Aquí Para Tí / Here For You

For 20 years, Aquí Para Tí (APT) has provided the Latinx community of Minnesota with holistic youth development support, offering a safe space for parents and their children to discuss their mental health struggles. Operating within Hennepin Healthcare’s Whittier Clinic, APT has become nationally renowned for its innovative model of delivering services to Latinx children and their parents simultaneously.

Through APT’s parallel care structure, when a teen says, “I want to see what my mom has to say,” their provider is able to immediately check in with the waiting parent and bring back an answer. In fact, during the typical mental health appointment, team members connect frequently with a patient’s family.

To better accommodate its family-centered youth care and facilitate confidential check-ins with parents, the APT leaders seek to construct a private family room within the larger space they currently share with Physical Therapy. A new, private room will reflect strong family ties and the active participation of parents during their child’s appointment.

Philanthropic Goal: $200,000

Currently, when team members need to conduct private conversations with parents, they must search for available rooms or spaces away from other patients within the Whittier Clinic. Furthermore, because our patient population cannot afford the luxury of childcare, parents must wait during long appointments together with the patient’s siblings.

The proposed new space would offer comfort to the entire family during stressful periods of mental health crises, featuring couches and tables where a patient’s siblings could do their homework or crafts as they wait.