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Greater Boston Non-Profits Making Strides in Mental Health

May 2, 2024 Georgette Aucoin, Content Manager, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

In a recent survey conducted by the Chamber Foundation, 46% of young Greater Boston residents reported that they are prioritizing maintaining or improving their mental health, revealing the importance of mental health resources being readily available. Overall, prioritizing mental health has become more prevalent, with an increase in children, teens, and young adults experiencing mental health challenges leading to adversity in their personal and professional lives.  

The Chamber is proud to spotlight three of our member organizations who are making headway in an incredibly complex crisis and working to help those struggling with mental health. Alongside young residents, these non-profits are prioritizing mental health, ensuring there is sufficient access, education, and treatment to set the bar high for quality of life in Greater Boston.  

Italian Home for Children
Italian Home for Children has a rich and long-standing history serving families and children right here in Boston. (Photo source: Italian Home for Children)

Italian Home for Children 

The Italian Home for Children’s mission is to empower children, adults, and families with mental health and educational struggles through therapeutic, collaborative, and transformative programming.  

Through their work, they provide key resources to youth struggling with mental health, including mental health services, various in-home therapies, therapeutic mentoring, an afterschool program, vacation and summer camps, a therapeutic day school, intensive group homes, acute residential treatment services, and a spiritual enrichment program. Not only serving children of all ages, IHC programming also helps their families. 

Sited in their annual report from 2022, Italian Home:  

  • served over 60 communities in Eastern Massachusetts 
  • served 1,398 youth and families across all programs 
  • provided 34,027 hours of in-home therapy and therapeutic mentoring 
  • provided 11,828 hours of therapy provided through their Brighton clinic  

Italian Home for Children emphasizes their services are needed now more than ever. The statistics reveal:  

  • 60% of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment  
  • 1 in 6 U.S. youth experience a mental health disorder each year 
  • 13% of children of color receive mental health services, compared to 31% of white children 
  • ½ 50% of youth in the child welfare system have mental health disorders 

If you are interested in supporting the work of Italian Home for Children, there are many ways to get involved. 

Franciscan Children’s has teamed up with the City of Boston to expand mental health services in the Boston Public Schools through Franciscan’s Children’s Wellness Initiative. Franciscan Children's President Joe Mitchell (center) joined Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston's Chief Behavioral Health Officer Kevin Simon recently for the announcement. (Photo source: City of Boston)
Franciscan Children’s has teamed up with the City of Boston to expand mental health services in the Boston Public Schools through Franciscan’s Children’s Wellness Initiative. Franciscan Children’s President Joe Mitchell (center) joined Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston’s Chief Behavioral Health Officer Kevin Simon recently for the announcement. (Photo source: City of Boston)

Franciscan Children’s 

Franciscan Children’s is a leading provider of complex medical, rehabilitation, and pediatric behavioral health services in Boston. It is the only dedicated rehabilitation hospital for kids in New England and operates the largest inpatient child and adolescent behavioral health program in Boston. As a sister hospital to Boston Children’s Hospital, Franciscan Children’s is committed to providing high-quality, family-centric, and compassionate care.

Their distinguished behavioral health program is comprised of a broad continuum of inpatient, outpatient, and school-based clinical services:

  • Inpatient Mental Health: Intensive inpatient care for children and adolescents in psychiatric crisis.
  • Community Based Acute Treatment (CBAT): Residential behavioral health treatment for children ages 4-14.
  • Outpatient Mental Health: Outpatient clinics addressing neurodevelopmental, behavioral, or emotional diagnoses.
  • School-based Mental Health: Mental-health clinicians embedded onsite in 21 local schools delivering outpatient therapy.

If you’re interested in learning more about Franciscan Children’s and our programs, click here.

Samaritans
Together, Keolis and Samaritans are working to destigmatize mental health and prevent suicide. (Photo source: Samaritans)

Samaritans 

Each day, thousands of people in Massachusetts struggle with loneliness, depression, and suicidal feelings. Samaritans offers critical resources to support these individuals, with a 24/7 Helpline, suicide prevention workshops, and peer support for suicide loss survivors.  

With free, confidential, and nonjudgmental services, Samaritans volunteers answer more than 90,000 calls, texts, and chats on their Helpline each year. 

Beyond their programs, Samaritans has compiled additional resources specific to varying identities and circumstances, helping those seeking support find the most relevant information to their unique needs.  

If you’d like to take part in preventing suicide and supporting those affected by it, Samaritans welcomes you to attend their annual Breakfast for Hope to celebrate their 50-year legacy of human connection on May 17th from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.  

By supporting Samaritans as a volunteer or donor, you can give those who are struggling with the caring, compassionate support they need.  

 

Staying Educated and Spreading Awareness  

As Italian Home for Children, Franciscan Children’s, and Samaritans continue to make mental health a top priority, let us take the same initiative within our communities by spreading awareness on the work they and others are doing to serve those struggling with mental health, as well as the resources available to better address the mental health crisis.  

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