Communities of Care is a five-year, $11.5 million initiative that supports collaborative approaches to wellbeing in the greater Houston Metropolitan Area, with a focus on children and youth of color and their families. Its goal is to strengthen efforts to transform the environments where people live, learn, work, play, and pray to support resilience, mental health, and wellbeing.
Communities of Care is funded by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, which works collaboratively to transform how communities promote mental health in everyday life. Prevention Institute coordinates the initiative, which brings together diverse partners from across sectors and community members to plan and implement activities that address a wide range of community needs related to resilience, mental health, equity, and wellbeing.
One of the things that’s important about this initiative is the involvement of children, youth, and families in identifying and shaping activities that foster mental wellbeing; whether it’s through the arts or spaces where people can connect or improvements to parks, gardens, and recreation areas—they will help us tap into the community’s natural strengths and make them stronger.
- Sheila Savannah, Prevention Institute
Communities of Care grantee collaboratives
- Babies in Baytown
- Hiram Clarke Community Resiliency Project
- Connect Community
- East End Community Collaborative
- Dream 77021
- Project Rise & Shine: Live Life to the Fullest
- Reaching Richmond
- The Future is US
- Asian Americans Attaining Awareness
- Healthy Outdoor Communities
Communities of Care approach
Communities of Care promotes mental health and wellbeing through community-level prevention solutions, such as fostering social connections, improving the built environment, and increasing access to economic opportunity. By enhancing and strengthening protective factors and resilience through these and other activities, communities that face significant barriers to wellbeing can achieve vibrant mental and behavioral health.
To learn more about this community-level prevention approach to mental health and wellbeing, read about the Making Connections for Mental Health and Wellbeing initiative, funded by the Movember Foundation and coordinated by PI.