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By Cinira Baldi
How do products support an individual’s mental health journey? This is a question I’ve heard when I tell people about Good360 and the role we play in supporting people navigating hardship, disaster, or mental health challenges.
I recently visited WellPower, Denver’s largest mental health nonprofit that supports over 20,000 people every year. I toured their Resource Center, where people navigating addiction, houselessness, and housing instability can spend time with community, receive a warm meal, access a food market, and shop the ‘Shopette’ – a free store stocked with clothing, books, hygiene items, and more. The Resource Center is run by dedicated staff, including vocational trainees who have lived experience of the challenges their clients face.
As I spent time with the WellPower team, it underscored something I believe deeply: mental health does not exist in isolation from basic needs. Here are three ways how:
1. Consistent access to essentials relieves the mental load of scarcity
When you are unhoused or in crisis, your mind is rarely at rest. A significant part of your daily energy goes toward tracking down the next thing, making small supplies last, and calculating what you can and cannot afford. The mental load of being in survival mode is constant and exhausting.
Ben, a vocational trainee at WellPower who has experienced houselessness himself, shared: “When I was homeless, I spent a lot of my energy scavenging. Having it all in one place frees up your time and energy to focus on things that help you grow.”
He described what it meant to have a full-size bottle of shampoo. “It gives you mental stability, knowing you have what you need. I don’t have to hold back or think, I need to save this for the weekend.”
When people have access to the products they need, they can redirect their energy toward healing, employment, relationships, and rebuilding. As Ben said: “That little stuff can be really huge, even just for a sense of feeling more whole as a person. And that can really help spark change in your life.”
We see this dynamic play out across our nonprofit network. Jessie Avalos, founder of Good360 nonprofit partner Sweet Potato’s Closet in Hermiston, Oregon, has seen the same ripple effect serving foster youth and at-risk families: “If we can ensure people have the hygiene products and clothes and diapers, then they can focus on paying their rent and utilities and gas to get their kids to school. We can’t get them on their feet if they don’t have proper stuff.” Stability must start somewhere and often, it starts with the basics being covered.
2. Quality and choice restore dignity and self-worth
At Good360, we believe that everyone deserves the goods they need to thrive. For someone receiving donated goods, the ability to pick out brands they recognize, goods that fit their preferences, and clothing in their size and style cannot be underestimated. I believe that choice is where dignity starts.
Eliana, Multimedia Communications Strategist at WellPower, shared the story of a client named Kitty, who arrived in Denver with nothing and first accessed WellPower’s food market and Shopette. Being able to choose clothing in her size and style helped her show up to job interviews with confidence. Today, she is pursuing a career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. As Eliena put it: “There is pride and dignity in looking good and feeling good. If you are able to wear clothing that is in your size and type, then you are going to be able to show up comfortable and confident and be able to work on your mental health.”
Once a month, WellPower hosts a Select Your Style event, where clients can access free makeup, wigs, and grooming products to express their individuality and feel like themselves. Seesee, a vocational trainee, shared that the event reaffirms that self-expression is part of mental health. Seesee explained, “It really does change the way people feel about themselves and their sense of value. I know it did that for me. And I think some people look at makeup and think it’s an extra, but for people who wear makeup, it is so important.”
There is power in ensuring people have what they specifically need to thrive. Whether that’s a well-fitting outfit for a work interview, makeup that is the right shade, or shoes that fit just right , people deserve to have dignity and confidence.
Seesee said it best: “It’s so much more than just goods and products – it’s really restoring dignity and humanity to people. It makes a huge difference in their lives. It made a big difference in mine.”
3. Material goods create the foundation that makes recovery possible
Having a place to call home is critical to mental health, but four walls alone are not enough. Whether someone is transitioning into permanent housing or rebuilding after a disaster, stability does not always begin the moment they get their keys. It begins when they feel comfortable in the space they now call home. This means a mattress, bedding, coffee maker, cleaning supplies, and other important items that make life manageable.
Davina Bustos, Vocational Supervisor with WellPower, shared the importance of their partnership with Good360 to ensure people have access to the products they need, “Here [at WellPower] they can rebuild their lives, mentally and physically. Good360 has been a huge part of that. Families would never be able to go out and buy a TV or a coffee machine, but with Good360 – they can get that.”
When people have what they need to feel settled, they can begin to heal. That is why Home and Essential Goods is one of Good360’s five core focus areas. When people have what they need at home, the rest of the work of recovery becomes possible.
Supporting someone’s mental health journey calls us to look at the full picture of what it takes for someone to heal and rebuild. Part of that full range of support includes goods that make it possible for someone to feel stable, confident, and like themselves.
At Good360, closing the need gap is not separate from mental health work. It is part of it.
