Clear Answers to Louisiana Mental Health (CALM) is a psychosis early detection and community awareness campaign that works in tandem with the Early Psychosis Intervention Clinic New Orleans (EPIC-NOLA). CALM was established in 2016 by grassroots fundraising by the leadership at EPIC-NOLA. International and national evidence shows that in addition to the clinical treatment of first-episode psychosis patients, early detection (ED) is critical to shorten the duration of untreated psychosis and to facilitating recovery. Early detection not only involves outreach to a wide variety of community stakeholders and reducing barriers to care at specialized clinics but also involves public education on what psychosis is and the importance of early intervention.
Over the years, CALM has gained support from local foundations as well as The Louisiana Department of Health. Through our outreach efforts, such as tabling events at universities, festivals and libraries and creating bus and billboards ads, our numbers of referrals from non-acute settings have increased and those individuals have been found to have shorter duration of untreated psychosis.
CALM has unexpectedly become a platform for people in recovery from psychosis and their families to share stories and creative recovery processes, enhancing their quality of life and shaping our mission.
Funds raised here will support art initiatives, wellness programming, as well as educational and peer support services.
