Hively Ribbon Cutting May 5, 2023
Hively Board Chair Ryan Duncan Anderson and CEO Mary Hekl cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of Hively Mental Health with Tri-Valley leaders and the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce
The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Hively Mental Health with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, highlighting Mental Health Awareness Month
[Pleasanton, CA] – The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce celebrated the opening of Hively Mental Health with a Ribbon Cutting ceremony on Friday, May 5th. The opening of Hively’s second site-certified clinical therapy location marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Month and highlights the Tri-Valley non-profit’s dedication to providing affordable and accessible mental health support for local families. Hively also provides clinical mental health services from offices in San Leandro.
With more than 10 dedicated therapists on staff, Hively provides affordable (medi-cal and sliding scale fee), high quality, professional counseling services for a variety of challenges affecting the emotional health and well-being of individuals and their families. Hively offers in-person and remote one-to-one therapy, as well as group counseling sessions. Clinicians are licensed MFT (Marriage & Family Therapists) and supervised MFT trainees.
Hively CEO Mary Hekl and Board Chair Ryan Duncan Anderson both remarked that the opening marked the culmination of years of work and was born of a shared vision for establishing community mental health services for children and their families. In 2019, Hively acquired Family Services of San Leandro where they continue to provide counseling services. The additional Tri-Valley location, making Hively one of the few Medi-cal providers in the area, ensures more widespread accessibility for low-income families seeking help.
In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a state of emergency in adolescent mental health. For emphasis, Hekl noted that in 2020, the number of adolescents ages 12-17 who had experienced at least one major depressive disorder would have filled the 35 largest college football stadiums in the country. With demand for services at an all-time high, Hekl explained Hively’s emphasis would be on the three A’s: Affordability, Availability, Accessibility. While Hively continues to connect Alameda County families with child care subsidies and daily resources such as food, clothing and diapers, she noted that counseling services are increasingly a fundamental resource that families cannot go without. Said Hekl, “at Hively, we treat the whole family.”
Hively Director of Clinical Services, Sue Denny, highlighted the MFT trainee program as an important and necessary element in growing services to meet demand. “Hively is contributing to the supply of counseling services by helping to train the next generation of therapists,” said Denny. Hively licensed therapists supervise trainees as they complete the necessary clinical hours to gain licensure.
Tri-Valley leaders in attendance included Livermore Mayor John Marchand who lauded the increased availability of mental health services in the Tri-Valley. He also echoed CEO Hekl’s appeal to treat people suffering from mental illness (and their loved ones) with “kindness and grace.” Said Marchand, “has there ever been a time when these two traits have been in shorter supply? We need kindness and grace now more than ever.”
Pleasanton Vice Mayor Jack Balch spoke to the epidemic of loneliness and especially the pandemic’s impact on the mental wellness of young people, resulting in the growing need for help. Said Balch, “It should ring true in all of our hearts as to the need….we hear it; we see it; we know it.”
COO of Stanford Valley Health Care, Tracey Lewis Taylor was in attendance at the event as both Hively Board Treasurer and Pleasanton Chamber Board Member. She remarked that the opening of Hively Mental Health highlighted an important collaboration in the community and one that uniquely encompassed many of her roles.. “I think about it in my work everyday. To have a healthy economic community, you need to first have a healthy community.”
Hively Mental Health is part of a growing list of community resources made available by Hively to assist families-in-need. Hively supports Alameda County families through child care stipends and referrals, parent education classes, and family classes, in addition to daily essentials such as food, diapers and clothing, provided via two Family Resource Centers operated in Dublin and Oakland. Hively also provides support, training, supplies, and business development guidance to child care providers to sustain the development of high quality child care spaces in the Tri-Valley.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, Hively is partnering with Page Mill Winery in Livermore to host a Twilight Tasting on Thursday, May 11th in support of Hively Mental Health. For more information or to donate, please visit behively.org.
For more details, contact Karen Brace at (925) 417-8733 or email kbrace@behively.org for more information.
For more information about Hively services or to donate, please visit our website: www.behively.org
