Support Ohana

Be part of a history-making initiative that will impact Monterey for generations to come. Make a gift today in support of Ohana, a one-of-a-kind program to improve youth mental and behavioral healthcare and enhance our community’s well-being.

Bertie’s gift

Join fellow philanthropists inspired by Bertie Bialek Elliot’s vision to transform child and adolescent mental and behavioral healthcare in the community she loves. Her generous, unprecedented $105.8 million gift to the Montage Health Foundation represents the largest donation ever in Monterey County — and one of the most significant philanthropic commitments in healthcare nationwide. A significant portion of the gift will go to an endowment to provide long-term funding for Ohana.

Addressing a critical need

Your support will not only make a difference to families in Monterey, but also to people throughout the country. Ohana serves as a beacon of hope, providing an example for other healthcare providers to meet a critically important and growing need across the U.S.

Help us meet the following challenges:

• Nationally, as many as one in five children and adolescents ages 9 through 17 may have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder. While an estimated 30,000 child and adolescent psychiatrists are needed in this country, only 6,300 are currently practicing
• In California, one in 13 children has a mental health condition that limits their ability to participate in daily activities, according to the California Health Care Foundation. From 1995 to 2010, the number of inpatient beds for young people with acute psychiatric issues declined 40 percent. There are fewer than 1,050 child and adolescent psychiatrists to serve more than 9 million children and teens in the state
• On the Central Coast, between 2014 and 2017, nearly one in six high school students surveyed in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District considered suicide and about one in three experienced symptoms of depression, according to the California Department of Education
• Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and 41 other California counties have no child/adolescent inpatient psychiatric beds, as reported by the California Hospital Association. Before Ohana launched, Monterey County youth in crisis had to spend several days in an emergency room, waiting to travel to another county more than 100 miles away for the care they needed

Dreams for the future

Your investment can help countless children and families, and you can trust the Montage Health Foundation to steward your contribution responsibly. Make a general donation to Ohana, or earmark your gift toward:

• Community education and outreach programs
• Family support groups for youth in crisis
• Full-day and afterschool programs for adolescents
• Ohana House, a 55,600 square-foot mental health facility currently in construction that will provide a welcoming, healing refuge
• Health promotion programs for first-time parents and for parents of young children who have disruptive or oppositional behaviors

Learn more about Ohana

Explore more information about Ohana, including the history of the organization, Bertie Bialek Elliot’s biography, Ohana’s leadership and staff, and resources for the media.