Supported community-led collaboratives promoting mental health and wellbeing

As the Communities of Care (CoC) initiative entered its fifth year, we worked with ten collaboratives in the greater Houston area as they mobilized resident leaders and youth to address upstream community factors impacting their mental wellbeing. PI supported collaboratives through tailored technical assistance and coaching, monthly webinars and training, and facilitated peer learning activities. We also supported collaboratives in sharing their impact with national audiences and funders. In November, representatives from Babies in Baytown and The Future is Us joined PI and the Hogg Foundation at the National Federation of Families Conference, where they discussed their successes, their approach to building resident and youth leadership, and how they have engaged youth and family leaders to advance advocacy in their communities.

CoC partners, including residents, convened in April for the first in-person partners’ meeting and training since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaboratives connected at the historic Buffalo Soldiers National Museum to reflect on the initiative’s accomplishments to date and share best practices for resident and youth leadership development. Following the convening, collaboratives continued to expand training opportunities for youth and residents to engage in advocacy before school district boards, city council, and state legislators. They have also established and deepened relationships with community partners and increased their visibility at local events, setting a foundation for a stronger community-driven push to improve wellbeing in their communities.

Funder: Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.

Image by Healthy Outdoor Communities.