Services Provided: Start up planning & support, strategic advice & coaching, information and referrals.
Our Successes:
- Partnered with MilestonesNYC to create and execute a strategy to successfully established the organization and provide services.
- Helped MilestonesNYC design and implement their model of recruiting pro-bono providers so that every $1 that is raised can create between $7-$20 of mental health care for a New Yorker.
Conventional wisdom would tell you not to start a new organization during an economic downturn. Occasionally, we at CRE have been questioned about the wisdom of running a “Start-Up Workshop Series” during “hard times,” as well as our decisions to work with new organizations. But the story of one of our clients, MilestonesNYC, illustrates why one might want to question conventional wisdom, if not all of the time, at least some of the time.
MilestonesNYC is a non-profit organization that recruits private practice psychiatrists, therapists and life coaches to provide high quality pro bono care to New Yorkers in need of mental health services, and who lack access to such care. As the founders of MilestonesNYC have identified through their analysis and experience, over fifty percent of primary care physicians report having difficulty finding mental health care for their patients partially due to financial barriers, high insurance deductibles and co-pays, and lack of health care insurance. Very often, due to these limitations, clients do not receive the care they need, often leading to diminished quality of life, substance abuse, lower job performance, family disruption, and suicide. In difficult economic times, these barriers present an even greater challenge to finding care at a time when people need it most.
Over the years, Scott Shapiro, MilestonesNYC’s founder and a psychiatrist in a community medical clinic, observed that when people receive the high quality mental health care they deserve, the benefits help not only the individual but also have a ripple affect on the family, children, and community at large. Dr. Shapiro had personal experience of this: During the years of his medical training a family friend was in need of help and yet lacked access to care. He referred her to low-cost assistance and within a few months, she and her family were doing much better. Dr. Shapiro realized that just a little bit of care could go a long way, and yet so many people in New York City did not have access to even a minimal amount of assistance. Creating the opportunity to expand high quality mental health care to those in need has been a goal of his since then.
Dr. Shapiro told us that “CRE helped me to make my goal a reality. Through CRE’s pro bono account, I was assigned a consultant who helped me create a strategy and executive board in order to move this forward. He was an incredible force and mentor in helping MilestonesNYC get off the ground. At this point, we are well on our way to helping hundreds and eventually thousands of New Yorkers get the care that they need and deserve.”
Providers who have agreed to be part of the MilestonesNYC network offer their services on a volunteer basis and see patients and clients in the privacy of their own office. There is no charge to the care recipient for services provided. Their network of private practice licensed and insured mental health professionals and coaches offer a wide range of services including individual, marital and family therapy as well as treatment for depression and anxiety, coaching and group counseling. MilestonesNYC’s model of recruiting pro bono providers means that every $1 that is raised will create between $7-$20 of mental health care for a New Yorker.
During difficult economic times, CRE uses its discretion in committing resources to new projects, but with an organization like MilestonesNYC, a small investment leveraged a lot of new mental health resources for New York City residents at a time when they are most needed.
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