Alliance will help drive capital towards scaling effective, evidence-based strategies, impacting the mental health of youth

(Black PR Wire) NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) today announced the establishment of the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health (the “Alliance”). The Alliance, which brings together key leaders in the children’s mental health space, will combine the resources and reach of Morgan Stanley and its Foundation with the knowledge and experience of its distinguished nonprofit partner organizations. The Alliance will help address strategically children’s mental health concerns and the far-reaching challenges of stress, anxiety, and depression.

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The Alliance will seek to drive impact for young people - especially in marginalized populations - by assisting youth through formative transitions, and helping parents recognize mental health disorders and support their children. Developing innovative approaches and scaling best practices, the Alliance will work to generate a systemic tipping point in how children’s mental health is addressed.

The Alliance will deliver catalytic philanthropy in four ways to help make a lasting impact on children’s mental health:

1. Growth Capital – funding strategic nonprofit partner organizations to bring to scale proven methods of helping improve children’s mental health outcomes.
2. Capacity Building – helping ensure that effective organizations can sustain their practices.
3. Seed Funding – bringing emerging and innovative ideas to fruition.
4. Thought Leadership – using its voice and our deep global connections to raise awareness, drive advanced thinking and reduce stigma.

“As a Firm deeply rooted in its communities around the world, Morgan Stanley recognizes and seeks to help improve the issues that are negatively impacting people globally, and mental health is certainly at the forefront,” said James Gorman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley. “Mental health doesn’t discriminate, reaching people from all backgrounds, and we believe that with the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health we can help make a tangible impact and create a path forward.”

For over 50 years, the Morgan Stanley Foundation has worked to help improve children’s quality of life, and mental health is a natural expansion of its important work to generate positive impact. Mental health conditions affect millions of children, and the trends are worsening: one in five children in the United States – more than 17 million – have a diagnosable mental health disorder by age 18.i Yet only a fraction are treated due to a deficiency in available resources and an overall lack of awareness. Furthermore, mental health conditions disproportionately affect marginalized populations due to practical and systemic barriers, as well as the stigma associated with mental health. The Alliance is a strategic extension of the Morgan Stanley Foundation’s enduring commitment to supporting both the physical and mental health of children so they can have the resources and support necessary for a healthy life.

“At Morgan Stanley, we are committed to leveraging our global reach and ongoing dedication to our communities to help address the challenge of children’s mental health. This global commitment is an important step towards a world where no child goes without care,” said Tom Nides, Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley.

“As mental health challenges amongst children and adolescents are rapidly becoming more pervasive and more urgent, we firmly believe there is not only an opportunity, but an obligation for the private sector to play a critical role in improving children’s mental health,” said Joan Steinberg, President, Morgan Stanley Foundation. “With a longstanding commitment to children’s wellbeing, we believe that the Alliance will generate conceivable and workable solutions to help improve mental health. Through education, prevention, awareness, and innovation, the Morgan Stanley Foundation is proud to make a difference in children’s mental health.”

The founding nonprofit partner organizations of the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health include:

• U.S. Nonprofit Partner Organizations:
  • Child Mind Institute
  • The Jed Foundation
  • NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
  • The Steve Fund
• International Nonprofit Partner Organizations:
  • Mind HK, Hong Kong
  • Place2Be, London
  • SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), Glasgow

In addition to our founding nonprofit partner organizations, the Alliance has established an advisory board that brings together leaders in the children’s mental health field to provide counsel on the strategic efforts of the Alliance in order to generate meaningful contribution and impact. The members of the advisory board include:

• Joan Steinberg (Chairman), President, Morgan Stanley Foundation
• Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, President, The Child Mind Institute
• John MacPhee, MBA, MPH, Executive Director/CEO, The JED Foundation
• Annelle Primm, MD, Senior Medical Director, The Steve Fund
• David Stark, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Head of HR Data & Analytics, Morgan Stanley
• Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, MD, Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Through its founding nonprofit partner organizations and future initiatives, the Alliance will further Morgan Stanley’s commitment to giving children the healthy start in life they need to succeed.

To learn more about the Alliance, please see morganstanley.com/mentalhealthalliance

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

© 2020 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Members SIPC.

i Kimball, H. & Miller, C. (2015). Children’s Mental Health Report. New York: Child Mind Institute.

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