Document Type
Portfolio
Publication Date
Fall 2025
Abstract
Goal Statement: To reduce homelessness in the Lower Yakima Valley by implementing early intervention and culturally responsive mental health prevention strategies that enhance access to care, reduce stigma, and strengthen community resilience. Significant Findings: The Lower Yakima Valley faces significant challenges in addressing the intersection of mental health and homelessness due to limited access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care. Research indicates that rural residents particularly Hispanic immigrant and farmworker populations experience elevated levels of psychological distress, stigma, and barriers to accessing services (Armstrong et al., 2022). Applying the Social-Ecological Model has illuminated how multiple interconnected factors influence vulnerability, including individual stigma, strained family support systems, a shortage of bilingual providers, and systemic inequities such as poverty and insufficient rural mental health funding (CDC, 2024; SAMHSA, 2021). The utilization of prevention frameworks such as the Health Belief Model (HBM) and Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) demonstrates that increasing awareness, fostering trust, and improving accessibility can enhance engagement with services. ACT’s outreach-centered approach, combined with bilingual psychoeducation delivered by community health workers, can help address barriers related to stigma and mistrust. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of community-based, culturally responsive prevention efforts to support mental health and housing stability. Objectives/Strategies/Interventions/Next Steps: As professional counselors, we can address the increasing concerns of mental health and homelessness in the Lower Yakima Valley by implementing culturally sensitive, multi-level strategies based on prevention theory. It is important to collaborate with bilingual community health workers (promotores de salud) to provide psychoeducation and screenings in both English and Spanish, fostering trust and reducing stigma within Hispanic farmworker families. Strengthening partnerships among schools, shelters, clinics, and faith-based organizations can ensure continuity of services and coordinated care. Utilizing evidence-based approaches such as Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) allows counselors to meet clients where they are by offering mobile outreach, case management, and comprehensive services that address both mental health and housing needs. Additionally, prevention campaigns informed by the Health Belief Model can support shifts in perceptions about mental illness, highlighting perceived risks and the benefits of early intervention. Counselors should also advocate policy initiatives, such as Medicaid expansion and rural healthcare workforce development, to address systemic barriers to access. By remaining culturally competent, open-minded, and engaged with the community, counselors can foster sustainable changes that promote mental health stability and reduce homelessness in the Lower Yakima Valley.
