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Our swift community response to the national mental health crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a rising mental health crisis in our community and across the country. In 2020, the number of Americans showing signs of clinical anxiety and depression rose from 11% to 41%. A recent study of Jews in 10 different communities, including Boston, found that 63% of Jewish young adults reported experiencing emotional difficulties at least sometime in the past week, more than any other age group.

Thanks to donors like you, CJP — in partnership with Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JF&CS) — is working to create a centralized communitywide mental health support system. Like CJP’s Anti- Poverty Initiative, this model convenes partners to join forces around a broad issue.

Since 2021, CJP and its partners have collaborated to build resources that are easily accessible for the entire community and create new, low-barrier programs to get people the help they need, including:

  • The Mental Health Access powered by CJP website
  • Path to Well-being, a virtual cognitive behavioral therapy program developed in partnership with McLean Hospital and JF&CS
  • Mental Health Connect line at JF&CS
  • CJP Therapy Match program developed in partnership with William James College
  • Suicide bereavement support groups in partnership with JF&CS
  • Partnership with BaMidBar to support teen mental health and wellness

To date, here’s how we’ve helped our community, together:

  • 1,083 people who called the Mental Health Connect line were assisted; over 2,000 people who called across all JF&CS resource lines with mental health needs were helped
  • 247 individuals were referred to William James College INTERFACE Referral Service; 95% matched with at least one provider
  • 152 people completed Path to Well-being, for a 79% completion rate; 100% of those who completed the satisfaction survey reported receiving good to excellent service
  • 50–60% of participants in Path to Well-being achieved recovery for depression and/or anxiety (with “recovery” defined as at least a 50% reduction in symptoms)
  • 150+ people registered for the suicide bereavement support group at JF&CS
  • 56 teens trained in teen Mental Health First Aid

Thanks to donors like you, widespread mental health support is now more readily available throughout our Jewish community. Our donors helped CJP become the first Jewish federation in North America to bring multiple community partners together through a shared focus on mental health. Together, we’re helping to ensure that people throughout our community can easily get care for anxiety and depression, get matched with a therapist who’s right for them, and join support groups to help with the loss of a loved one from suicide.