Tri-County Selected As Harvest Ball Beneficiary

Tri-County Mental Health Services has been selected as one of the beneficiaries of the prestigious Harvest Ball for 2011.

“We are extremely gratified to have been selected by The Harvest Ball for 2011,” Tri-County CEO Tom Cranshaw said. “We feel this is a strong vote of confidence for our services and the great team we have here at Tri-County and in our programs in Northland communities.”

Harvest Ball funds have helped Tri-County to play a leading role in addressing depression and related mental disorders for older adults. Several years ago, Tri-County learned that approximately 20 percent of the area’s population is 60 years old or older, but only some five percent of Tri-County patient-consumers were older adults. To bridge this gap, Tri-County developed an outreach program for older adults to help them better understand the aging process and to help reduce the stigma of mental disorders.

Tri-County also created an older adult mental health coalition for the Northland, which meets monthly with other stakeholders for mental health and older adult partners. Tri-County provides community screenings and provides community education to older adults, their caretakers and health providers who treat older adults. Evaluation and treatment services are also provided either at Tri-County or with in-home services.

Harvest Ball funding supplements earlier funding from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. This support permitted Tri-County to serve the mental health needs of older adults throughout the Northland.

Scheduled for Nov. 19 at the Grand Ballroom at Bartle Hall, The Harvest Ball has become the largest single fundraising event devoted exclusively to raising funds for charities that serve communities in the Northland.

Founded in 1987 under the leadership of Patty Garney and Sandra Doolin Aust, the ball has distributed more than $5.2 million to more than 60 charities. Past recipients include Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City, Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinic, Harvesters, Synergy Services and the YMCA of Greater Kansas City. Over the past eight years, Tri-County has received more than $120,000 from the program.

You may also learn more at the Harvest Ball website, harvestballsociety.org.

Return to Article Index | Return to Newsletter Index

---