FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Emily Kerr, Founder and Executive Director, Charleston Hope | 843-608-0188 | emily@charlestonhope.org
Charleston Hope Receives $20,000 from the Roper Saint Francis Physicians Endowment to Strengthen the Care Coordination at the Heart of Its School Mental Health Model
The grant invests in the team role that connects referred children to care, as Charleston Hope reshapes school mental health around a coordinated team instead of a single clinician
CHARLESTON, S.C. ([Month Day], 2026) Charleston Hope, a nonprofit that embeds mental health support inside Title I elementary schools, has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Roper Saint Francis Physicians Endowment, administered by Coastal Community Foundation. The grant funds care coordination within THRIVE, Charleston Hope's school-based mental health program, and invests in the role the organization sees as the foundation of its entire model.
Most school mental health programs are built around placing a clinician in a building. Charleston Hope has built a team. In each THRIVE school, a licensed clinician, a year-round care coordinator, and supervised graduate interns work alongside teachers and school staff as part of the school's own team. The care coordinator is the person who holds that team together, reviewing every referral, engaging families, coordinating assessments, placing each child with a clinician, following up on missed sessions, and keeping school staff informed through a shared daily tracker.
Research shows why that role matters. Nationally, nearly half of families who need help coordinating their child's mental health care never receive it, and children whose coordination needs are met are 12 percentage points less likely to go without the care they need (Graaf et al., 2026). In one screening study, 80 percent of students referred to school-based services reached care, compared with 42 percent of those referred to community providers (Husky et al., 2011). Even so, research led by Dr. Malena Nygaard of the University of South Carolina found that care coordination in schools is usually informal and depends on whichever provider happens to be there (Nygaard et al., 2024).
Charleston Hope is turning that informal work into a defined system. Its care coordinators take part in each school's Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) process, so every referral follows one shared path from a teacher's first concern to a child's first session. Coordinators are employed year-round, which gives families and school staff a consistent person to turn to. This year Charleston Hope has committed that at least 80 percent of referred children will be assigned to a clinician within eight school days, and it is working with Dr. Nygaard to build a formal care coordination framework and a playbook that other schools and community organizations can use to bring the same system into their own buildings.
In the 2025-26 school year, THRIVE served 62 students with 796 hours of therapy at Memminger, Hunley Park, and Pepperhill Elementary Schools, and this year's goal is to reach 100 children. Because insurance rarely pays for care coordination, philanthropic investment like the Physicians Endowment grant is what keeps this role in place for children.
"A clinician can only help the child who makes it to the therapy room," said Emily Kerr, Founder and Executive Director of Charleston Hope. "Our care coordinators are a major part of the reason children get there. They see a child, and their family, through the process from start to finish. That team is what sets our model apart, and we are grateful to the Roper Saint Francis Physicians Endowment and Coastal Community Foundation for investing in it."
About Charleston Hope
Founded in 2012, Charleston Hope brings mental health care to children where they already are, inside Title I elementary schools in the Charleston tri-county area. Through THRIVE, its school-based mental health program, Charleston Hope places licensed clinicians, care coordinators, and graduate interns in partner schools to provide individual and group counseling, connect families to care, and train teachers in trauma-informed practice. Through Step-In, an after-school program for girls in grades 3 through 5, it teaches coping and resilience skills grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy. Learn more at charlestonhope.org.
Media Contact
Emily Kerr, Founder and Executive Director 843-608-0188 | emily@charlestonhope.org P.O. Box 21315, Charleston, SC 29414
