Expanding mental health care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on the mental health and well-being of young people across the country. During the pandemic, youth between the ages of 11 and 17 are more likely to present moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and depression than other age groups. Among all youth ages 11-17 screened for depression in 2020, 91% scored for moderate to severe depression, according to Mental Health America.

Thankfully, the intensifying youth mental health crisis has been gaining increased recognition. In 2021, both the U.S. Surgeon General and America’s leading health professional associations issued calls to act on this emergency.

How are we addressing this?

As a collaborative fund, The Upswing Fund pools investments from diverse donors to provide core capacity support to direct-service organizations that serve adolescents of color and LGBTQ+ youth. We aim to support a more integrated and higher-quality adolescent mental health system by investing in culturally responsive care and strengthening the ecosystem of providers and funders by facilitating learning and resource-sharing.

Who are we partnering with to get this done?

The Upswing Fund partners with foundations, corporations, and individuals who share our commitment to the mental health and well-being of adolescents who are of color and/or LGBTQ+. Together, we have awarded more than $11.8 million to 92 partner organizations.

Our partners

Our partner organizations – many of which employ less than 50 full-time employees – have used Upswing grants to increase their capacity to serve more youth in new and innovative ways. We have awarded two types of grants:  

• Surge Capacity grants provide immediate resources for direct-service organizations, and
• Systems Enabler grants support project-based work led by organizations supporting innovative approaches in adolescent mental health services that make more resilient systems to enable access to care.

"Thank you for your partnership. I've never had a funder so genuinely interested and involved in our success and helping us to connect dots. I truly feel like this is a great opportunity and appreciate all that you do."