![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Background: TurningPointCT.org is a website targeting young adults in Connecticut who are in recovery from mental health and substance use issues. Largely staffed by peers, it features links to local resources, personal stories and videos, a question and answer guide for youth seeking treatment, a service locator map, blogs, and a discussion forum.
Program background: The Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), with input from its diverse stakeholder community, partnered with the South West Regional Mental Health Board in 2013 to develop forms of electronic engagement with young adult residents of Connecticut who may be experiencing, or who have questions about, behavioral health issues. The initial outreach initiative has since evolved into the TurningPointCT.org website, which has received 34,767 unique user visits as of late February 2016. The website receives assistance from federal mental health block grant funds, as well as from CT STRONG, a program that provides wraparound services to young adults in certain towns, and from Beacon Health Options Connecticut. It also receives monthly funding from Google Grants to support online advertising on the Google network of websites.
Evaluation Methods and Results: The TurningPointCT.org project regularly tracks activities related to raising awareness and promotion of the website and developing the service locator map. Website utilization is tracked through typical metrics such as number of user impressions, keywords used, length of stay, number of visits, and number of returning users. Other process evaluation measures include type and quantity of content added daily, weekly, and monthly; number of followers on various social media platforms; number of subscribers to the discussion forum; and number of posts on the discussion forum. Website promotional activities include participation in wellness events at Connecticut colleges and universities, and attendance at stakeholder meetings and events.
Conclusions: The TurningPointCT.org website project is a successful demonstration of how a tailored online portal targeting youth, supported by state government and linkages with local service providers, can flourish and grow.
Implications for research and/or practice: Innovations made, and lessons learned by the TurningPointCT.org project can help inform similar projects in other communities.