APA Foundation Announces Latest Minority Mental Health Awardees

Our Minds Matter: Our Minds Matter was founded in Vienna, Virginia, in 2012 with the goal of equipping teens with mental health education, resources, and support so they never die by suicide. The program helps develop student-led clubs in which teens are empowered to promote school-wide social connectedness, encourage help-seeking behavior, and develop coping skills via youth-led activities. As of 2023, Our Minds Matter has 2,315 club members in more than 130 schools nationwide.

A Home Within: Founded by a small group of psychotherapists in San Francisco in 1994 who wanted to help foster youth experiencing trauma, A Home Within has grown rapidly to a network of 20 chapters of volunteer clinicians across 11 states. The organization’s vision is for all individuals who have experienced foster care, regardless of age, to be matched with a therapist who will provide free, relationship-based psychotherapy.

Family Houston (Family Service Center at Houston and Harris County): Founded in 1904, Family Houston is one of the oldest social service providers in the city. The organization connects people to resources, helps veterans, supports those who seek mental health care, and offers financial coaching regardless of people’s ability to pay. Family Houston strives to empower people, stabilize their lives, and sustain lasting improvement.

First Call Alcohol/ Drug Prevention & Recovery: First Call works alongside schools, legal systems, and neighborhood coalitions to assist individuals and families impacted by substance use disorder (SUD). Among many services, First Call has a 24/7 Crisis Call Line that provides mental health first aid and referrals to people in crisis, recovery advocates who help individuals with an SUD navigate the road to recovery, and specialists available to implement evidence-based SUD prevention programs in schools.

Ser Familia Inc: Ser Familia offers preventive family services for Latinos across the Atlanta metropolitan area. The organization employs a holistic wraparound approach that it calls the Ser Familia Model; services are provided to the entire family, which yields the best possible outcomes and sustains them over time. Each family has the support of a multidisciplinary team led by a case manager that works together to ensure that the family environment transforms into one in which every person can flourish.

The LGBTQ Center Long Beach (One in Long Beach Inc.): Begun in 1977 as living-room gatherings to discuss issues important to the LGBTQ community, the LGBTQ Center Long Beach has grown to serve more than 25,000 people a year with services including support groups, free HIV and STI testing, legal assistance, domestic violence services, employment referrals, mental health counseling, and much more. The center envisions fully affirming communities where all LGBTQ people live in health, safety, and prosperity.

BUILD Inc. (Broader Urban Involvement & Leadership Development): BUILD is a nationally respected gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development organization based on Chicago’s West Side. BUILD pairs youth in some of Chicago’s most challenging neighborhoods with caring adult mentors who provide a rich variety of experiences in the arts, athletics, college and career preparation, entrepreneurship, leadership development, technology, and mental health programing.

Community Counseling and Mediation: Community Counseling and Mediation is a social service organization that provides a range of social support, counseling, mental and physical health, education, foster care, and supportive housing services to at-risk youth and families in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The organization has operated more than 75 programs over its history as it has grown in response to the needs of the communities it serves.

Hispanic Unity of Florida Inc (HUF): Founded in 1982 as a haven for immigrants and refugees, HUF has expanded to serve multicultural working families across the United States and abroad. The organization provides a range of wrap-around services to clients of all ages in four languages: English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Sign Language. HUF hopes to empower immigrants and others to become self-sufficient and civically engaged.

GateWay of Hope: Kansas City’s GateWay of Hope provides safe and confidential counseling, therapy, and life-coaching services to women in all situations. No matter how difficult things may be, GateWay of Hope will help women find hope, so they can create a better future and a new legacy.

Hope Horizon Mental Health: Hope Horizon Mental Health is a community-based nonprofit serving Tulare County, California, for more than 50 years. The organization is comprised of dedicated mental health professionals who provide mental health services to children, adults, and families, so that they can thrive. Services include individual and group therapy, school-based mental health services, case management, medication support, and even crisis management. ■