CINCINNATI (July 5, 2022) —

Dear United Way friends,

We’ve all experienced stress in our life. We know the pandemic and resulting economic challenges have taken a heavy toll on the mental health of people across our region and country.

Chronic stress can have a toxic effect on our brains. Over time, this holds us back from being a community in which everyone can thrive. For people with mental health struggles, it can be difficult to ask for help. For families living with limited financial resources, finding help can be especially hard.

The nonprofit system of care plays a critical role in supporting the well-being of our community by providing services that help families overcome a variety of challenges, including mental health needs. But increased community need and staff shortages have lessened the ability of this system to appropriately support our community.

United Way is focused on building solutions and aligning systems that help the nonprofit system work better to improve our community. With your help, we are investing $1,485,000 this year in 14 partners as part of our Improved Prevention, Stronger Communities portfolio. These partners will focus on improving the way the nonprofit system of care addresses and prevents the long-term impacts of poor mental health so fewer families need support in the future.

Community data and insights informed our investment in this important community issue.

• 58% of participants in our community insights survey indicated difficulty accessing resources and services for mental and emotional well-being.
• An analysis of the Household Pulse Survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that more than 3 in 10 adults in Ohio and Kentucky reported mental health symptoms in March 2022, up from 1 in 10 in 2019.

For our community to be strong, we need to change how we address this challenge together. United Way’s investment not only supports programs working to meet today’s needs but it will help prevent poor mental health in the future.

Indeed, Improved Prevention, Stronger Communities is one of six systems-change portfolios we are leveraging, and each one drives solutions so fewer families need help in the future. We are excited to see the solutions our partnerships create. And, as always, thank you for your continued support of United Way.

Sincerely,

Moira Weir
President/CEO
United Way of Greater Cincinnati