Mission
Mission.
To promote hope, recovery, resilience and advance health equity in Washtenaw County by providing high quality, integrated behavioral health services to adults and youth with intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental health concerns, or substance use needs.
Vision.
All residents can secure supports to improve their quality of life and reach their full potential.
Values.
| Excellence. | We provide the highest level of service to promote recovery, quality of life and self-sufficiency through proven and innovative practices. We recognize that the foundation of excellent service is our relationships. |
| Growth. | We believe in the capacity for change at every stage of development. We grow through shared learning, lived experiences and mentoring. |
| Well-being. | We cultivate well-being through a commitment to physical and emotional safety, active listening, and a culture of appreciation. |
| Inclusion. | Together we build a welcoming, respectful environment for all people. Through active engagement and shared decision-making, we build a stronger community. |
| Community. | We develop strong, trusting partnerships with the people we serve, in our broader community, and within our own organization while advancing health equity. |
| Accountability. | We are accountable to those we serve, to the larger community, and to each other for the equitable, effective, and efficient use of our resources. |
| Equity. | Services will be delivered with a focus on eliminating health inequities by addressing and reducing the racial and economic disparities frequently impacting Black, Indigenous and People of Colors’ health status, access, and outcomes. |
Motto.
The not-quite-official WCCMH motto, “always looking forward,” is a tribute to our dear brother, John Loring.
John’s tireless efforts and caring commitment to the citizens of Washtenaw is well known. Among many other contributions, John brought the SOAR initiative to Michigan in 2007. The initiative has helped thousands of individuals with a mental illness, medical impairment, or co-occurring substance us disorder--those who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness--apply for and secure social security/social security disability income.
We lost our brother John from an inoperable brain tumor soon after his diagnosis in early 2015. The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution honoring his memory and tremendous work in April 2015 and a ceremony dedicating a conference room in his honor at his primary work site on North Fourth Street in Ann Arbor was attended by many in April 2016.
John's loss--as a husband, father, brother, friend, colleague, and dedicated advocate--is felt across all of Washtenaw County. “Always looking forward,” John's mantra and WCCMH's motto, honors his commitment to the greater good, his illumination of the value of dedication and service to the community, and his lasting impact on all who knew him.