Investing in the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Mothers and Children in Georgia
Over 90% of American adults believe that we’re experiencing a mental health crisis in our country. Alarmingly, suicide has become the second-highest cause of death among young people in the United States. Yet, philanthropy has lagged behind in this arena. Historically, only 1.3% of foundation giving has been directed towards mental and behavioral health.
The need is great. Since 2019, the Liz Blake Giving Fund has championed efforts to invest in Georgia’s mental health ecosystem with a focus on equipping and empowering under-resourced moms and children ages zero to three through a two-generation investment approach.
With relentless optimism, we seek to further a world where women are successful mothers,providers for their families and leaders in their communities. As such, our investments in support of the mental health and wellbeing of mothers and children focus on:
Healthy social-emotional development in children and infants and toddlers, also known as infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH).
Culturally competent, trauma-informed prenatal care to combat preterm births, low birthweight babies and high maternal death rates in Georgia.
Expansion of the mental health workforce by investing in all levels of care from peer support specialists to family navigators, nurse practitioners, and expert leadership in this field
Strategies that educate and empower women to prevent unplanned pregnancies and complete their education.
We wholeheartedly believe in the two-generation (2Gen) investment model, recognizing that children need healthy caregivers, and simultaneously, parents want to see their children thrive.
Supporting both children and their caregivers, the Liz Blake Giving Fund believes that two-generation (2Gen) models offer the most promising approaches to promote the well-being of women and children in Atlanta and beyond.
Why 2Gen Investments Matter
Funded Projects
The Liz Blake Giving Fund champions leaders in the behavioral and mental health ecosystem, looking to our partners as experts and innovators in their fields. Our support is intended to advance emerging research and agendas for impactful and sustaining change, as highlighted in our funded projects.
Believing in the two-generation investment model and the importance of bolstering the mental health ecosystem in Georgia, the Liz Blake Giving Fund collaborates with fellow donors and researchers through the Mental Health Funders Collective to collectively address Atlanta’s key points of vulnerability for women and children. By demonstrating scalability in our grants, our hope is that our investments give way to replicability, ultimately expanding access to inter-generational cycles of opportunity for those in the margins.
