Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Awards $250,000 Grant to the Adler School’s Institute on Social Exclusion to Develop First Mental Health Impact Assessment Tool

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Adler School of Professional Psychology has received a $250,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support the School’s Institute on Social Exclusion (ISE) in its execution of the first Mental Health Impact Assessment (MHIA) tool. The MHIA will be used to assess the impact of “non-health” decisions in areas such as transportation, employment, housing, and education on the collective mental health and wellbeing of communities, and to guide and inform public decision-making processes. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported this project because critical opportunities to improve people’s health exist outside of the medical care system, where we live, learn, work and play. “This is an important, transformative investment in practice that will improve the lives of people who live in vulnerable communities,” said Lynn C. Todman, Ph.D., executive director of the ISE. “That the premiere public health philanthropy in the country would provide this award – the largest private foundation grant in the 50-year history of the Adler School – illustrates the significance of our work.”

“That the premiere public health philanthropy in the country would provide this award – the largest private foundation grant in the 50-year history of the Adler School – illustrates the significance of our work.”

The MHIA will be used to assess the impact of a proposed piece of legislation or policy on the collective mental health and well-being of the Englewood community in Chicago. Englewood is a low-income neighborhood that is beset by many of the problems common to vulnerable communities, including high rates of poverty, joblessness, crime and violence, as well as underperforming schools, poor quality housing, and limited public services. The 18-month project will begin in January 2011 and will involve a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of the Englewood community and professionals in the areas of mental health, public health, and urban planning.

There is a growing understanding of the impact of public decisions that are not explicitly health-related on respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and other physical health outcomes. However, there is less understanding of the impact of such decisions on mental health. Each year, one in four adults experiences a mental health disorder, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Although the precise role of social conditions in causing mental illness are not fully known, it is generally understood that conditions such as social inequality, physical isolation, and economic recessions play important roles.

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