After tumultuous years, Healing Minnesota aims to jumpstart residents’ recovery

Mahry Torres-Castillo still chokes up when she recalls her community’s experience during Operation Metro Surge, targeted by federal agents and forced into hiding. 

“Our collective strength and our resiliency was really put to the test,” said Torres-Castillo, co-founder of Por el Amor a los Nuestros, offering mental health support for Spanish-speaking immigrant families in the Twin Cities metro area. “It was heartbreaking to hear people on the phone begging for food, being worried about taking their children to school, to the hospital or to the doctor.”

Today, months after the ICE drawdown, many people in her community are still struggling with mental health, Torres-Castillo said. A peer support group offered by Por el Amor operating since early 2023 has become a lifeline for families. And over the summer, the organization branched out, hosting two intergenerational gatherings in a suburban park. 

“I know people who are still hesitant to leave their homes to go to work,” she said. “We want to have a place where we can all come together and laugh and take a breath and feel welcome sharing our strengths and our hopes.” 

Related: The Minneapolis immigration crackdown ended months ago. For these little kids, trauma remains

Healing Minnesota

Homespun efforts like Por el Amor’s were just what staff at NAMI Minnesota looked at when they gathered this winter with the intention of figuring out how to address the tremendous toll recent events in Minnesota have taken on residents’ mental health, said Executive Director Marcus Schmit. 

“When you think about the pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, the economic impact of the social unrest, the Annunciation School shooting, immigration enforcement and Operation Metro Surge — It has rattled all of our communities,” Schmit said. 

Leading up to the gathering, NAMI Minnesota had been fielding a record number of calls and emails from people seeking mental health support. And while the situation felt dire, staff found hope in the work of programs like Por el Amor. 

“We saw a lot of community-based organizations set up response systems to meet emerging mental health needs,” Schmit said. “We wanted to help support and sustain that work.” 

Related: Hey Minnesotans, want a wellness boost? Seek out a Sound Garden.

So Schmit and his staff created an initiative, Healing Minnesota, to provide financial support for programs already working to address the mental health needs of their communities. The goal, they determined, would be to increase access to mental health support for all Minnesotans and ensure that communities have the tools they need to recover and thrive. 

Schmit set an ambitious goal of raising $1 million that would be used to improve access to mental health in marginalized communities and to support the work of small, community-based organizations. 

It was a daunting project, Schmit said, but the response from funders was overwhelmingly positive. The first big donation came from the Medica Foundation, which pitched in $500,000. After that, the Fred C. and Catherine B. Andersen Foundation gave $250,000, HealthPartners gave $100,000 and NAMI National gave $150,000. “That was our million,” Schmit said. 

Elyse Coleman, senior program manager for the Medica Foundation, said that she was inspired by Schmit’s enthusiasm for the project. “Having watched Marcus in other spaces listen authentically to individuals, and follow up that listening with action that takes that information into account, just gives me confidence that this is really going to work,” she said. 

Related: There’s a new voice advocating for mental health at the Capitol and throughout Minnesota

Schmit sees Healing Minnesota as an opportunity for the state to stand out as a beacon of hope. “Minnesotans really showed the world how we respond to trauma,” he said. “Now we want to be helping to lead the effort to show the world how we are going to recover.”

Spread the wealth

With base funds secured, NAMI Minnesota staff have started the process of identifying and distributing money to organizations providing community-based mental health services. So far, Schmit said, NAMI has given $65,000 to five nonprofits in amounts ranging from $5,500-$20,000. 

“There’s not a formal application process per se,” he said. “We’re relying on partners and communities to help us get connected to efforts that are underway. We are trying to  move these funds as quickly as possible.” 

The idea is that by identifying organizations that are doing good work, NAMI Minnesota will be able to further expand and build the organization’s statewide network of connections. “Our intention is not only to meet this urgent need but to also build these important partnerships along the way,” Schmit said.  

NAMI Minnesota’s established role as a connector ensures Healing Minnesota will have a lasting impact, Coleman said. “This can’t just be a right-now response,” she said. “It is thinking about, ‘What does healing look like? What does it mean to bring organizations and communities together to think about what it is going to take to heal our community and heal our people?’”

In Eagan, Caponi Art Park received $5,500 from Healing Minnesota to support the construction and maintenance of a sound garden – an installation by Minneapolis artist JG Everest blending sound and nature. 

The 60-acre sculpture garden and outdoor theater has expanded its commitment in recent years to neuroarts, the study of the connection between art and improved physical and mental health. The park has also forged a connection to NAMI Minnesota, hosting visits by members.

“We want to use the arts and the environment to help improve people’s lives,” said Cheryl Caponi, the park’s co-founder and executive director.

Por el Amor’s relationship with NAMI Minnesota began in November 2024. Through the Healing Minnesota initiative, the group was awarded $20,000 to support aspects of its programming including transportation, childcare, food, facilitators and legal help to secure its nonprofit status.  

“Beyond the funding, what means the most to us is knowing that someone believes in our community,” Torres-Castillo said. “We have been through a hard time. We want every person who comes to us to know that they are seen and heard and are not alone. This kind of support makes it possible.” 

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Originally reported by MinnPost by Andy Steiner. Read the full story at the source.