b'Circling Back Through the Year (continued)CLAS Champions Raise StandardsCommunities that face systemic barriersbased on racial, religious, economic, or language differences or rooted in socioeconomic, disability, gender, or sexual orientation statusare additionally burdened with reduced access to healthcare and poorer health outcomes. In response, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health adopted CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) standards to reduce health disparities.CLAS implementation at Riverside is led by our CLAS Championsstaff members fromNew SOS Training Empowersvarious departments who are enhancing our ability to meet the needs of all people weCollege Staffserve in a respectful, accessible, and non-discriminatory manner. So far, they have expanded translation services across the organization and developed a training program for RiversideJust before the new school year, Riversidesemployees showing how CLAS standards can enhance health equity and improve accessMindWise Innovations launched our newestto care. In 2025, the Champions will collect data to address the needs of underserved andtraining course, SOS for Higher Ed: Suicidenon-English speaking populations, and will collaborate with the Diversity & Inclusion teamPrevention for Faculty & Staff.This training is ato enhance cultural competency in the services we provide. companion to the student version of the course weoffer on college campuses. Its a 30-minute self-ledemployee-focused training using the ACT (Acknowledge, Care, Tell) framework to educate faculty, advisors,administrators, coaches, and other staff on recognizing4,000 +and responding to signs of distress in students. SOS for Higher Ed is based on our evidence-based youth suicide prevention program, SOS Signs of Suicide, and was schools use SOSMajor Gift Expands Respite Care in Norwood developed as a result of the extensive therapeutic work MindWise conducted with Worcester PolytechnicThanks to a transformational $1 million donation from an individual donorInstitute after the university community experiencedand a generous grant from Moderna Charitable Foundation, we were able several deaths by suicide within a short timeframe. to purchase and renovate a home in Norwood and move our adult Respite program there in December 2024.The sunny and spacious house, close to our Community Behavioral Health Center, has eleven beds. The buildingsits on a large property with tennis and basketball courts for exercise andsocializing. Respite services provide treatment planning, medicationevaluation, case management, peer support, and recovery groups in acomfortable, non-institutional environmentpreventing unnecessaryhospitalization and focusing on helping people transition to living in the4 community as fully and independently as possible. 5'