Vision, Purpose, Approach, Values

Inspiration

We must promote - to the best of our ability and by all possible and appropriate means - the mental and physical health of all our citizens. (President John F. Kennedy, Address to Congress, February 5, 1963)

Vision

We will inspire people to work together for the mental, physical, and social wellbeing of our community.

Purpose

The CMHC Foundation was established by a group of concerned citizens in 1993 as a private non-profit supporting organization for the publicly funded Connecticut Mental Health Center.  The Foundation secures and manages charitable resources for the Center to improve the well-being of the people it serves, to help it achieve excellence, and to extend its impact in the community.

Approach

Partnership is at the heart of CMHC. We believe that Giving, Creating, and Educating in partnership is the foundation for recovery in our community.

• Giving: We give people in recovery the resources they need to sustain healthy and meaningful lives in the community; and we strive to cultivate a spirit of charitable giving and service.
• Creating:  We make grants and sponsor innovative projects and research that improve the lives of people in recovery while advancing our understanding and practice of community psychiatry.
• Educating:  We raise awareness about mental health and addictions recovery and the resources that CMHC and its partners provide in our community.

Values

• Recovery:  We believe recovery is a process of restoring or developing a positive and meaningful sense of identity apart from one’s condition and then rebuilding one’s life despite or within the limitations imposed by that condition.
• Innovation: We support the development of new ideas and creative approaches to improve the quality of life for people in recovery. 
• Partnership:  We are committed to working with individuals and organizations collaboratively and interdependently to promote recovery and health.
• Citizenship:  We recognize all people as fellow neighbors and citizens and we encourage full participation in all aspects of civic and community life.
• Wellness:  We focus on the health of the whole person (mind, body, spirit) and the social contexts within which people live (friends, family, neighborhood, community).
• Compassion:  We respond to others out of a genuine concern for their health, well-being, and human dignity.