History and Purpose

Since its founding in 1972, the Helen Ross McNabb Mental Health Foundation has worked diligently to support the work of the Helen Ross McNabb Center. The Center is a regional, not-for-profit system-of-care; providing mental health, substance abuse and addiction treatment and social services to children, adults and families in East Tennessee. In addition to providing leadership and direction, the Foundation's staff and its 27-member volunteer Board of Directors actively raises, holds and invest funds on behalf of the Center. Since its inception, the Foundation has raised more than $30 million, which has contributed greatly toward the stability and growth of the Center. Each of the facilities currently owned and operated by the Center are debt free because of the fundraising activities of the Foundation. This absence of debt allows the Center to focus all of its resources on serving the nearly 10,000 children, adults and families it will serve this year.

For nearly 40 years, the Foundation's annual fund campaigns have supported the Center's efforts by raising money to meet urgent needs in the community. Annual fund campaigns finance expansion of facilities and services as well as the creation of new innovative programs.  The expansion of services and facilities provide greater access to community health care. Due to the Foundation's support, the community has a full continuum of mental health and addiction treatment services operated by the Helen Ross McNabb Center without the hindrance of debt.