Mental Health Matters: Fund established to help families in need of treatment

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and thousands of Mainers need access to care.

Because Mainers have a reputation for being strongly independent, it’s even more important to reduce the stigma attached to seeking out support and professional help. We all need help sometimes and it’s okay to admit. No one is immune to needing a helping hand, someone to lean on, and in some cases someone trained to work through various emotions, anxieties, and symptoms you might be feeling.

While we've come a long way, mental health is still not treated on the same footing as physical health and as a result, it’s easy for people to fall through the cracks in the system. Last year, Sweetser provided nearly $1 million in care to individuals and families in need of mental health services who didn’t have the ability to pay. This included Mainers who are uninsured and underinsured.

The last thing families should have to think about when it comes to addressing their own mental health challenges or the mental health needs of their children, is the cost of care being a barrier. The focus should be on healing and recovery. No one is turned away, but we can’t do it alone.

Our nonprofit relies on the generosity of the community to help meet the growing need throughout our state. This includes financial support from individuals, small businesses, corporate partners, civic groups, and grants.

Sweetser is proud to start the Mental Health Matters Fund. Together we can ensure treatment is available regardless of someone’s ability to pay. Every Maine family, every child, every individual deserves access to mental health care. We are establishing this fund to make it easier for anyone in the giving spirit to support fellow Mainers in their most challenging moments.

To donate therapy to a Maine family in need, text the word ‘SWEETSER’ to 366283 or visit https://sweetser.ejoinme.org/mentalhealthmatters. For every donation, you’ll receive a Mental Health Matters ribbon sticker.

Sweetser’s services reach every corner of our state and we served over 14,000 individuals just last year. Some areas where the need is greatest center around serving children. Programs like our school-based youth mental health therapy, embedding clinicians on over 100 school campuses, lose money every year. In fact, our organization is poised to lose well over a million dollars this year and we have to subsidize this care just to keep it afloat. It’s simply not sustainable without further assistance. Programs like this make the greatest impact on tackling the youth mental health crisis we are experiencing. You can help ensure students and their families have access to therapy on school grounds.

Your support fuels our mission to get treatment, support, and hope to Mainers most in need in our communities. The mental health of your friends, family, and neighbors matter. Your mental health matters.

Justin Chenette is the Senior Director of Public Relations & Advancement at Sweetser, which provides evidence-based treatment, support and hope through a statewide network of community-based mental health, recovery, and educational services. Learn more at www.Sweetser.org.