SAMHSA

Healthcare agency JPA Health announced today that it has been awarded a multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

SAMHSA is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that promotes mental health, prevents substance misuse and works to improve the availability of treatment and rehabilitative services for Americans facing substance abuse and mental illnesses.

JPA will support the Maryland-based federal agency’s efforts by helping to develop and launch a National Recovery Campaign aimed at encouraging young adults to seek or continue their recovery efforts for substance use disorder and/or mental illness.

As part of its work, JPA will focus on three main efforts: conducting research to better understand the needs for and barriers to accessing treatment and recovery supports; creating and developing messages and materials that support public education efforts highlighting the issue of recovery; and monitoring and measuring the campaign’s messaging reach.

According to SAMSHA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly half (46 percent) of adults in the U.S. between the ages of 18-25 faced either a substance use disorder or a mental illness within the last year.

“This important work builds off our proven track record at SAMHSA and other federal health agencies addressing suicide prevention, mental health and substance misuse prevention efforts,” said JPA Health CEO Carrie Jones. “We are excited to offer our expertise to SAMHSA as the agency communicates evidence-based strategies to improve the behavioral health of our nation.”

Washington, D.C.-headquartered JPA Health, which was founded in 2007, accounted for nearly $20 million in healthcare-related fees last year, according to O'Dwyers' rankings of PR firms. The agency maintains additional offices in New York, Boston and London.