The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Recognizing the tremendous anguish that severe mental illness inflicts upon young people and their families, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) invested $16.9 million into the Early Detection and Intervention for the Prevention of Psychosis Program (EDIPPP). EDIPPP reflects the Foundation’s belief that severe mental illness can be prevented. This is such a hopeful prospect that EDIPPP represents the Foundation’s single largest investment in mental health to date. RWJF has a special interest in ensuring and improving the health of America's youth. In addition, the Foundation actively seeks successful community models for addressing pressing health issues that can be replicated on a broader scale. EDIPPP reflects the Foundation's commitment in both these areas.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
RWJF is guided by a fundamental premise: it is the steward of private funds that must be used in the public’s interest. It also understands that its greatest asset is not its endowment; it is the way the organization can help to create the momentum needed to excite change.
It accomplishes this by building evidence and producing, synthesizing and distributing knowledge, ideas and expertise – harnessing the power of partnerships, bringing together key players, collaborating with colleagues—and securing the sustained commitment of other funders and advocates to improve the health and health care of all Americans.
The Vulnerable Populations Portfolio
EDIPPP is clustered together with several other programs within the RWJF Vulnerable Populations Portfolio that have four core elements in common:
- They offer an opportunity to improve health by taking a fresh approach to a long-standing problem
- They address poor health status in the context of other factors like housing, education and poverty
- They make fundamental changes in how services are organized and delivered
- They address the lack of policy, financing, or service integration among local service providers and state and federal agencies
Along with learning from and disseminating information about existing programs within the Vulnerable Populations Portfolio, RWJF is also seeking to explore new opportunities in the following areas:
- Helping to meet emerging health needs of communities
- Identifying smarter, cost-effective ways to address problems of the most vulnerable
- Seeking new and different partners to expand reach
- Taking smart innovations to new communities
