On March 1, the National Life Group Foundation board convened for its quarterly meeting on the Vermont campus. To kick off the meeting, Dr. Shella Dennery, PhD, LICSW, Director of the Boston Children’s Hospital Neighborhood Partnerships Program (BCHNP), was introduced and presented to the board members and officers about current data on children’s mental health as well as proposed solutions to address it.
The BCHNP is a school-based behavioral health program in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Dennery directs a comprehensive program in partnership with the Boston Public Schools and is adjunct faculty in social work at Boston College, Simmons University and Smith College, and is an instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Dennery told the group that 1 in 5 children are experiencing mental health issues and that there aren’t currently enough resources to provide support. Stigma also still comes into play, although youth are more open to discussing how they feel; it’s their parents or the adults in their lives who are resistant to acknowledging that the child might need professional help.
She said the good news is that there are options that have shown promise including peer-to-peer programs and train the trainer courses, as well as informative podcasts.
The board then reviewed grant approval processes, agreed upon guiding principles which highlighted items including a focus on ending childhood hunger in Vermont and addressing children’s mental health. The Finance Committee presented investment guidelines in relation to the endowment.
National Life Group Foundation Board members are Tom MacLeay (Chair), Mehran Assadi, Nimesh Mehta, Dawn Minter, Scott Rogers, Beth Rusnock and David Soccodato. Officers are Joe Heaslip, Greg Mateja, Lisa Muller, Keith Phelan, Jessica Russo and Lindsay Staples.
The Foundation’s general grant application is currently open to nonprofits in central and northern Vermont and the Dallas, Texas area. Details are available on the application page.