Students are struggling with mental health issues due to COVID and its aftereffects. While the youth mental health crisis is well-publicized, solutions are in shorter supply. This article by Shalene Gupta describes the crisis and notes efforts by a client-funded project called The Path Forward, a multi-stakeholder, national-local push to promote evidence-based, data-driven practices and policies with the best chances of increasing equitable access to quality mental health care and accelerating integration of mental health and addiction care into the broader health system.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on our nation’s mental health, including a substantial impact on children and families. The pandemic has also caused increases in unemployment and financial pressures, and there have been questions about how philanthropic organizations might help alleviate the burdens this crisis has created. In an effort to better understand, inform, and support their members who give in this area, The Philanthropy Roundtable surveyed members who fund children’s mental health initiatives to determine if their plans for funding have changed, and if technical assistance is needed to meet their philanthropic goals and objectives.
Forty-four percent of the U.S. working population of doctors were experiencing burnout in 2017, according to the latest numbers from a national, longitudinal, triennial study. The consequences of this are high: negative clinical outcomes, loss of empathy, decreased quality of care, and medical errors. Burnout among doctors is linked to chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes and, perhaps most chillingly, suicide at twice the rates of the general population.
This guide profiles seven philanthropic foundations that are solving problems in mental health and substance abuse today. For each foundation, there is a description of its approach, some of its most influential initiatives, and how its efforts fit into the broader mental-health landscape. Most of these subjects have a local focus, and a long view on bringing improvements to their communities. One—the Well Being Trust—was created in 2016 to promote mental health across the nation.