Harvesting Hope for Mental Health: A Call to Action

What does it take to build a community where integrated mental health services are accessible, connected, and a shared priority?

That was the focus of Harvesting Hope: A Call to Action for Community Mental Health, a gathering at the Kellin Foundation’s Hope Hub that brought together community leaders, partners, and supporters to explore what lasting change requires.

The morning included guided tours of the newly renovated space and a panel discussion that invited reflection, practical ideas, and a sense of shared responsibility. The conversation was moderated by Dr. Terri Shelton of Spartan Strategies and featured panelists Walker Sanders (Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro), Niketa Greene (Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation), and Dr. Derrick Hoover (UnitedHealthcare).

Panelists spoke candidly about the urgent mental health challenges facing our community, especially among children, adolescents, and older adults. They discussed the need to treat mental health as part of a community’s core infrastructure—not as a siloed issue, but as something woven into the fabric of education, housing, healthcare, workforce development, and economic opportunity. They emphasized the importance of collaboration across systems and sectors, especially between schools, healthcare providers, funders, and grassroots organizations.

At one point, Dr. Hoover shared a visual that stayed with many in the room: a team of 25 people pulling an airplane by rope. On their own, no one could move it. But when they pulled together, the plane began to shift. What had seemed immovable became possible when people worked together.

That metaphor speaks directly to the mission of the Hope Hub.

The Kellin Foundation Hope Hub brings services and support together under one roof—mental health care, peer support, food and housing coordination, tutoring, senior services, resource navigation, workforce development, afterschool programs and camps, nutrition and exercise, wellness programs, and more—making it easier for families to get help without navigating a maze of referrals and waitlists. It’s a model built not only for access, but for connection. It exists to reduce isolation, remove barriers, and make sure no one is left figuring things out alone.

The conversation closed with a question that brought the focus back to what each of us can do—right now—to make mental health care more available, more connected, and easier to access for everyone in our community.

It’s a question we carry forward. And for those ready to be part of the answer, the door is open.

If you're interested in scheduling a visit to the Hope Hub, learning more about our services, or exploring how you or your organization might get involved, reach out to our team. We’d love to connect with you.