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Help@Hand Project Dashboard

Help@Hand Project Dashboard

Join us in celebrating how far the Help@Hands Collaborative has come with innovation projects!

Participant Testimonials

Take a moment and see testimonials from participants on how they benefited from the Help@Hand project. Then learn about what it takes to serve a community with an innovative idea. 

Help@Hand Innovation Journey Timeline

Help@Hand is a $75.2 million dollar innovation project that was funded as a result of Proposition 63 and the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). This timeline shows the start dates of counties/cities and key program milestones along with the publication of evaluation reports. Collaborative funding for innovation projects was used to:

  • invest in developing local resources
  • purchase devices
  • acquire technology licenses
  • develop the Help@Hand website
  • plan technology pilots
  • translate Collaborative materials and,
  • cover general project management and evaluation costs.

Summary of Implementations

Counties and cities implemented Help@Hand projects to learn how technology can improve access to mental and behavioral health care. Implementations were started with a plan to use technology. Then it was realized that there was a need to reduce the digital divide for participants by providing services in Digital Mental Health Literacy Training (DMHLT). As the spirit of innovation grew, counties and cities explored even more technology and services to reach a greater number of target groups such as older adults, Transition-Aged Youth (TAY), New Mothers, also known as “participants”.​

​Additionally, counties and cities worked with internal departments, Peers, and vendors such as companies that provide marketing and training to get everyone ready to use the apps. When planning was done, implementations became “Active”. This means that people are receiving access to mental and behavioral health care technology and services. Eventually, counties and cities collected exceptional learnings at the end of their projects and “Completed” their participation in the Help@Hand program. ​

This table illustrates the magnitude of products and services leveraged throughout the Help@Hand innovation program. In the “Products/Services” column, services are indicated with an asterisk.

Servicing Our Community

Counties/Cities in the Help@Hand program approached innovation projects with the idea of addressing mental health care needs for community members. Outreach was conducted to spread the word about Innovation products and services as available options to help people through their daily challenges and exceptional circumstances such as COVID-19. This effort drove participation on pilots and implementation projects using common and unique marketing strategies. Marketing activities included installing product kiosks in clinics, organizing diverse marketing campaigns with flyers, radio ads, community outreach, leveraging social media and building relationships with community partners to spread the word.

The Help@Hand project reached and served a diverse group of community members: All County/City residents, Schizophrenia Spectrum, Transition Aged Youth (TAY), Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Isolated Older adults, Residents with Eating Disorders, Digital Mental Health Literacy Trainers, School Youth, Men Ages 45 to 60, Adults, Spanish Speakers, Homeless, Geographically Isolated, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Patients. To reach such a diverse group of people, counties/cities applied their awareness and understanding of community needs, and a little creativity on sending them the message for the types of mental health options that were available to the community.

The Help@Hand project continues to reach and serve a diverse group of community members: All County/City residents, Schizophrenia Spectrum, Transition Aged Youth (TAY), Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Isolated Older adults, Residents with Eating Disorders, Digital Mental Health Literacy Trainers, School Youth, Men Ages 45 to 60, Adults, Spanish Speakers, Homeless, Geographically Isolated, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Patients. To reach such a diverse group of people, counties/cities applied their awareness and understanding of community needs, and a little creativity on sending them the message for the types of mental health options that were available to the community.

Peer Contributions

One Help@Hand goal was to incorporate Peer input, expertise, knowledge and lived experience at all levels of the project, and to support the use of Innovation apps through Peer outreach and training.

Peers have brought a wealth of knowledge and care that was critical to project success. Their contributions included, but were not limited to: device testing, technology support, device distribution, program material creation, Digital Mental Health Literacy Training (DMHLT). Peers were often “boots on the ground”, communicating directly with project participants and community organization members, acting as a bridge between products/services and users. They were as varied as the people they served and continued to deliver support to those in need.

*This page was last updated: December 2023