Academy at Glengary Launches Mental Health Re-Engagement Initiative

March 21, 2022 – Sarasota

Academy at Glengary has received a generous $10,000 Community Impact grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to support a comprehensive, culturally sensitive approach to county residents seeking mental health recovery. The pandemic has exacerbated the demand for mental health services, disproportionately affecting minorities and other marginalized groups.

“The prolonged pandemic has caused an increase in social isolation and a decrease in mental health almost across our entire society,” says Academy Director William McKeever. “Many people who were not previously experiencing symptoms of mental illness have now found themselves in need of support, treatment and a pathway to recovery.”

The Academy offers a comprehensive wellness approach to mental health recovery that helps people embark on a journey toward community integration, or re-integration, as well as personal goal achievement. There are barriers, however, to reaching people who aren’t connected to mainstream mental health services. This can include such factors as culture, language and socioeconomics. McKeever emphasizes that “the stigma of mental illness is often the biggest barrier to seeking services.” Making services available, accessible and stigma-free is one of the Academy’s biggest priorities.

The Academy’s initiative has two prongs aimed at finding and engaging these members of the Sarasota community: An improved online presence that will include a simplified application process, and a highly visible, culturally sensitive awareness campaign in area neighborhoods. 

An individual’s declining mental health has repercussions for the community—an emotional toll on families and loved ones, and a fiscal strain on overburdened local emergency services. The Academy helps to replace that trajectory with a positive ripple effect based on work, community, skill development and gainful employment. 

Funding for the COVID Mental Health Re-Engagement initiative provided by the Edward K. Roberts Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.