Las Cruces behavioral health collaborative wins state award

The LC3 behavioral health collaborative that began in Las Cruces about a year ago has been named one of the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) Behavioral Health Services Division’s (BHSD) 2021 Star Award winners.

"LC3 is being recognized as an outstanding member of your community, as well as an advocate for behavioral health and substance abuse treatment in New Mexico," BHSD said.

The 14^th annual Behavioral Health Day and Star Awards Celebration was held virtually Feb. 10.

“We are honored to receive a Behavioral Health Stars Award this year,” said LC3 Collaborative Coordinator Rose Ann Vasquez. “The award demonstrates our renewed commitment to building a more resilient system that increases access to every member in our different communities across the county. 

“The LC3 Collaborative has always been a place of strength, dedication and vision, and many people have paved the way to where we are today. They have earned this award for all their years of hard work and dedication. The pandemic has brought awareness to mental health, and we want people to know that they are not alone, and that our mental and emotional health is just as important as our physical health. We commit to doing all we can to improving access, reducing stigma and striving for healthy communities,” Vasquez said.

LC3 behavioral health collaborative celebrates first-year accomplishments

By Rose Ann Vasquez

LC3 Behavioral Health

Collaborative Coordinator

LC3 has had several outcomes that continue to strengthen the collaborative. 

The first is the completion of the community-needs assessment. The assessment provides clarity about gaps that need to be addressed in the local behavioral health system and will inform a strategic plan moving forward. 

Secondly, the collaborative has engaged directly with more community members, raising awareness about LC3 and the role it plays in behavioral health. Third, LC3 has increased training capacity in the system to include strengthening the collective impact strategy model.

Finally, LC3 has begun to develop an operational structure providing a centralized location for networking and bringing members together to work toward a vision of building the ideal behavioral health system. 

Moreover, LC3 continues to work toward sustaining the collaborative, broadening its partnerships with other local collaboratives around the state and connecting the New Mexico Human Services Department’s Behavioral Health Services Division to the community.  

These outcomes have established the foundation needed to move forward with addressing the gaps in the system by providing new services and creating a more resilient system that can better withstand future disruptions.

Contact Vasquez at rvasquez@fyinm.org. Visit www.healthypasodelnorte.org/lc3.