Mental healthcare and mental wellness are priorities every day for our region.

At Gulf Coast Community Foundation, we seek out opportunities to move our region forward in positive directions. The need for access to quality mental healthcare is a main topic being highlighted by law enforcement, schools, nonprofits, and families.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, research shows that mental illnesses are common in the U.S., affecting tens of millions of people each year. Estimates suggest that only half of people with mental illnesses receive treatment. It is estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness, including locally here in Sarasota County. Mental illnesses include many different conditions that vary in degree of severity.

A Look Back

Since 2018, the Here4YOUth Initiative of Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, and its philanthropic friends has invested over $2 million into mental healthcare and mental wellness resources in our community. Barancik Foundation and Gulf Coast commissioned the University of South Florida (USF) to conduct a research scan of mental health services in Sarasota County for young people up to age 24. USF estimated the cost of untreated mental health issues in youth in Sarasota County is $86M annually, due to child welfare costs, lost productivity, treatment for self-harm, incarceration, and suicide.

Here4YOUth worked alongside behavioral health providers and researchers to strengthen gaps in the system and prioritize ways to make the system work for youth and families. The Here4YOUth website presents years of research, convening, and strategic co-investments that created a roadmap for system improvement and catalyzed a Mental Health Special District. Gulf Coast, Barancik Foundation, community agencies, and partners are continuing the important work of improving our mental healthcare system.

Reflecting On Outcomes

We asked Gulf Coast’s Director of Community Leadership Jennifer Johnston to share the three greatest outcomes since we began focusing on improving the system of mental healthcare in 2018. Johnston also serves on the inaugural Behavioral Health Advisory Council, making recommendations to the Sarasota County Commission on county funding in this area. “One of the greatest outcomes includes bringing the community together to identify opportunities for improvement. Guided by consumers of mental healthcare, we worked with USF and national experts to conduct research that has guided the investments we’ve made and helped catalyze the creation of a Mental Health Special District in Sarasota County,” said Johnston. “I’m also really excited about the increase in peer support specialists in our county. We’ve worked with NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties on adult, family, and young adult peers that can walk alongside individuals as they go through their wellness journey. These peers can help navigate a complex system of care. NAMI has opened day centers in Sarasota and Venice. Having those day centers provides a place for individuals to receive group and social support and do activities together. Those are incredible assets that we are honored to be a part of.”

Digging Deeper

In order to get an inside look at our mental healthcare system, we sat down with Scott Ruggieri, director of JFCS’s Camp Mariposa. Camp Mariposa, a Gulf Coast grantee, is a year-round addiction prevention and mentoring program for youth affected by the substance use disorder of a family member.

Q: How does the HERE4YOUth grant you received in January help youth with their mental wellness at Camp Mariposa?

Ruggieri: “Without financial support, we can’t provide a program. When it comes to our youth coming out of the pandemic, depression rates have risen. Camp is a no-phone, no-technology, safe zone. Camp allows campers to put aside what their youth has been like and go back to the roots of being a kid. Some of these kids have had their childhood taken away from them.”

Q: Could you share a story from Camp Mariposa?

Ruggieri: “A new teen camper came in on the first day, nervous and shy. Through different ice breaker activities and creating a safe environment where she could trust her peers and mentors, she started to blossom. There’s an activity we do at every camp session that involves letter writing. The letter is typically to addiction, the addict, or anything you are dealing with emotionally. It’s a way to put emotions to paper. The teen finished her letter and told me, ‘I never thought I could be in a space like this where these things were taken seriously.’ Then she shared that she had practiced self-harm and there was a suicide attempt. She said she never thought she could share that with someone.”

Q: What do you hope to see going forward for mental health in our community?

Ruggieri: “To continue to invest resources into services can make a big change, much like the grant from Here4YOUth.”

We also sat down with Charlotte, Sarasota, and DeSoto County Director of Valerie’s House, Christine Carey, to learn more. The mission of Valerie’s House is to help children and families work through the loss of a loved one together and go on to live fulfilling lives.

Q: Have you experienced an impactful story that you’d like to share with us?

Carey: “One example was during COVID. We were one of the few nonprofits to be able to go into schools. I went to one class, we all had masks on, and one little boy was crying because a loved one had passed away. I gave him a blanket and told him to give himself a big hug with the blanket. It started making him feel better. Week by week, gradual changes kept happening and he looked forward to having us come. By the end of the program, the child was in tears and didn’t want us to leave. It was amazing to see a child evolve during those eight weeks. We walk through grief with every child. Grief is so personal. We don’t want them to feel isolated. We are there for them. That’s why our peer support groups are so successful.”

Q: What do you hope to see going forward for mental health in our community?

Carey: “What I’m seeing is heartbreaking - we have so many families who are grieving and on a waitlist for mental healthcare. It’s too late. That’s one of the main reasons we started – because they need help now. My dream would be that every person would have the opportunity to get mental health assistance if they needed it. That would make a difference on so many levels. Our dream is also to have a permanent location here in Charlotte County.”

Gulf Coast will continue to partner to transform our mental healthcare system for the better, for everyone deserves to feel hope, love, kindness, and a space to share their thoughts.