Mental health therapists will be available for free in Atlanta area youth clubs

Credit: Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta

Kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta are gaining more access to mental health care this fall thanks to a new partnership with CHRIS 180, and funded by Atlanta-based The Rich's Foundation.

The grant money will pay two licensed therapists for children at two club locations, and train staff over three years, said Cati Diamond Stone, CHRIS 180 president and CEO.

Mental health providers say this partnership will help serve everyone at the clubs like the organization does with its school-based mental health program, which embeds therapists in schools.

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"We have a couple of other partnerships like our partnership with Cafe Momentum, where we're doing something similar and the therapists love it because they are able to truly embed in those communities and the results are better," Stone said.

In addition to providing mental health services for the young people on site, so there are no barriers to care, CHRIS 180 will also provide trauma-informed training for the staff so that they can build their own trauma-informed tool kits to ensure they are creating a safe space for the kids, Stone said.

That training includes recognizing signs of trauma and learning how to respond. 

The three-year investment will support the delivery of CHRIS 180 mental health services within BGCMA’s 26 locations.

“This grant underscores the power of organizational collaboration,” said Kristin Hathaway Hansen, program director of The Rich’s Foundation. “This new program addresses a real need in our community and offers an opportunity to make an even greater impact on the health and well-being of local families.”