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WellPower joins national organizations and hundreds of communities in observing May as Mental Health Awareness Month. We know that now more than ever, people need services to improve their lives and well-being.
We all have mental health, and some of us have mental illness. Nationwide, one in five people will experience a mental health challenge in any given year. Of these people, only 40% will get the help they need. WellPower is working to close this gap by meeting people where they are and offering innovative approaches to treating mental illness and support better well-being.
Mental health is increasingly top of mind in our national zeitgeist and at kitchen tables everywhere as people from all walks of life become more aware of its importance. We have seen growing comfort in how much more common talking about mental health has become over the last few years. We also know that there is still the idea that you need to be “sick enough” to go to a “mental health center.”
This was one of the key ideas fueling our recent rebrand from Mental Health Center of Denver to WellPower. Sometimes people who could benefit from coming to us talk themselves out of it because of our former name. Mental Health Center of Denver felt like a stop sign to many people, and we wanted to change that to a big sign that says “Welcome – You belong here.”
Mental Health as an Overall State of Well-Being
Reflective of the national movement to better integrate mental health into overall health, our intentional brand shift is an opportunity to open our doors wider and offer services that focus on strengths and well-being.
WellPower knows that people are more than their diagnoses. Everyone has a unique set of strengths, challenges and goals. In addressing the aspects of life that work in conjunction with a person’s diagnosis, we take a comprehensive approach to helping people get the support they need to thrive.
We’ve put together an array of layered services that are entirely focused on enhancing the well-being of the people we serve, whether they need counseling, nutritious food, supportive housing, well-being support in the school system, courtroom or nursing home, all the way to complex psychiatric services. We serve anyone who needs us – from infants to older adults, in any Denver community, and from any background. The world has changed dramatically since we were founded in 1989, now three decades ago. The pace of change was accelerated by our national cultural climate, from the pandemic to civil rights. Mental health will remain front and center for the foreseeable future.