Let's Make the Shift for Mental Health Awareness

Together We Can Help Others

You have the ability to give.

You have the desire to help others.

You can make a difference by coming together.

Any amount will drive change and make a difference. Thank you!

The Story | I was sitting in the ER hallway and I noticed three different kids waiting for the "mental health" specialists to "help" assess them on their situations. Not only did they already feel like they were different from why they were there. Now they weren't even given a hospital room to process the pain, hurt, and suffering, but instead lined the back hallway of the ER to sit, wait, watch, and feel the pain sink in even deeper. As hours passed you could see at this point that the light inside them was gone. The hope was almost non-existent. The thought of seeing yet another doctor that would most likely send them home with a recommendation to come back for a follow-up appointment in 30 - 45 days was unbearable. I was crushed to see this happen in our own backyard. It became my mission from that day forward to help those that can't help themselves! It's not their choice. But it is our choice to either step up to make an impact or step aside as we watch this mental health epidemic take over.

I know we can't go back in time to prevent the mental health epidemic we are currently facing every day, but I do believe we have the opportunity to help today's generation with the early detection of signs and symptoms. Not only would this bring awareness to kids, parents, coaches, teachers, employees/employers, and people from all walks of life, but even more importantly it would lift the stigma around mental health by just being proactive.

Unfortunately, the statistics don't lie from last year alone; 25% of adults have experienced mental illness, over 10 million youth aged 6 -17 experienced a mental health disorder, and yet less than 50% of those received treatment. That means we have over 5 million of our youth walking around with a diagnosed mental health disorder with NO TREATMENT in place. And just think of how many people don't speak up to ask for help or aren't even aware they need it. This can change!

First Round of Funding | With the first round of funding we will be helping in two ways;

1) Current Mental Health Patient Need - With the money raised we will be paying for children aged 7 - 17 years of age who are currently suffering from mental health to be put into a month-long treatment program. This will give them the opportunity to receive daily specialized care and direction under the guidance of professionals. The Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) will provide multi-specialty treatment through group, individual, and family therapy sessions. These intensive treatment options focus on thorough assessment and symptom stabilization while working on healthy living skills. Treatment will be guided by a Board Certified Psychiatrist who meets with all patients individually.

2) Preventative Awareness and Tools | With the ability to have a FREE assessment for our youth, parents, coaches, and people in our community it will help increase the awareness of signs and symptoms before it's too late. This will give people a baseline for their current psychological status and also the signs to look for in order to be proactive in asking for help. This will be game-changing so we are not always reactive or in worst-case scenarios too late to help ourselves and others.

This will change lives.

You will change lives.

Together we will make a difference.

“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." – Maya Angelou

We all have the ability to give.

We all have the desire to help others.

We all can make a difference by coming together.

We all have barriers and obstacles in life, but together we can overcome anything!

Let’s Make the Shift has a mission to provide tools and resources to individuals, their families, teams, businesses, and the community by way of prevention, intervention, on-site retreats, and education around mental health.

Our vision is to have a place that unites people from all walks of life to connect with their minds, body, and soul through an onsite retreat experience to help overcome barriers in your life.

The focus will be on committing to reawakening the four pillars (psychological, physical, spiritual, and emotional) of each individual to find comfort and direction in their life.

We are committed to making this vision a reality in order to have a safe place for individuals to be vulnerable, to be surrounded by resources, to be loved by people who care, and to be the ultimate destination to help them find their true purpose and passion in life while removing the stigma of mental health.

“It is ok to not be ok. Speak up for yourself. Speak up for others. Together we can make the shift from yesterday to today and into a better tomorrow. It takes us all to make a difference. Let’s Go.” - Erik Westrum

Core Values | We CARE

Compassion and Commitment

Acceptance and Accountability

Respect and Reliability

Empowerment and Equity