Anchor & Access

Breaking Barriers to Mental Health

As health benefits shrink, William Temple House is taking bold new steps to provide mental health care to high-need, high-barrier populations. Our Anchor & Access initiative expands our impact by partnering with trusted organizations to reach Portland’s hardest-hit populations—youth, people in crisis, and older adults—with mobile low-cost counseling and wraparound support. 

Fall 2026: Anchor & Access Launches at Metropolitan Learning Center (MLC)

This school year, MLC students will gain access to on-site counseling through WTH’s school-based Anchor & Access partnership.

Anchor & Access is made possible by the support of generous individual donors, the Swigert Foundation, Robert D. and Marcia H. Randall Charitable Trust, and OnPoint Community Credit Union.

Summer 2026 Preparation for Launch

• 🫶 Enabling Access: WTH and MLC create referral pathways to connect students with counseling quickly and appropriately.

• 👥 Engaging Faculty: WTH Counselor joins MLC professional development week to build relationships and enable referrals.

• 📊Evidence-based Outcomes: WTH adopts SDQ-25 (add link), a nationally recognized tool for measuring student wellbeing, to measure student mental health outcomes.

• 🛡️ Care Coordination: With MOU in place, WTH Clinicians begin drafting new policies and procedures to support collaboration among counselors, families, and schools while ensuring high-quality care.

• 🤝MOU in Place: PPS (Portland Public School) formally approves WTH’s onsite counseling services at MLC in Spring 2026. 

How do we help break these barriers?

Why William Temple House?