Collaborating Communities & Organizations
Together we can stop the devastation of suicide.
COLlaborators
$3.3M+
Deployed (donations, fundraising & grants)
80%
Improvement to quality & coordination of care
30,000+
Volunteer Hours
At TUF, we are not afraid to challenge the status quo. When systems fail people, we advocate for structural change — grounded in evidence and lived experience — until better outcomes are possible.
Every system flaw reveals itself through lived experience. By paying close attention to individual and family stories, we uncover where coordination breaks down and where change must begin.
Lasting system change depends on trust between individuals, providers, and communities. Safe, steady coordination allows these relationships to form and care to flow. The key is to connect what already exists. By aligning providers, improving transitions, and reducing silos, we strengthen the entire care ecosystem rather than duplicating it.
The Community begins to inform our work
In 2018, TUF was the catalyst for, established, and funded the year-long Airdrie Mental Health Task Force (MHTF), with representation from 19 community key stakeholders. Key players included AHS, RCMP, Rocky View Schools, Children Services, Airdrie’s Mayor Peter Brown, and Dr. David Swann. The recommendations continue to inform Thumbs Up’s work.
The first phase of harmonized health
Throughout 2020 and 2021, 45 individuals and 70 family members participated in our Harmonized Health project which tested the effectiveness of a client-first community-based model to improve mental health outcome. Individual clients reported a more than 80% improvement in their quality of care and coordination of care. Families reported a 93% satisfaction with the Families Helping Families Program, and in almost all cases, a family’s developmental strengths improved.
The second phase of harmonized health
In 2023, TUF received two-year funding to implement a Community Care Team and create a future that hasn’t existed, where every investment improves outcomes, every effort has purpose, and every voice matters. The approach allows everyone can practice to the height of their skill sets, maximizing value for individuals, families, communities and the system itself. On a scale of 1 to 10, individuals rated their overall experience with Harmonized Health as a 9.3, with a 9.4 rating in quality of care and a 9.4 rating of their experience compared to past experiences. The independent project evaluation report notes that the approach works and is ready for expansion, guided by strategic planning and evidence-based implementation science principles.
TUF is ready to scale what works
Sustainable improvement requires a Harmonized Health hub-and-spoke framework that supports coordination, training, evaluation, and replication. Infrastructure protects the integrity of the model while allowing community-specific adaptation. Together, the hub and spokes create scalable, transferable system change.
System-wide change cannot be achieved in isolation. We are seeking strategic partners—philanthropic, governmental, and academic—who recognize that improving brain health requires collaboration, accountability, and long-term thinking. Next, TUF will further develop the hub and partner with their first spoke organization to advance the Harmonized Health framework.
Creating meaningful change
Thumbs Up Foundation’s work is guided by these differentiators:
Authentic Voices
Effective systems start with people. No two people’s pathways to care are identical. People have the right to choose and be empowered to take personal accountability and ownership in their journeys. They need time to establish trust and build relationships. Building personal resiliency leads to stronger individuals, stronger relationships, and a stronger community.
Connected Care Strategies
Optimum brain health is a lifelong journey, with critical moments along the way. People need to be met where they are at, and services need to be available where and when they are needed. One’s physical and brain health are inextricably connected; complex life issues can lead to one needing more complex care. When one’s brain health declines and isn’t appropriately addressed, it can lead to a decline in one’s physical, social, and economic well-being.
Changing Outcomes
Creating significant change in a community demands a holistic and systematic approach. The true value to the overall system happens when everyone is able to operate at the height of their skillsets, redundancy is minimized, and outcomes are evaluated, monitored, and managed. TUF purposefully designs approaches to be replicated, scaled, and transferable, rather than point solutions that optimize groups at the expense of others. Together, we can.
