About Us
We are a network of organizations in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson, Virginia, with a mission of collaborating to promote behavioral health and wellness through planning, advocacy, and increased access to effective service delivery.
Our members include mental health service providers, criminal justice providers, healthcare providers, peers with lived experience, and other community champions.
WHAT WE DO
Plan and advocate for effective response to emerging behavioral health needs in our community.
The Coalition contributes to our area’s health needs assessment, MAPP2Health, to identify and help implement solutions for local behavioral health priorities. The Coalition helps coordinate a response to rapidly evolving community behavioral health issues, including the opioid crisis, mental health disaster planning after white supremacist violence in August 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Help organizations address interpersonal, institutional, and systemic racism in the behavioral health system.
The white supremacist violence in Charlottesville in 2017 was a wake-up call for many white community members about the legacy of systemic racism in our community. The Coalition coordinates training and tools to help our member organizations and other local behavioral health staff integrate anti-racist values and practices into their work.
Promote policy and prevention strategies to improve mental health and wellness.
The policies, systems, and prevention approaches that support mental health and wellness are just as critical as the delivery of effective services. The Coalition coordinates community education events to help promote local services, reduce stigma, and increase the adoption of prevention strategies, such as free Narcan and safety devices to prevent overdose and suicide.
WHY WE DO IT
Virginia ranks 37th out of all 50 states in terms of access to mental healthcare, according to a Mental Health America report.
Mental health services that are affordable, safe, and welcoming to people of all backgrounds are essential for our community. The Coalition recognizes that young adults, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness or poverty, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color face greater barriers to care, and we strive to address any injustice that leads to poor health outcomes.
We are all affected by mental health and substance use concerns, and we all have a role to play in improving community behavioral health. Learn more about how you can help.
THE POWER OF COALITIONS
In order to make a meaningful and sustained impact on complex community problems — like mental health and substance misuse challenges — multiple organizations and individuals must work toward a common goal in a coordinated way. Coalitions create a formal structure for collaborating effectively and efficiently, including through shared resources, rewards, and mutual accountability for success.
Like many coalitions, we use the Strategic Prevention Framework, which is an evidence-based approach to addressing community health. For more information about the power of coalitions see:
OUR MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
“I learn so much new information and broaden my perspectives every time I attend a meeting, hear a new speaker, or hear about the insights, struggles, and programs of others in the community doing work that overlaps directly with mine.”
— Community Mental Health and Wellness Coalition Member