The Arthur Project, part of New Profit’s Mental Health Equity Catalyze Cohort of Social Entrepreneurs, works to create a replicable model that professionalizes traditional mentoring by using clinically-focused mentors to work intensively with youth throughout middle school. Through the science of relationship-based learning, they foster a profound sense of mattering that expands opportunities in the lives of children. The Arthur Project’s vision is to redefine youth mentoring to expand the power of relationships in a child’s life.

To help us get closer to The Arthur Project’s work, Executive Director Jessica Greenawalt took time to shine a light on why centering mental health will require institutional change and how the organization’s work is strengthened by the input of young people.

Q: What is the one thing you wish more people knew about the issue your organization is working to solve?

A: I wish that more people knew that we were solving issues that are the result of centuries of systemic and systematic oppression. Dismantling institutions that were designed to keep people at the margins, to segregate, to withhold access —these things take a great deal of time and emotional labor. I wish more people knew how serious these issues are— and at the same time, understood how imperative it is that there is equal attention given to joy, and to healing and liberation.

Q: What would have to be true for the work that you do to not be needed?

A: In order for our work to be unnecessary, a number of things would need to be true. First, collectively, we’d need to take a comparable view of mental healthcare as we do of physical healthcare. We’d need to internalize the belief that preventative mental healthcare means greater quality of life for us all. 

In a similar light, we’d have to compel the systems around us to, at the very least, provide basic safety nets for individual and community mental health in the same way that basic health care is assured (albeit in a greatly flawed and fraught manner). 

Lastly (and I understand this is a tall order) we’d have to dismantle the tangled web of racism, patriarchy, and capitalism. These root causes of inequity—including inequity in mental health—must be addressed if we want to collectively thrive. 

Q: What has been the most fulfilling part of the work that you do?

A: The most fulfilling part of my work is being with the kids and seeing them take ownership over the organization. There is nothing I love more than when a young person approaches me with an idea about how to shape or refine our model. Our young people are the catalyst for our organizations’ evolution, and it’s a joy and privilege to be the conduit for their brilliance.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?

A: My leadership style is evolving. As an early leader, I adopted practices that felt incongruent with my nature and with my desire to build an anti-oppressive organization. I was a “bigger, better, faster” leader who felt I needed to make executive decisions with minimal input and believed that this was in service of the greater good. 

I’ve evolved toward a more collaborative style of leadership. I solicit input as often as I possibly can and recognize my limitations as opportunities for growth. In many ways, I feel as if I know less now than I did 20 years ago when I first entered the field – and this perspective allows me to see everyone who crosses my path as a teacher. 

To get closer to The Arthur Project visit their website, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.