THE QUELL FOUNDATION

The Quell Foundation was founded to reduce the stigma around having an illness of the brain. We work to reduce the number of suicides, overdoses and incarcerations of people who live daily with the challenges that come with having a mental illness. Our goals of normalizing the conversation surrounding mental health fall within 3 pillars:

Access:
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 5 people live with a mental illness. 77% of United States counties are experiencing a shortage in psychiatric services (Merritt-Hawkins, 2020), and a recent study showed that the average wait time to see a psychiatrist in the United States is 25 days, and many patients in the study waited more than 90 days to receive treatment (Schlozman, 2021). We know conclusively that in the absence of treatment, people will self-medicate.

We aim to increase access to mental health services by developing a feeder system of future mental health care professionals and providing them with academic scholarships. We also support programs that train psychiatrists to deliver integrated care to historically underserved communities in which mental healthcare is diminished.

Awareness:
We aim to change public perceptions and increase awareness of mental illness. All too often, individuals struggling with a mental health diagnosis are labeled as “crazy” or “scary due to stigma and lack of understanding. We encourage others to lift their mask and seek help when they are struggling with a mental health issue.

Training:
37% of our nation’s first responders have contemplated suicide (nearly 10 times the rate of American adults) (SAMHSA, 2018) and are more likely to commit suicide than die in the line of duty (Tiesman, Elkins, Brown, et al., 2021). We aim to train our first responder community to recognize signs of mental health distress among their own.

The Quell Foundation operates under three pillars to execute our mission in reducing the stigma of mental illness.

Access:
To increase the number of clinicians in the mental health field, The Quell Foundation awards the Bridge the Gap Scholarship as part of The Quell Foundation’s prestigious scholarship program. This award is given to students pursuing a degree in fields of study related to the provision of mental health services.

To address the shortage of mental healthcare within historically underprivileged populations, The Quell Foundation, in partnership with the University of Washington, is developing a psychiatry curriculum that trains residents to deliver integrated care to populations of the Black, Indigineous People of Color (BIPOC) community and other underserved populations. The program expands the use of telepsychiatry and employs an interdisciplinary model by incorporating other support specialists and paraprofessionals.

Awareness:
The Quell Foundation’s “I AM” campaign gives people the opportunity to change the image of mental health stigma by lifting their mask. By revealing their experiences living with a mental health diagnosis, this campaign allows individuals to help normalize the conversation surrounding mental illness.

The Quell Foundation’s Lift the Mask: Portraits of Mental Illness documentary portrays a diverse group of people living with mental illness. Through vivid storytelling, the documentary provides a platform for the subjects and their caregivers to relate their experiences. The film focuses on the lived experiences of each subject, some of whom are “lifting the mask” by telling their stories publicly for the first time. Detailed interviews and examinations of their lives capture the struggles, as well as the joys and triumphs of those affected by mental health issues.

The Quell Foundation’s Lift the Mask: Sound the Alarm documentary provides insight into the lives and the experiences of the first responder community. The documentary highlighting our nation's first responder’s mental health that will serve as a crucial educational and awareness tool in aiding The Quell Foundation to achieve its mission in to normalizing the conversation within first responder communities and creating awareness to the correlation between occupational exposure and suicide rates.


Training:
The Quell Foundation’s First Responder Resilience Project is normalizing a new culture for mental wellness in the first responder community by building resilient mindsets at work, home and into retirement through trusted and proven educational resources. We are currently engaging with Fire, Law Enforcement, Dispatch call centers and EMS departments across the country, considered to be in high-risk communities where violence, substance abuse and suicide rates are rising. The program will reduce the stigma of mental health in the first responder community while providing accessible resources and self-help tools to combat trauma.

In order to accomplish its goals, The Quell Foundation relies on partnerships, financial support, leadership, and awareness and fundraising events to help further execute its mission.

Institutional partnerships:
• Becker College
• Hartford Healthcare
• Hershey Medical Center manuscript development
• Innovatel Health
• Lynn University
• Nova Southeastern University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Stable Place Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy
• The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod
• University of Central Florida
• University of Minnesota
• University of Washington School of Medicine

Financial support:
• AbleTo
• AmerisourceBergan
• The Aetna Foundation
• Catasys
• CVS Health
• Forefront Healthcare
• Magellan Health, Inc.
• Mckinsey & Company
• MOD
• The Kennedy Forum
• U.S. Bancorp
• Zudy

Leadership:
• Board of Directors – Seven-member board
Composed of senior executives in the fields of Telehealth, Healthcare, Finance, Community Relations,
Marketing and Business Law.
• Executive Advisory Board – Ten-member board
Oversight of program development and market research
• Junior Board of Directors – Fifteen-member board
Comprised of appointed current and alumni Quell scholarship recipients
Work toward engaging students and supporters and help to conduct the Foundation’s mission initiatives
through leadership and volunteerism

Volunteer Program:
• Event support
• Peer to peer mentor program
• Career mentoring program
• Marketing and communications

Awareness and Fundraising events:
• Masquerade Ball
• Falmouth Road Race
• New York Marathon
• Boston Marathon
• San Antonio, TX “Glow On” fun run
• Heels With Hope Women’s Conference
• 9/11 Ride of Hope

Speaking engagements:
• Panel II: Deepening the Conversation on Mental Health, Making Health Care Better, The White House
• Commencement Speaker, Pennsylvania State University College of Health and Human Development
• Quartet’s Prestigious Speakers Series
• The Higher Education Suicide Prevention Conference
• Mental Health America National Conference Presentation

What we have accomplished so far:

Scholarship Program
The Quell Foundation provides scholarships to students attending over 480 colleges and universities across all 50 states. Currently, The Quell Foundation has distributed over $2.6 million in scholarships.

Lift the Mask: Portraits of Life with Mental Illness Documentary
The Quell Foundation's educational documentary, "Lift the Mask - Portraits of Life with Mental Illness," is part of a national study to determine the efficacy of the film's ability to positively influence behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs around mental health. The documentary has been screened at locations across the country, including university campuses, government agencies, and corporate wellness events. After viewing the documentary, over 1,000 viewers voluntarily participated in a pre and post survey to share feedback about their experiences and opinions on mental health. After viewing the film, stigma related to mental health conditions was significantly reduced for both people in the mental health profession and those outside the profession. After viewing, people who reported having been diagnosed with a mental health condition reported being more likely to disclose their mental illness to their friends (72.3%) and family (67.2%).

Equine-Assisted Therapy Program
Started in 2018, in partnership with Nova Southeastern University, The Quell Foundation funded a program measuring the effectiveness of equine therapy facilitated for at-risk youth under the guardianship of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

Masquerade Ball
Each year, The Quell Foundation hosts a charitable Masquerade Ball to raise funds for our programs and reduce the stigma of mental health illness through individual storytelling.

Falmouth Road Race
Every year, The Quell Foundation participates in the Falmouth Road Race to spread the word about The Quell Foundation, and our mission to further reduce the stigma around mental health. Every year, multiple runners participate for The Quell Foundation who support our mission and help us raise money.

Podcast
The Quell Foundation released a podcast to support the mental wellness of frontline medical professionals working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The podcast has been downloaded by over 6,000 individuals in 21 countries in 5 continents.


What's Next:

Lift the Mask: Sound the Alarm Documentary
A sequel to our Lift the Mask, Portraits of Life with Mental Illness documentary that focuses on the experiences of first responders, who are currently experiencing the 6th highest suicide rate by occupation.

Residency program
Funding a residency program.

First Responder Resiliency Project
The Quell Foundation is developing its First Responder Resiliency Project designed to normalize a new culture for mental wellness in the first responder community by building resilient mindsets at work, home and into retirement through trusted and proven educational resources.