BUILD, Inc.

The past 20 months have particularly challenging for the communities BUILD serves, with multiple crises—the ongoing pandemic, for which decades of systemic racism and health inequities have placed BUILD’s youth and families at heightened risk; racial justice uprisings and unrest; and spiking gun violence—driving an increased need for all BUILD’s services in our communities, and particularly mental health, crisis response, and emergency support. BUILD has responded by dramatically growing our mental health and outreach teams: our clinical and community wellness department now employs 35 staff—therapists, Mobile Mental Health, Crisis Response Unit, case managers, care coordinators, and community navigators—providing services to youth and families affected by violence, trauma, and incarceration. With need still significantly outstripping capacity, grant funds would support BUILD’s mental health component, which brings critical mental health care directly to those who need it most.