Initiatives
Hearts 4 Minds has multiple initiatives in progress, all to help those affected by mental illness as well as providing support for family and friends.
Here are a few initiatives near and dear to our hearts.
Connecting to Resources for Care
We know that reducing the stigma is key to improving care but access to care is critical and knowing where to go can be confusing. We help by creating connections for those who need help. Having accessible resources for treatment is key to mental wellness and preventing suicide.
Hearts 4 Minds has compiled multiple resources for those who live in the Northeastern part of Florida, along with national resources. We continually add to our resource list so check back often. We know that creating connections in an easy, understandable manner can help remove some of the barriers to access.
Proactive Rather than Reactive
We remain steadfast in our mission to save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities. Meeting needs means starting with awareness, education, early identification, stigma reduction and solutions that ensure equal access. We actively work to drive change and eliminate barriers to care and treatment for patients and their families. By conquering stigma and driving early identification, we can help people achieve the long-term positive treatment outcome they deserve.
Hearts 4 Minds uses a unique dragonfly as a universal symbol of hope, help and healing for mental illness. This unifying and identifiable symbol can spread awareness about mental illness and express support for those impacted by it. It can be widely used to raise funds for research, treatment, education and connections to critical resources regardless of ability to pay. Having a consistent symbol that is recognizable and vivid can mobilize masses to change and our supporters can easily join in by getting a pin and wearing it in honor of a loved one, friend or even themself. Alongside the symbol, circulating information and material about the issue easily conveys the importance of the issue, the impacts on our community and provides solutions.
We provide printed material that includes available resources for treatment and crisis intervention, as well as maintain a growing list of mental health providers on our resource page.
Create a Connected Care System
Connected care improves health outcomes. Working outside of traditional mental health models, Hearts 4 Minds created an innovative Dragonfly Care Coordinator that wraps a patient and their families in a system of care. The Care Coordinator helps monitor potential attrition, adjustments in therapy, preferences and integrates the family support system. The Care Coordinator also works broadly with the community at large to ensure the demand for mental health providers is met with urgency. Contact us for more information on how you can implement a Dragonfly Care Coordinator.
Q - Question
P - Persuade
R- Refer.
Those three seemingly simple steps help provide the knowledge to recognize the subtle signs of someone struggling and have the skills to prevent a tragedy.
Sheryl Johnson, from Hearts 4 Minds, provides training to individuals, organizations and corporations as a certified QPR Institute-trained instructor. Modeled similar to CPR, an emergency response to someone experiencing cardiac arrest, QPR provides the action steps to provide hope and support. It is not counseling and not treatment. Rather, QPR are steps anyone can take to help prevent suicide.
Murals with Meaning
We created our Murals with Meaning initiative to both promote mental health awareness and connections to resources while using art to enhance our community and reach people where they work, live and play.
Each mural is another avenue through which our community can access valuable information about mental illness and get help. Created in collaboration with talented artists, these murals leverage the power of art and visual imagery to reduce stigma, inspire compassion and understanding, while providing critical information to support the mental health journey.
To support Hearts 4 Minds, sponsor a mural today! Sponsorship is a great way to make a long-term investment in change and ensures the murals and information support the community for up to 10 years!
Mental Health Workshops
Founder Sheryl Johnson loves speaking at events and hosting Mental Health Workshops. She has collaborated both with the Jacksonville Jaguars and River City Science Academy to create these workshops and educate coaches, teachers, and students on how to recognize signs of mental health. She also teaches how to properly respond and assist those in distress, as well as how to break the stigma of mental illness.
If you’d like to host your own Mental Health Workshop with Sheryl, please reach out.
Public Speaking
Hearts 4 Minds is always looking for events to share our story and help those suffering from mental illness. Whether it’s at a church group, school, HOA, club, or other events, we love having the opportunity to share our message, as well as discuss the stigma of mental illness and what we’re doing to alter how we look at mental health. If you’d like Sheryl to speak at your event, please contact us. Let’s work together to save lives.
Messages with Heart
Positive messages are crucial for those impacted by mental illness. Our Messages with Heart initiative involves using sticky notes to write down kind words and leaving them in public areas for people to find. We leave them in grocery stores, businesses, airplanes, restaurants, trains, and more. Our goal is to show those struggling that they aren’t alone and that there is happiness available in this world. You can use either Hearts 4 Minds branded sticky notes or your own!
Partnerships
We know that changing the mental health ecosystem is a group effort. We work throughout our community and across the country to partner with hospitals, sports teams, schools, mental health providers, advocates, yoga programs, art programs, etc. We have strong partnerships with Baptist Health, Here Tomorrow, the Jumbo Shrimp Baseball Team, Sophros Recovery, the Jacksonville City Council, Haymaker Coffee, the Opioid Project, Drug-Free Duval, and many more. If you’re interested in working together, contact us.