The impact investing holding company's partnership and financial commitment offers a beacon of hope through the first LGBTQ+ wellness and behavioral health app
DENVER, July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- CoPeace, an ESG holding company that invests in growing companies demonstrating social and environmental impact, is partnering with You:Flourish, the first mental health and wellness smartphone application designed specifically for the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.
Validating the urgent need for a digital tool that addresses the need for accessible LGBTQ+ affirming behavioral health support, CoPeace has committed to the role of co-lead investor in You:Flourish's current angel round capital raise. In addition, CoPeace will provide a range of finance, operations and marketing services to You:Flourish. CoPeace's fractional C-suite support will assist You:Flourish's operational strategy, business model refinement and recruitment.
"You:Flourish meets a critical need in society and the team at CoPeace, myself in particular, is dedicated to growing You:Flourish into a thriving company," said Jacob Miller, analytics manager for CoPeace and project lead on the You:Flourish initiative. "I've had my fair share of mental health struggles over the years. You:Flourish will help people like me find impactful and affirming support so we can all be the best versions of ourselves."
Designed by public health, wellness and behavioral health professionals, the You:Flourish platform is modeled on a behavior change framework that will enable users to customize a peer support community with shared identities, establish wellness goals, track daily habits and earn rewards for engagement. In addition to a library of resources and interactive content, a directory of vetted mental health professionals with the expertise to provide culturally relevant and LGBTQ+ affirming behavioral health interventions will be accessible.
Funding for digital health is at an all-time high. In 2021, total funding among U.S.-based digital health startups accounted for $29.1 billion across 729 deals. Overall investment nearly doubled the previous record, which was $14.9 billion in 2020, according to RockHealth.org.
CoPeace's team brings more than 50 years of strategic financial leadership through each funding phase, which will establish You:Flourish for future sustainable growth. The CoPeace team is spearheading You:Flourish's crowdfunding phase of fundraising, which will launch later in the third quarter.
There is an urgent need for digital mental health support for the LGBTQ+ community. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, 48% of transgender adults have attempted suicide in their lifetime, compared with 4% of the general U.S. population. The Trevor Project's 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health reported that rates of suicidal thoughts have trended upward among LGBTQ young people over the past three years, with nearly half indicating they had strong thoughts of killing themselves.
Across the country, Americans as a whole are struggling to find mental health providers. The National Alliance on Mental Illness states that 55% of U.S. counties do not have a single practicing psychiatrist. While mental health challenges and suicide continue to increase, there has yet to be a digital resource that supports behavioral health within the LGBTQ+ community.
You:Flourish Founder and Interim CEO Steven Haden understands what's at stake and laments the lack of opportunities to find healthy connections and reliable resources within the LGBTQ+ community.
"As a gay man who has had my own struggles with mental health, I have experienced the loneliness and lack of affirming mental health support," said Haden. "We need more than empty gestures from political leaders and mental health professionals who say they care but don't have the requisite training to move our community from surviving to thriving as a whole."
Motivated by his struggle with mental health challenges, Haden started Envision:You, a nonprofit that addresses the gaps in behavioral health outcomes for LGBTQ+ individuals. Envision:You offers co-created community programming, advocacy engagement, public awareness campaigns and evidence-based training. Envision:You created You:Flourish and owns part of the company.
"Through my work with Envision:You, we've had the resources, research and community programs, and it is still not enough. Envision:You created You:Flourish to give individuals access to vetted resources and identity-affirming connections no matter where they live or the time of day," said Haden. "One touch or tap, and a world of possibilities will open up at your fingertips to support your well-being."
As a public benefit corporation — like CoPeace — You:Flourish works to provide behavioral health and wellness resources to the LGBTQ+ community in alignment with CoPeace's impact investing philosophy. Focusing on "doing active good" through investments in private companies, impact investments address significant social and environmental problems.
About CoPeace
CoPeace is a forward-thinking impact investing holding company, building a portfolio of carefully selected for-profit companies with measurable social and environmental impact. CoPeace is democratizing the investment world by allowing everyone, not just wealthy investors, to invest in private impact companies via its holding company structure. In addition, CoPeace provides a variety of consulting services to organizations demonstrating positive social or environmental impact. As a designated Certified B Corp and a public benefit corporation, CoPeace is committed to acting morally, ethically and responsibly in regard to society, the environment, the natural world and the world at large. To learn more about CoPeace and how you can grow your money for good, visit http://www.copeace.com.
About You:Flourish
You:Flourish is a public benefit corporation balancing purpose and profit to bring wellness and affirming resources to members of the LGBTQ+ community. The You:Flourish smartphone application is created, curated and supported by Envision:You, a nonprofit organization that seeks to close gaps in behavioral health outcomes for LGBTQ+ individuals through co-created community programming, advocacy engagement, public awareness campaigns and evidence-based training. The You:Flourish app is in development with AppIt Ventures. Visit http://www.you-flourish.com for more information.
Media Contact
Ken Reed, CoPeace PBC, 1 (720) 233-4215, [email protected]
Kelly Behm, Cohn Marketing, 720-204-0442, [email protected]
SOURCE CoPeace PBC
Share this article