New contract position created to head Summit County Mental Wellness Alliance
Park City, Utah (April 4, 2017) — To spearhead the initiative for improving mental health and substance abuse services across Summit County, the Summit County Health Department has hired Aaron W. Newman as Mental Health and Substance Abuse Coordinator. As coordinator, Newman will be responsible for heading the newly formed Summit County Mental Wellness Alliance, a group comprised of various county government entities, local nonprofits, school districts and more.
“Aaron is going to be a tremendous resource for the Summit County Mental Wellness Alliance moving forward,” Health Department Director Rich Bullough said. “He has vast experience with all of the skills we believe are required to succeed in this challenging position. We’re thrilled that he has an interest in working with us to address these important issues.”
Newman’s responsibilities as the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Coordinator include strategic planning, coalition building, program development and grant writing, all of which he has vast experience in.
“My ultimate goal is for this position not to be needed,” Newman said, “For everyone in the community to know where to go with mental health or substance abuse concerns. We have a unified community wanting to find solutions, which speaks a lot to this county that we live in.”
A full-time resident of Synderville Basin for the past ten years, Newman has spent the past 16 years working with suicide prevention efforts through nonprofits and for eight years as the Director of Student Involvement and Leadership at Weber State University. Newman has a Masters in Higher Education from the University of Missouri.
Comprised of the Summit County Health Department, the Summit County Council, the Park City Council, Park City, South Summit and North Summit school districts, the Park City Community Foundation, CONNECT Summit County, the Interfaith Council and other critical community partners, the Summit County Mental Wellness Alliance was formed to improve mental health and substance abuse services and education in Summit County, Utah.