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The Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation (NVMHF) is a volunteer-run organization, concerned with gaps in mental health care and wellness support.
We serve the citizens of Fairfax County, and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, Virginia.
OUR MISSION
The mission of the Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation (NVMHF) is to provide support to individuals in our community who are seeking public mental health services on their journeys to wellness and recovery.
NVMHF, a volunteer-run organization, is concerned with gaps in mental health care and wellness support. We serve the citizens of Fairfax County, and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, Virginia.
We provide direct relief for individuals currently in treatment for Serious Mental Illness at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. We are positioned as a final option for applicants and case managers that have exhausted alternative funding avenues. The Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation helps by providing the funding necessary to achieve wellness goals.
Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation has helped over 6,000 individuals in the last 30+ years of service.
OUR GOAL
Small grants are given to individuals diagnosed with Serious Mental Illness who need a particular item or service that is part of their treatment plan and is not available from the public sector.
Our priorities are to
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improve the quality of life for persons living with serious mental health conditions
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increase public awareness of broader mental health conditions and their impact upon individuals and the larger community; and
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promote greater understanding, tolerance, and acceptance of people with mental health conditions.
93% of our funding goes straight to the grant beneficiary.
We’ve helped individuals in treatment receive funding for medical co-pays, dental work, subsidized housing, and more. Trauma and mental wellness are community challenges that we must tackle together. Each investment in an individual’s wellness, no matter how small, can have an incalculable impact.
In 2020, there were an estimated 14.2 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States with Serious Mental Illness.
- National Institute of Mental Health
SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS DEFINED
Serious Mental Illness (SMI) is a term used by our partners and the Federal Institute of Mental Illness (NIMH) meant to include several disorders, as defined by the psychiatric guideline, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental (DSM). They are generally considered to include schizophrenia, major depression, severe bipolar disorder and some other conditions.
Individuals with serious mental illness often have trouble managing their daily lives. This can include difficulty in holding down jobs, maintaining meaningful social relationships, and making responsible decisions from day to day. They often have very low incomes and depend on social programs such as Medicare's Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicare and Medicaid, and food stamps.
Despite the difficulties faced by many people with SMI, advances in mental health treatment health treatments including talk therapy and modern pharmaceuticals, along with consistent access to those treatments, can mean greatly improved and productive lives.