We are the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, the unifying voice of organizations that deliver mental health and substance use treatment services in America.
Since 1969, we have fought for a stronger, better funded and more integrated approach to substance use and mental health treatment in communities across the country, ensuring that mental wellbeing – including recovery from substance use challenges – is a reality for everyone.
In this annual report, we reflect on our efforts and accomplishments in 2022, while looking ahead to 2023 and our work to continue helping individuals and communities thrive.
Message from Chuck Ingoglia, President and CEO
A Year in Review
In many ways, 2022 was a successful and significant year. On behalf of our National Council member organizations and the more than 10 million children, adults and families they serve, we reached new milestones on our journey to connect more people to high-quality, comprehensive care. We helped get critical legislation passed, brought Mental Health First Aid to more communities, addressed the opioid and workforce crises, delivered tools and trainings to move our field forward, and other accomplishments.
Increasing Access to Care through Advocacy
It was a big year on the federal advocacy front. Not only did we help the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act get passed, but we fought for key legislation that removes barriers to access for medication-assisted treatment (MAT), boosts substance use disorder training for health care providers and expands virtual peer-support platforms. We also helped expand Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) nationwide and elevated our members’ voices on Capitol Hill.
Bringing Mental Health First Aid Nationwide
We brought Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), a skills-based training course, to more communities across the country. We did that by growing our Instructor base, enabling more people to identify, understand and respond to mental health and substance use challenges; supporting our network of more than 2.8 million First Aiders; offering new MHFA community-specific courses; and establishing partnerships so we can further provide mental health resources and support.
Addressing Substance Use in America
Throughout the year, we addressed the overdose epidemic by fostering the use of evidence-based harm reduction, overdose prevention and opioid use disorder treatment in community, criminal justice and health care settings. We also offered tools for addressing youth substance use, launched a new Cannabis Resource Center, created new resources for statewide tobacco control programs and examined the rise of alcohol use in America through our thought leadership.
Striving for Health Equity and Racial Justice
We strengthened our commitment to raise awareness of and address health care disparities across the country. We hosted virtual learning events on racial justice, shared tools to help our members maximize their diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) efforts, partnered with organizations to bring attention to the stigmas that lead to persistent disparities in mental health and substance use care and fostered shared learning and engagement throughout the year to address issues of inequity.
Investing in Our Workforce
Advancements in mental health and substance use treatment start with education. We invested in the workforce by leading training and technical assistance sessions across the country, collaborating with organizations to address the workforce crisis, launching an online career portal and sharing resources to help leaders make their practices more efficient, effective and sustainable. And of course, we convened the best minds in health care for NatCon22, the largest conference of its kind.
Financials
View, download or print our 2021/2022 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position and Consolidated Statement of Activities.
Thank You to Our Board
The National Council’s Board of Directors works diligently throughout the year to guide and shape the organization. We appreciate our board members’ guidance and generosity as we work together to make mental wellbeing, including recovery from substance use challenges, a reality for everyone.
Thank You to Our Platinum Partners
Partnering with the National Council
Organizations and foundations nationwide support our work to help communities and generations thrive. Learn how you can help advance our efforts, support Mental Health First Aid or engage our consultants around leadership and organizational growth opportunities.
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