Turn Someone's Hardship to HOPE
With the newest data available to us, we know that 1 in 4 people – or 331,000 people in our 7-county region – are living in poverty or are facing hardship. They struggle to afford just the basics needed: food, housing, transportation, child care, and education.
Help us lift our neighbors from hardship to hope by raising $75 million by 2030 to ensure all kids and families have what they need!
When behavioral health providers have the tools to succeed, more families can access the care they need. That is why Metro United Way launched the Clinical Entrepreneurship Program, a pilot designed to help mental health professionals gain the skills needed to start their own practices. With demand for behavioral health services rising sharply (79% of psychologists report increases in anxiety disorders) yet nearly half of Americans living in areas with behavioral health shortages, this program simultaneously creates new career pathways for mental health providers, offers employers a unique training benefit to improve retention of their clinicians, and builds mental health capacity across the region. In September 2025, we launched the pilot with 10 participants from four regional partner agencies: Maryhurst, St. John Center, Blue River Services, and Blueprint 502.
Fill out the form below or reach out to John Nevitt, Senior Manager, Economic Mobility, at john.nevitt@metrounitedway.org or (502) 292-6128.
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