabilities by providing essential information and services that promote healthy and safe living. The agency offers several programs to serve older adults, individuals with disabilities, their families and caregivers. For more information call 508-584-1561 or visit www.ocesma.org.