The Combined Federal Campaign’s cause of the week is mental wellness.
Mental Health America, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting mental health, reports that:
• Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults will experience a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year.
• 46 percent of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition at some point in their life.
Despite the prevalence of mental and emotional disorders, the group found that:
• More than half of U.S. adults with mental illness did not receive any mental health treatment in 2020.
• Almost a quarter of those with a mental illness who sought treatment were unable to get it, a percentage that has not declined since 2011.
Therapeutic care is out of reach for far too many. The repercussions of that lack of care are profound for the affected individuals, for those around them and for society at large.
For this category, the Combined Federal Campaign includes groups that address mental illness, addiction, developmental disability, domestic violence, counseling for rape survivors, help for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, and more.
If you’re still unsure of where to focus your giving, the website for the campaign, also called the CFC, can help:
• Under “CFC Giving System” on the homepage, choose “online charity search.”
• In the “Find A Charity” section, you’ll see “Select a Specific Category.” From there, choose “Mental Health & Crisis Intervention.”
The Combined Federal Campaign is the federal government’s workplace charity drive. The latest campaign began Sept. 1 and runs through Jan. 14.
Participation in the CFC is voluntary.
The GiveCFC.org website has more information.
This is the 14th in a series of articles spotlighting the Combined Federal Campaign’s cause of the week. Next week: community improvement.
