Grantee Spotlight: Maria Droste Counseling Center

Maria Droste Counseling Center (MDCC) provides mental health services and counseling to underserved and marginalized populations throughout Colorado. Everyone has a right to mental health, regardless of wealth.

In 2020, MDCC received our $100,000 grant to pilot a project to introduce telehealth to its mental health counselors and clients. Their success was extraordinary! Between July 2020 and December 2021, they provided 27,054 telehealth sessions, which accounted for 79% of all sessions.

With Impact100’s help, MDCC now extends its services digitally to all four corners of the state through telehealth offerings. Closeness doesn’t have to be measured by physical distance anymore. But these connections do have price tags; not all people have access to computer technology. Those who didn’t have access before the pandemic became even more isolated, shut inside of their homes with no computer screen to reach out and connect. MDCC likens the development of its digital service delivery to building a plane while flying. The wheels are off the ground and they’re traveling to meet their clients wherever they are.

In 2023, MDCC is working to expand its services, finding innovative new ways to reach clients that have limited access to transportation or technology and reducing the stigma that can come with mental health counseling.

Here is one example of the kind of impact MDCC has been able to provide.

Dear Maria,

Hi. I don’t know if you will remember me or not. A couple of years ago, you saved my life. You were there for me in ways that nobody else could have been, and you have all of my gratitude. The reason I’m writing to you is while doing my Spring Cleaning, I found the contract that we signed together promising that I would never hurt myself. As I read it, I remembered how much you impacted my life. My life isn’t spectacular in any way, but I’m happy. In fact, the last time I felt depressed, not just sad, was while I was in Colorado … 3 years ago. I’m now an honors senior at a university out east, and I hope to have my teaching degree in about a year.

I’m still single, but I think I’ve matured a lot since the last person I dated, and will have healthier relationships in the future. Now, I’ve just got to find the right partner. ☺ Well, I’ll let you go now. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. And I do hope you remember me because I will never forget you and what you did for me.

For more information on how you can support mental health for all regardless of wealth please contact: development@mariadroste.org