ARROW Project Inc (DBA)

Three years ago we started the process of building a sustainable mental health collaborative. Doing something, unlike for-profit mental health. Centering around the importance of promoting resilience in the face of the relative stress of the human experience. Last year as we worked to launch unique mental health programming in light of a global pandemic, compounded by a rise in racial unrest, further exacerbated by a severely polarized national framework we began to truly settle into how important organizations such as ours are to ensuring that mental health and wellness of community members. And we have been able to share this work and these program ideas with other cities all across our state. It is my hope that if chosen for this prize we will be able to use the funding and supports not just to further the mission of ARROW, but also to bring our work to a larger platform so that other communities, can also begin to build similar programs all across the nation. I am submitting this application because I can see the ways that the Elevate prize core goals of amplification, connection, mentorship, support, and money can support this goal.

I am a Black woman, who is the mother of two Black sons, living in rural America. You may be thinking this a curious place to start, but it's a relative touchstone to my professional journey. I have learned to navigate a world where systems have often not tended toward my ability to be successful and often make me feel like an outsider. My personal journey of overcoming those barriers and finding meaning and success despite oppressive systems underpins my devotion to this work. After finishing my second Master’s degree I felt it imperative to make the shift from working in for-profit mental health to creating a model of not-for-profit care that will break down the systemic barriers that so many other people face.  This transition was a profoundly affirming decision for me. This change brought me back to the roots of concepts deeply important to me, activism, advocacy, collaboration, innovation, and building from the ground up. Concepts that helped me learn to thrive in this world. ARROW's grassroots/community-facing model of care feels like “coming home," to do the work that will shift lives, communities, and the way we navigate mental health. It's where I belong. 

As noted ARROW Project has positioned itself to bridge gaps and barriers to mental health by; acknowledging the gaps, training the clinical staff to fill the field and the gaps, and creating community partnerships to increase collective impact.  Increasing our ability to reach the most vulnerable community members. In under 3 years, ARROW Project has grown from an idea around how to affect mental health change to a staff of 32 licensed and pre-licensed clinicians, volunteers/student interns/work-study. 28 community partners, including our local hospital, our largest community-facing mental health agency, all three school districts in our region, and a number of other nonprofit organizations in our direct community. Through these partnerships, we have piloted 20+ unique mental health programs that span prevention, intervention, crisis stabilization, restoration/rehabilitation, and education. Our model of collaborative care has allowed us to serve more than 200 clients at free or reduced cost them. This also allows us to create and pilot programs that are not traditionally funded by insurance, which is a significant barrier in the American healthcare system. We didn’t just suggest a change in the way our community does mental health, we became a formidable leader and partner in the pursuit. 

ARROW Project exists to make “impossibilities” possible. In for-profit mental health, there are numerous factors that impede innovative mental health programming.  Barriers  such as “insurance is not going to cover that” or “you don’t have the qualifications to work within this organization” or “we are the only ones that can provide you the service that is best for you." All these barriers create impossible hurdles for individuals in need of care to jump and often lead to them not seeking the services they need. These hurdles often precipitate more severe declines in mental health. ARROW Project breaks down the hurdles by 1.  Ensuring that every interested community member can access quality mental health services, regardless of financial means or insurance benefits. We do this by pursuing grant funding and contracting of service through partner organizations, which allows us to offer free or no-cost service to clients. 2. We provide training and supervision opportunities to new and emergent mental health professionals to fulfill that academic practicum and internship requirements. These staff runs the majority of our programs. 3. Through our community partners allow we to maintain an understanding of the ever-changing mental health needs of community members.

ARROW Project’s primary objective and commitment is to change the narrative/s surrounding mental health and wellness and to ensure that community members, leaders, and mental health professionals gain understanding and awareness of the ways that mental health wellness plays a role in our personal/professional lives, our communities, and the overall public health. ARROW’s main pillars of connecting, cultivating, and collaborating are the ways we see ourselves positively impacting our community. Community members who are already impacted by poverty, racism, gender inequalities, sexism, lack of transportation, lack of housing,  and other unaddressed stigmas can feel connection and support through our programming. Cultivating comprehensive training and supervision opportunities for emergent mental health professionals with the goal being to increase the mental health provider pool in our region, and beyond. Collaborating with existing community-focused agencies to develop, facilitate, and staff mental health-specific services that can be provided on location at the places where our identified population live, work, and attend school.