HopeX

Changing the world of mental health

HopeX is Miller-Dwan Foundation’s revolutionary three-phased response to eliminating the mental health crisis in our region.

Phase 1—being implemented right now, will expand the mental health workforce in our communities using a program developed and tested by the World Health Organization called PM+.
Phases 2 and 3—which will be initiated in the next few years, will increase programs that we know work such as Amberwing – Center for Youth and Family Well-Being, as well as inpatient or partial hospitalization. New therapeutic services for families throughout the Twin Ports will also be created.

“The implications of waiting any amount of time for behavioral health care can compromise one’s functioning and quality of life.”

—Katie Onofreychuk, Essentia Health Operations Manager, Psychiatry

Hope X Phase I—Expanding the Workforce

Miller-Dwan Foundation, along with its national partners, has put the first phase of HopeX in motion with a program developed and tested by the World Health Organization called PM+ (Problem Management Plus).

Global and national research has shown that to see dramatic and positive change in the mental health of people throughout the community, care must be brought to people in the communities where they live, by people they trust and with whom they feel a sense of connection.

PM+ is more than peer support. It is a true, evidence-informed psychological intervention, supervised by licensed mental health clinicians. In its initial phase, lay-people, or paraprofessionals, from a variety of cultures and groups in our region will be trained to assist people with mild depression, anxiety, and stress. As those paraprofessionals build skills and proficiency they will train more people to do what they do and so on—building community connections people can turn to before they are in a mental health emergency.