Mental health makes a difference in Teton Valley! The mission of the Teton Valley Mental Health Coalition is to promote mental wellness in Teton Valley through education, community action, and the coordination of resources. A decade ago, the residents of Teton Valley were severely impacted by the housing crisis and economic recession, resulting in a significant increase in stress, mental illness, and deaths by suicide. In response, the Teton Valley Mental Health Coalition was organized and designed several programs to help meet critical, emergent community mental health needs. These programs are still active today and have proven to be effective in supporting mental wellness in our community.
Our cornerstone program, the Subsidized Counseling Program, offers six FREE counseling sessions per calendar year to any Teton Valley resident experiencing a mental health crisis. This program saves lives in our community and helps prevent the progression of mental illness and suicidal behavior in individuals most at risk. The majority of individuals who participate in this program are experiencing economic distress, such as poverty, unemployment, a lack of medical or mental health insurance, and are at risk of serious mental illness and suicide. It also saves taxpayer money, as the average cost for a psychiatric emergency room visit is $9,500 per uninsured individual, per episode.
Another crucial service of the Teton Valley Mental Health Coalition, our School-Based Counseling Program offers FREE individual and group therapy sessions to youth in the public schools who are in need of critical mental health services. This program is essential to the health and wellbeing of our local children and teens, providing critical access to mental health services they might not otherwise receive.
The Teton Valley Mental Health Coalition is active in promoting mental wellness in our community in many other ways. We actively work to promote suicide awareness and prevention through community education and advocacy. We host community-wide support events for residents affected by grief, loss and suicide. We regularly convene community stakeholders, medical providers and mental health providers to creatively and collaboratively address emergent community health needs. Finally, we provide training opportunities for local mental health practitioners, ensuring they have the skills necessary to meet the mental health needs of our community.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Teton Valley Mental Health Coalition’s efforts are more important than ever to ensure that our most vulnerable residents have access to high-quality mental health care. Please partner with us in these critical efforts by making a generous gift to the Teton Valley Mental Health Coalition through the 13th annual Tin Cup Challenge!
