Community-Based and Grassroots Programs

Abstract

Community members can aid in making change in mental health awareness and improving the system of care and reentry. In fact, there appears to be substantial growth in nonprofit organizations of all sizes to affect such change, as well as the volunteer hours needed to sustain this momentum. In 2015, the Urban Institute released their annual Nonprofit Sector in Brief, which supports this claim (McKeever, 2015). This report reveals that the number of 501(c)(3) public charities grew 19.5% from 2003 to 2013, and 25.3% of American adults had volunteered for a nonprofit organization in 2014. While this proportion of adults who volunteer at least once per year is on a slightly downward trend, the number of total volunteer hours in any given year is at the highest ever recorded at 8.7 billion hours in 2014—valued at $179.2 billion. This volunteerism is consistently concentrated in social service and care activities, including food preparation, cleanups, food, goods, and clothing collection and delivery, direct care and/or services, teaching, mentoring, and counseling. In the cases of local mental health-care system improvements and criminal justice reform (e.g., reentry), this momentum has been buttressed by grant opportunities through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and other Federal government funding agencies specifically tailored to support public nonprofit collaborations. For example, the Bureau of Justice Assistance Second Chance Act Comprehensive Community-Based Adult Reentry Program is specifically geared for community-based nonprofits who engage in reentry activities such as mentoring support, treatment services, legal aid, and more. These opportunities also seem to be on the rise; however, it is uncertain how the current administration will shape this trend in the upcoming years. With momentum in Congress and local governments for justice and mental health reform, it appears that the trajectory of improvements will continue to some degree. This chapter focuses on promising nonprofit activity led by icons, world leaders, and everyday people to give readers some orientation of the rigorous activity that is affecting changes in mental health and justice.