Katz Amsterdam awards almost $2.5M to support communities where Vail has resorts

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust and Foundation has awarded $2.46 million in mental and behavioral health grants to community-based organizations in nine mountain communities across North America, including Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe, and Truckee. This is the fifth year grants were awarded, with aggregate funding of over $13.5M, to help increase overall access to mental health care, reduce behavioral health stigma and improve community-developed services for communities of color and indigenous populations. This year’s grants will benefit over 40 organizations.

“We are thankful for the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust's continued support of local efforts to improve the health and well-being of Tahoe Truckee residents,” said Alison Schwedner, director of the Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee. “As youth mental health needs skyrocket across the country, we now have the opportunity to address this crisis at a local level. The funds granted by Katz Amsterdam will be used to increase youth access to counseling, nature-based therapeutic mentoring and substance use treatment services. Funds will also address one of our region’s most significant gaps in mental health services by supporting bilingual, bicultural, certified peer counseling and suicide prevention services."

“With this funding from the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust, we will be able to continue our work to create equitable access to behavioral health and substance use services in South Lake Tahoe and begin to truly engage and serve our BIPOC communities,” said Brian Conway, executive director of Tahoe Youth & Family Services.”

The Tahoe Youth & Family Services was awarded $100K and the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation received $247.5K in funding.

Rob Katz, founder and chairperson of the Katz Amsterdam Foundation board, and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, New York Times bestselling author and founder of Elana’s Pantry, launched the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust in 2017 and the Katz Amsterdam Foundation in 2018 to be a catalyst for eliminating barriers to health, increasing access to opportunity, protecting basic rights and improving outcomes for all communities, with particular focus on communities of color.

“We continue to be amazed at the work happening in mountain communities to improve behavioral health systems,” said Rob Katz. “The creative efforts of these nonprofits make a difference in the lives of so many every day. We are encouraged that mountain communities continue to network, collaborate and learn with each other. We’ve seen impactful and innovative ideas become reality as a result and we look forward to seeing what is next.”

The 2022 mountain mental and behavioral health grantees are:

Gunnison Valley Health Foundation – $60,000 ~ Crested Butte, Colo.
To expand equitable access by increasing Spanish-speaking resources and improving access to peer support services.

CB State of Mind – $60,000 ~ Crested Butte, Colo.
To implement a campaign to promote tele-behavioral health and to provide therapy scholarships for communities of color and those needing substance abuse treatment.

Eagle Valley Behavioral Health – $499,900 ~ Eagle County, Colo.
To support clinical and wellness care for the Spanish-speaking community through a new pilot EVBH partnership with the MIRA bus and Eagle Valley Community Foundation.

Upper Valley Cares – $30,000 ~ Stevens Pass, Wash.
To fund a telehealth program providing alcohol prevention and individual and group substance abuse disorder treatment in the local high school.

Tahoe Youth & Family Services – $100,000 ~ South Lake Tahoe, Calif. & Nev.
To expand substance abuse treatment, telehealth, and community-based mental health supports for youth and young adults in South Lake Tahoe, with an emphasis on supporting the Spanish-speaking community.

Summit Community Care Clinic – $138,000 ~ Summit County, Colo.
To improve integrated care and medication-assisted treatment services for those in Summit County.

Family Intercultural Resource Center – $225,000 ~ Summit County, Colo.
To continue expanding FIRC's ALMA program and develop Los Hombres, a partner program that aims to expand access to behavioral health for Spanish-speaking men.

Building Hope – $137,000 ~ Summit County, Colo.
Supporting the provision of therapy scholarships, the development of a community-wide alcohol misuse intervention campaign, and programs that support Summit County residents in recovery for substance use disorders.

Park City Community Foundation – $500,000 ~ Summit County, UT
To support community non-profits to hire bilingual mental health professionals, provide increased services to the Latinx community, and expand prevention, psychiatry and substance abuse treatment. Sub-grantees include: Latino Behavioral Health Services, Jewish Family Services, Communities that Care, CONNECT Summit County, People’s Health Clinic, Peace House, Christian Center of Park City, Holy Cross Ministries, Live Like Sam, Summit County Clubhouse, and the Summit County Recovery Foundation.

Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation – $247,500 ~ Tahoe-Truckee, Calif.
To support programs identified in the Tahoe Truckee community strategic plan, including those that focus on youth, bilingual and bicultural mental health, peer support, suicide prevention, and substance use disorder prevention and treatment. Sub-grantees include: Sierra Community House, Gateway Mountain Center, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, Granite Wellness and the Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee.

Vermont Community Foundation – $260,000 ~ Vermont
To support mental and behavioral health work with seven subgrantees in the Stowe, Ludlow, and Mt. Snow communities of Vermont who are providing clinical evaluations, tele behavioral health, wellness programming, peer recovery and wellness coaching, supported employment, and resilience farm volunteer food distribution and healing ceremonies for communities of color. Sub-grantees include: Lamoille Restorative Center, Lamoille Health Partners Behavioral Health & Wellness, North Central Vermont Recovery Center, North Star Health, Susu CommUNITY Farm, Jenna’s Promise, and Turning Point Center of Springfield.

Whistler Blackcomb Foundation - $200,000 ~ Whistler, B.C., Canada
To support local non-profits working to improve equitable access to mental behavioral health for First Nations Communities, and address substance use via prevention, education, harm reduction, wellness, and reintegration services. Sub-grantees include: Whistler Community Services Society, Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre, Squamish Helping Hands Society, and Sea-to-Sky Community Services.

In addition to these mountain community mental health grants, in 2022 Katz Amsterdam also made grants of $2.16 million to combat inequities for people of color in accessing mental health, $5.55 million in grants to increase civic engagement, $2.4 million to protect access to reproductive health and abortion services, and $1.6 million to provide youth access to snowsports. For more information on the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust and Foundation, visit katzamsterdam.org.