Hudson mental health groups merge to better serve community

by Judy Stringer

Two local mental health organizations have announced a formal merger designed to leverage their reach and resources. State of Mind: Hudson and the Coalition for Children’s Mental Health will integrate their all-volunteer operations, forming a single board dedicated to advocacy across all age groups in the Hudson community.

Mike LoPresti, board president of State of Mind: Hudson, said the integration process began to take shape last year after leadership from both sides realized how much their missions and memberships overlapped.

“We had some board crossover in 2025, and the idea had kind of been thrown around,” LoPresti said.

For State of Mind: Hudson, an organization established to increase awareness and reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues, the addition of CCMH brings a specialized focus on youth. Founded in 2006 by a group of local practitioners and concerned citizens, CCMH has spent two decades addressing the behavioral and emotional needs of Hudson’s younger residents.

“By consolidating, we can bring our resources together to have a more effective organization overall and have more members and be more productive as a team,” LoPresti said. He noted that the 15-member board includes nine mental health professionals and six members from other professions, including business, legal and consulting.

Blending the organizations also promises to boost community recognition and provide a more balanced, year-round programming calendar. Traditionally, State of Mind: Hudson centers its primary events in the fall around Mental Illness Awareness Week in October, while CCMH programming has historically peaked in the spring with its K-12 poster contest.

Haley Whitman, the board president of CCMH, emphasized that looking at mental health through a broader lens ultimately benefits children. All seven members of the CCMH board are transitioning into the integrated organization, a choice Whitman described as a “pretty unanimous decision.”

“It just felt like a really natural transition to working with the community as a whole, and so it allows us to not be so narrowly focused,” she said.

Under the new combined entity, CCMH will transition into a dedicated youth programs subcommittee. The top priority for this new branch is maintaining the annual poster contest, a signature initiative that partners with school counselors and teachers at Hudson City Schools and Seton Catholic to weave social-emotional conversations directly into the classroom curriculum.

“We really see the poster contest as a way to continue to give kids a voice in the conversation around mental health and using their creativity to help raise awareness and reduce stigma,” LoPresti said.

Whitman suggested the merger may also breathe new life into initiatives that previously strained the volunteer resources of CCMH’s smaller board, helping it reintroduce a scholarship program and expand panel events and expert talks focused on children’s mental wellness.