The idea for the Mental Health Emergency Fund Inc. came to Jessica Smith as she was navigating her own mental health struggles.
“I have anxiety and panic disorder, and so I knew that I needed a team of care providers to rally around me when I was going through a crisis time in my life,” she said. “When I was able to get through that hump, I decided that I wanted to create an organization to help others.”
Smith had built up a personal emergency fund that served as a safety net and allowed her to take a year-long mental health sabbatical from work in 2019. But she realized that many people do not have the financial means to do what she did.
“Part of what the Mental Health Emergency Fund is, part of our purpose, is to really give that financial cushion to people who don’t have an emergency fund, don’t have a savings account of their own, to be able to utilize specifically for mental health services,” she explained.
The Baltimore-based organization provides funds to individuals who are facing mental health challenges and who do not have the money to access the care and relief they need.
The Mental Health Emergency Fund gives out at least seven $500 stipends per quarter to community members in need. Applicants must be 18 years or older, a resident of the Greater Baltimore area, and have access to less than $1,000 in an emergency fund or savings account.
The organization has worked with a partner therapist to design an assessment, which scores the impact of an individual’s mental health on their life.
“During our application review, we look at their scores, and we look at their narrative, and see who really is most in need,” Smith said. She added they also take into account factors such as whether the applicant is insured or if they would have to pay for mental health services out of pocket.
The Mental Health Emergency Fund is currently partnering with another organization called Collective 365, which is based in Richmond and provides grants to Black and Brown, changemakers in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area.
The two organizations are collaborating to create what they are calling the Rest and Joy Fund, which will allow community members to pay for “retreats, sabbaticals, vacation payments, rent assistance, child care, anything that someone really needs in order to lean into rest and joy,” Smith said. Applications will go live on Aug. 1 for that funding.
The Mental Health Emergency Fund is also participating in CLLCTIVGIVE, a citywide fundraising initiative in which Black-owned businesses in Baltimore work to raise money for their organizations’ needs.
Last year, more than 200 organizations collectively raised $1 million together, Smith said. This year, their goal is to raise $2 million. The fundraiser will take place on Aug. 9.
“The idea is to pour money into Black organizations across the city and to see what Black philanthropy can really look like,” Smith said.
For the Mental Health Emergency Fund, the money raised through CLLCTIVGIVE will help the organization expand its stipend program, as well as help them serve more youth and provide first aid courses to the community.
The organization provides training in mental health first aid, which Smith said will help more adults identify mental health struggles in the youth in their lives.
They take a preventative approach, striving to address mental health issues before they escalate to a crisis, Smith explained.
“As adults in the lives of young people, we are the first people who they would be going to if they are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or anything heavier than that,” she said. “And so as the people in their lives who are taking care of them, it’s really important to be able to identify these signs and symptoms, to be able to treat it before the crisis level.”
While most of the organization’s other services are centered on Baltimore, Smith said she is certified to teach the Youth Mental Health First Aid course in all 50 states and can teach it virtually. The eight-hour course includes two hours of pre-work that participants do on their own, and six hours of live instruction.
Participants range from teachers, mentors, coaches, parents, neighbors, caregivers, and any other adult who wants to learn how to identify signs and symptoms of mental health crises and substance abuse in young people between the ages 12 to 18.
The organization also offers a podcast in which Smith interviews mental health professionals to educate and encourage listeners to seek out therapy. Those professionals are added to the Mental Health Emergency Fund’s therapy directory.
“It’s a way for us to show the community how broad therapy is, what different modalities that therapists use, what different licenses they have, and just kind of debunking some myths around therapy and making it more relatable,” she said.
In 2020, the American Psychiatric Association reported that only 2 percent of psychiatrists in the United States are Black, despite Black Americans comprising 13 percent of the nation’s population.
That can be discouraging for many Black people who are considering therapy, Smith said, and why it was important for her to showcase some of the Black mental health professionals who are available.
“We’re able to match the community members with people who look like them, who can relate to them, who they are wanting to work with,” she said.
For more information about the Mental Health Emergency Fund Inc., visit mentalhealthemergencyfund.org.