DEAR FRIENDS

As President and CEO of The Up Center, I am most proud of our agency’s reputation of service and nearly 140-year commitment to partnering with children, families, and communities to improve lives and outcomes through prevention, intervention, and support services.

The Up Center, as one of the largest nonprofit providers of evidenced-based mental health services locally, is experienced at caring for the mental health needs of hundreds of thousands of veterans and military families who call Hampton Roads home

When the Cohen Veterans Network approached us about partnering to launch The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at The Up Center in Virginia Beach to serve post-9/11 veterans, active duty service members, and military families, I was ecstatic. Through this exciting partnership, we have significantly enhanced our clinical capacity for mental health counseling services and reduced barriers that can prevent veterans and military families from accessing care.

Since opening in August 2019, the Cohen Clinic at The Up Center has made a tremendous impact in our community. The clinic has served more than 1,600 clients in its first 3 years of operation. In this time, we’ve gained an even greater understanding of how vital the need is for these critical services. Today, we know that 30% of service members who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan need mental health treatment, and fewer than 50% have received care. 1 To respond to the demand for our services, we continue to grow our team of clinicians to better serve even more veterans, active duty service members, and military families.

In order for us to make these critical investments and ensure this vital community resource can continue serving our veterans and families well into the future, The Up Center needs the community’s support. A gap exists between anticipated revenues and operations. To help fill the gap, The Up Center has initiated a fundraising campaign to sustain the clinic’s future operations and expand access to our life-saving services.

Thank you for your interest. Together, we can ensure post-9/11 veterans, including those from the National Guard and Reserves, active duty service members, and military families of Hampton Roads can continue accessing quality, evidenced-based therapy, combined with case management and other resources to gain the tools and support they need to thrive!

Sincerely,

Tina Gill President & CEO of The Up Center