Communities of Hope Initiative

The Communities of Hope Initiative is a cornerstone of the state’s efforts to transform its mental health system to make it more responsive to actual need by using a public health model of service delivery. A public health model provides a continuum of services that focuses on an entire population rather than individuals or their separate illnesses and disabilities. The Communities of Hope Initiative takes transformation to scale by mobilizing communities to develop data-driven mental health and wellness plans, implement targeted interventions with community-specific outcomes, and sustain their efforts through the expansion of existing partnerships.

Eight Mental Health Transformation Support Centers are working with 21 community-based coalitions to develop these mental health and wellness plans.  The plans will be community-specific based on the community’s assessed stage of community readiness, needs assessment data, resource and gap analysis and the selection of evidence-based interventions based on their locally-identified issues and target populations.  The plan will be designed to transform the local mental health system – moving away from the primary target of clinical services to one that has a vision of good mental health for all.  Such an emphasis on mental wellness acknowledges that everyone needs a place to live, a place to work, access to learning, and the opportunity to form meaningful relationships while participating in the life of the community.  This is what it means to be a Community of Hope.

Click here for a map with the locations of the Communities of Hope Coalitions and the Mental Health Transformation Support Centers providing their support.  For more information about the Initiative, please contact the Office of Transformation 573-526-3702, or open the Communities of Hope brochure.


Prevention of Mental Disorder and
Mental Health Promotion Resources