With community support, Kids’ Mental Health Pierce County grows access to pediatric mental health care

Several years ago, thanks to community donations through Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation, staff at Mary Bridge Children’s convened with more than 70 community service organizations to identify and address the challenges they were seeing in the delivery of pediatric mental health services in Pierce County.

That “summit” resulted in the creation of Kids’ Mental Health Pierce County (KMHPC), a collaborative of community organizations that share a few common goals: to improve access and care coordination to mental health services, bolster youth mobile crisis services, and eventually develop a family wellness center for local families and youth.

Today, KMHPC includes 800 members representing over 60 community agencies and stakeholders.

In 2020, KMHPC was named National Alliance on Mental Illness-Washington’s Youth Community Program of the Year. Thanks to the collaborative, 670 kids have received help from a behavioral health navigator. Someone who works with patients and families to connect them with necessary services and resources in Mary Bridge Children’s Emergency Department. Plus, 1,150 community members attended a webinar hosted by the group on topics such as racism, social justice and managing school stress.

MultiCare Behavioral Health Network Chief Clinical Officer Chris Ladish, PhD, and Kids’ Mental Health Pierce County Program Coordinator Ashley Mangum discuss how philanthropy and community support have allowed for this collaboration to grow. With donor funding, Kids’ Mental Health Pierce County is able to help more children who need mental health services.

“Philanthropy has been the backbone of the work we’ve done,” Ladish says.  “We couldn’t do the work we are doing out in the community without it.”

Learn more at kidsmentalhealth.org

Support these efforts at give.multicare.org.