Tending to and caring for our community’s mental health needs, especially the poor and vulnerable, is a Providence tradition. This is central to our 166-year-old heritage. Our Foundresses, Mother Emilie Gamelin and Mother Joseph, were instrumental in establishing mental health care treatment facilities throughout Quebec and in Vancouver, Washington, respectively, and we remain committed to continuing this work.
Recently Rod Hochman, M.D., president and CEO of Providence, shared an update about the decision to strategically pivot and focus Well Being Trust’s efforts and resources on improving the mental health and well-being of communities within the Providence footprint of Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
Over the past five years, the Well Being Trust team has worked diligently to advance the mental, social and spiritual health of the nation. The great work and efforts to shape vital public policy changes, community and organizational practice changes, and bring new philanthropic investment to fill gaps, will have a lasting impact on the nation.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to improving mental health and well-being for all. We continue to operate as a foundation aligned with the goals set in 2016 when Providence funded the development of Well Being Trust with an initial seed endowment of $100 million.
As we near our sixth year of service, I am honored to lead Well Being Trust through this next chapter as we build on a solid foundation and focus our efforts on Providence communities by:
- Easing access to care and to the determinants of well-being.
- Building resilience in children, teens, and families.
- Reducing suffering from depression, anxiety and social isolation.
- Decreasing addiction and substance use, while promoting recovery.
- Eliminating disparities in mental health and substance use access and quality outcomes.
- Creating hope for people and families living with serious mental illness.
- Eliminating stigma everywhere, and growing a culture of well-being to create healthy, resilient communities.
- Improving the mental health and well-being of all health care workers.
Additionally, as we continue to develop optimal mental health and wellness services, including innovative digital solutions, we will create a learning laboratory and share tools and resources with health care systems and communities nationwide while continuing to advance our work with like-minded partners.
We are currently in the early phases of this transition and in the coming weeks and months, I will share more about our focus areas.
We are excited about this next chapter and the impact that our work will continue to have throughout the communities in the Providence footprint and nationwide.
