Healthy Minds Policy Initiative is a nonpartisan, dedicated team of policy and mental health experts who collaborate with state and local leaders to develop and advance innovative, data-informed policies and capacity-building approaches in the prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders for Oklahomans.
Funded by The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, the initiative launched in 2019. The work stems from the 2018 Tulsa mental health study and plan, which called for a policy-focused initiative to build a culture of convening and problem-solving around mental health.
An estimated 578,000 Oklahoma adults — 1 in 5 of us — experience mental illness, and 225,000 have a substance use disorder. In addition, 44,000 Oklahoma children have experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year.
Too many Oklahomans go without treatment, and the consequences are felt in our families, businesses, schools and the criminal justice system.