As children and teens across Connecticut continue facing mental health crises, NBT Bank is stepping up to help ensure youth have access to care and provide healing to adolescents in crisis through a $75,000 grant backing services at The Village, including its youth mental health Urgent Crisis Center (UCC) in Hartford.
The grant to The Village is focused on helping to address the needs of local families and children. The funds will help sustain The Village’s UCC—one of four grant-funded programs created in the state as a result of landmark bipartisan mental health legislation in the 2022 legislative session to address the state’s children’s mental health crisis—until a sustainable funding plan is developed.
“We’re honored to support the critical work that The Village is providing to the Greater Hartford region, especially the services through their UCC,” said NBT Bank Regional President Andreas Kapetanopoulos. “Support for mental health services is an important aspect to ensuring the future strength of our communities.”
The UCC provides urgent mental health support to youth who are experiencing a crisis—including depression, anxiety, out-of-control behaviors, substance use issues and thoughts of self-injury and suicide—to help them stabilize and work through challenges, get connected to ongoing care and guide families with safety planning and other resources. Since opening its doors in late July, the UCC has provided support to hundreds of children and adolescents.
“The mental health needs of children continue to be an urgent issue that we are committed to addressing, and our Urgent Crisis Center will be here to do exactly that,” said Village President & CEO Hector Glynn. “The Village is grateful to have friends and supporting organizations like NBT Bank who are stepping up to ensure that children and teens who are facing mental health challenges can get the help they need, and fast.”
NBT Bank, whose regional headquarters is located in West Hartford, is committed to strengthening the communities it serves through philanthropy and volunteerism. The bank is engaged in the communities where it does business and where its employees and directors live and work.
Community involvement is one of NBT’s core values that it lives out through investments of both money and the time of its employees. NBT has pledged to maintain charitable support in the markets served by Salisbury Bank following the merger of Salisbury into NBT by making special contributions totaling $500,000 to demonstrate the bank’s ongoing commitment to these markets.