Funded Partner Spotlight: Mind the Gap Together
In their 15 years working in different segments of the mental health and social services sectors, sisters Katie and Kimere Corthell saw so many opportunities to make things better.
There were obstacles that slowed down care, hurdles that kept their clients from making meaningful changes in their own lives.
“There were resources out there, but accessing them was another challenge,” said Kimere, a licensed mental health counselor and approved clinical supervisor.
In 2021, after losing their father and then experiencing a pandemic-related shift to remote work, they decided to take a leap. They founded Mind the Gap Together with a goal of bridging gaps in resources and opportunities helping make their new home of St. Petersburg more racially equitable and socially just.
While continuing to work full-time jobs, they completed their nonprofit paperwork. The duo then began drafting an inventory of available community resources, looking for places where they might be able to contribute and make a difference.
In 2024, Mind the Gap Together received a $10,000 capacity-building grant from the Foundation, awarded in partnership with Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital; with that funding came a series of capacity-building training sessions, designed not only to grow skills and knowledge but forge connections between groups with similar goals.
With that first grant, Katie and Kimere were able to set up a home office, build a website, print business cards, purchase basic supplies, and begin offering services. They were also able to grow their network in critical ways.
“The Foundation not only gave us capacity-building funding but partnerships,” Kimere said.
“We were able to sit at tables with other nonprofits at the capacity-building and connect with other groups at similar stages,” Katie added. “We would not be able to do what we’re doing without those added supports.”
Soon after Mind the Gap Together received funding, Foundation Senior Grants and Program Associate Olivia London connected the group with two other Foundation funded partners: the James B. Sanderlin Family Center and Life From Inside Out!. The group started offering life skills programming to kids in Sanderlin’s after school program and volunteering in Sanderlin’s food pantry, and assisting with Life From Inside Out!’s support group for community members returning home after serving time in the carceral system, along with Foundation funded partners the Rise and Thrive Foundation.
“Working with them has expended our operation and opened so many doors,” Bailey said. “They’re resource specialists, and they know how to take a vision and turn it into a reality.”
As a licensed mental health counselor, Kimere supports group members with mental wellness programming in a format and setting that’s both comfortable and accessible. Katie, with her background in case management, helps connect community members with resources they need to improve their lives.
“We try to remove the clinical stigma,” Kimere said. “Yes, I’m a mental health therapist. But we have food, fun activities. We’re able to repackage it and get people set up with mental wellness and supportive services at the same entry point. Not everyone needs full-blown intensive mental healthcare. Some people just need resources for things like food, housing, and transportation, and we can do it all in one place.”
When Katie and Kimere say they meet people where they are, they mean it both figuratively and literally. If a client calls and says they can’t make their one-on-one session that day because they don’t have transportation, they get in their car and meet them on their porch or in a nearby park or coffee shop.
As a small nonprofit, they’re also able to set their own practices and policies, cutting through red tape they saw in other parts of their careers. If a client needs help getting a bus pass, they print the form for them to fill out and then fax it over. If someone needs to show proof that they don’t have income, they write a letter. Someone needs to make a phone call to advocate for themselves? Appear in court at a certain time? They’re there.
“It’s breaking down barriers, figuring out what’s keeping people from resources and helping knock down those barriers,” Katie said.
It makes a difference. At a recent Life From Inside Out! support group hosted at the Enoch Davis Center, roughly 40 community members gathered to connect and share goals for the coming year, including a resident named Kenny, who’s been coming to the group each week for three to four months.
“They helped me find a place to stay, they helped me with clothes, they helped me with my disability papers and transportation. They help you get jobs,” he said. “When you’re feeling down, this group lifts you up. And it’s everyone in this group. We talk about how we feel and what we’re going through. What we did good this week and what’s negative. It helps to talk about it. It makes me feel good. It makes you feel wanted, like you’re alright. You’ve got support behind you.”
After their successful collaboration on the support group, Mind the Gap Together and Life From Inside Out! partnered again to successfully apply for and receive funding from the City of St. Petersburg to expand their support groups into the faith community.
Mind the Gap Together was also able to secure contracts with the Community Support Hub initiative, which is overseen by Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS), to provide mental wellness care and supportive services.
“We’re not here with all the answers. The community is very strong and resourceful – the solution is within the community. It’s navigating the inequities put in place to help bring out that strength within the community one conversation and partnership at a time,” Katie said.