“Where others see dark and depressing, I see opportunity for illumination.”

“I have to have my paper,” declares Gail Lapidus, CEO and Executive Director, Family & Children’s Services. “The only way to really know what’s happening in Tulsa is to read the Tulsa World.”

“They do a really good job of focusing in on the emerging issues of the community – poverty, education and mental health,” Gail says. In recent months, the World has reported with increasing urgency on the impact of the recession on mental health services. Public programs have shut down, the number of beds has shrunk, and many patients have nowhere to go.

“So F&CS created an innovative pilot program – a mental health urgent care,” says Gail. “It’s a brilliant partnership between a private nonprofit, the public sector and Hillcrest Medical Center. We’ll work together to get people assessed, wrap services around them, help them find jobs and get a leg up.”

“In the background of Tulsa there’s a quiet rhythm, a community collaboration, people coming together to solve problems. The Tulsa World fosters that.”

What solution could you help foster? Get inspired by reading the Tulsa World and tulsaworld.com, every day.