John Henry Foundation

The John Henry Foundation is guided by a steadfast commitment to transforming the lives of people living with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders in Orange County. Our Mission is to:
- Serve adults living with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD)
- Help build meaningful lives for individuals with SSD.
- Provide education, support, and healing to families with a loved one affected by SSD.
- Educate medical and mental health professionals, law enforcement, and the public to foster understanding, acceptance, and effective engagement with those living with SSD.
- Promote healthy, low-stress living as a model for those affected by SSD.

The John Henry Foundation (JHF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Santa Ana, has provided industry-leading, long-term community based residential care for adults living with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), along with vital support for their families since 1989.

Founded by advocates challenging stereotypes about mental illness, JHF confronts the stigmas surrounding mental health. It emphasizes that individuals with schizophrenia are valuable members of society who, despite daily struggles, are capable of leading meaningful, purposeful, and dignified lives.

JHF provides community-based, wraparound mental and physical health care services through our Residential Community Program, delivering coordinated, evidence-based care that helps adults with SSD maintain medication adherence, build stability, and reintegrate into the community. Our unlocked, neighborhood-based campus combines effective medical care and therapeutic services with attractive, comfortable housing, to create a uniquely successful integrated approach to support individuals on their path to a stable and fulfilling life. Our residents are treated as valued members of a community, with families playing an essential role in the circle of support.

In Orange County, there is very limited specialized housing that addresses severe and persistent mental illness. Instead, emergency departments and hospital systems may provide limited short-term stabilization, but with no ability to secure long-term, ongoing care to allow the individual to achieve stability. Recovery for individuals with SSD depends on consistent housing, psychiatric care, and meaningful community integration—services that remain scarce in Southern California and are rarely funded sustainably through government or healthcare systems. For more than 37 years, JHF has filled this critical gap through a community-based model of wraparound care that promotes medication adherence, reduces reliance on emergency services, strengthens family relationships, combats isolation, and empowers individuals to rebuild their lives at their own pace.

The John Henry Foundation campus is located in Santa Ana,. Our community members are from Orange County, Los Angeles county, and other California counties.

I am incredibly proud to lead this organization, and our amazing team of professionals, where I have served as the Executive Director & Administrator for more than 15 years now. The services that we provide, both in our residential program through comprehensive person-centered care, and through our educational programs for therapists, psychiatrists, community members and first responders, are both unique and desperately needed. We serve a population that is underserved and misunderstood. Resources to help find and maintain stability for our population are scarce, and so many community members are unequipped to provide the assistance. So many people living with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) end up on the streets, in a cycle of repeated hospitalizations, in isolation and fear. Our program helps build meaningful lives for those living with SSD, reconnects them to loved ones, and helps countless individuals beyond our program through professional training. What we are doing at JHF is very special, and I am so proud to work with our dedicated Board to lead our efforts. - Mindy Andrews - Executive Director & Administrator

I joined the Board of Directors of the John Henry Foundation because my family has lived experience with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. My brother lived with SSD, and after years of uncertainty and worry, we found JHF, where my brother was able to live a full life in a community of people where he was appreciated for who he was, where he had friends, and where our family found a community of other families who had similar experiences. We lost my brother to cancer, and after he passed away, it was clear to me that I wanted to continue to be a part of this community. I reached out to the team and the Board of Directors to share my passion for the work and mission of JHF, and in 2019, I was invited to join them in this important work. I am dedicated to the development growth of this program and joining the Board was one of the best decisions that I ever made. - Mary Ellen Stuart - Board Chairperson