Your gift supports mental wellbeing for all

Please click here or scan the QR code below to donate to Positive Directions!

Dear friends,

It is with great excitement and urgency that I am writing to you as the new Interim Executive Director of Positive Directions. For the past year I served on the board of directors leading our strategic plan and creating a renewed vision. We are a small nonprofit organization with an outsized impact – an innovator in mental health. I’m proud that we alone offer free 1:1 peer support for youth, and that we offer free lifesaving support groups (SMART Recovery, Alternatives to Suicide), while remaining committed to never turning anyone away from counseling services due to their inability to pay. I’m writing to ask for your help to maintain our ability to offer these vital services to all persons in need. 

In these turbulent times, mental health has never been more important. People are anxious, confused and tired. We feel tested on all levels. Yet as our world has grown more complicated, Positive Directions has focused and deepened our commitment to our communities.

Our mission is simple and urgent: to be innovative community leaders in mental health, substance prevention, and peer support, and to strengthen the mental wellbeing of all.

With the threat of the loss of government and federal funding (over 50% of our annual budget), your support is more essential than ever. Thanks to the support of donors like you, we can continue providing essential and affordable counseling and peer support services to those in need - enabling us to never turn anyone away because of their inability to pay for services. 

Last year we experienced a 15% increase in requests for counseling services for youth. In response, we added staff, programming, and renovated space for a children’s play therapy room. 

• Hired Melanie DeLapp, LMFT, our new Clinical Director, who focuses on kids and specializes in OCD, anxiety, specific phobias, school avoidance, and eating disorders.

• Launched the Mid-Fairfield Youth Cannabis Prevention Project, a regional capacity-building initiative working with local governments, law enforcement, and schools.

• Launched CTSupportGroup.org - the next generation of our TurningPointCT.org project - as an online platform developed by young people in CT to provide connection, peer support, and community.

The rising demand for our services underscores the need for your donations to deliver clinical, prevention, and peer support to all members of our community, regardless of their financial situation.

You can make a tax deductible donation through our website, scan this QR code, or mail a check to Positive Directions, 90 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06880. We also invite you to consider including us in your company’s corporate matching program. To learn more about Positive Directions’ impact on the community, visit PositiveDirections.org or follow us on Instagram @positivedrctns.

Thank you for being a vital part of our vision to improve mental wellbeing for individuals and communities. Your support is critical to make a tangible difference in the lives of many.

With gratitude,

Jessica Branson, Interim Executive Director

“My therapist has been an excellent listener. She has given me lifesaving tools and has made my journey into a “we,” making me feel safe.”

- Positive Directions Client