San Diego Collaborative Launches Social Prescribing Initiative with Art Pharmacy

New program to host panel event on July 9 discussing partnership

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, June 27, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Art Pharmacy, a social prescribing company that works with partners in healthcare, education, and workforce management to address the dual mental health and loneliness crises, is partnering with San Ysidro Health to support adolescent mental health. This new program builds upon Art Pharmacy’s national growth accelerating social prescribing across the United States. Social prescribing is the practice through which healthcare providers prescribe non-clinical community support to advance whole person health. Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties, whose funding partners and collaborative leadership is helping make this work possible, will host an event at San Ysidro Health on July 9, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. PST.

The panel event will include a Q&A and remarks from Chris Appleton, CEO of Art Pharmacy, Matt D’Arrigo of the Clare Rose Foundation, and Dr. Priti Ojha of San Ysidro Health to discuss the benefits of social prescribing and of Art Pharmacy’s partnership within San Ysidro Health.

This partnership was born out of the Arts & Intersections Collaborative, a Catalyst-led initiative designed to explore how the arts can intersect with other sectors—like health, education, and workforce development—to address complex social challenges. The collaboration helped lay the groundwork for bringing this initiative to San Diego, with a specific focus on supporting youth mental health. The result is a first-of-its-kind pilot in San Diego, introducing arts-based social prescribing as a new model for improving adolescent mental health in the region.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with San Ysidro Health,” said Art Pharmacy CEO Chris Appleton. “We are honored to expand our reach in California as we aim to continue our mission of improving individual health and well-being through social prescribing.”

“We are excited to partner with Art Pharmacy in expanding access to innovative, community-based behavioral health care. This collaboration brings creative arts into the healing process, offering our patients culturally responsive, strengths-based tools to support mental wellness and recovery. Together, we are redefining how care can look and feel—rooted in connection and hope,” said Priti Ojha, MD, Chief Behavioral Health Officer, San Ysidro Health.

“This initiative demonstrates what can happen when funders come together to explore bold ideas and invest in community-rooted solutions. Through Catalyst’s Arts & Intersections Collaborative, our members helped lay the groundwork for a new, creative approach to mental health in our region. We are excited to see how this initiative will take shape and to continue supporting collaborative efforts that drive change in our region,” said Megan Thomas, President/CEO, Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties.

“The opportunity to support the holistic growth and development of youth through the arts is part of the Clare Rose Foundation’s DNA; and we couldn’t be happier to have played a leading role in the coalition of funders that helped bring this work to San Diego. Social prescribing will not just have a clear, positive impact on the mental health needs of San Diego youth, but could be transformational for health care systems as we know it. Notwithstanding the benefits for San Diego’s landscape of artists, creatives and arts and culture organizations, this work is exactly what this moment demands,” said Matt D’Arrigo, Director of Creative Youth Development, Clare Rose Foundation.

Art Pharmacy’s solution uniquely combines decades of research in the field of arts and health with the care model of social prescribing to address some of the nation’s most challenging health problems. Social prescribing is a model of care delivery that enables health professionals to formally prescribe non-clinical community activities— including the arts, movement, nature, and service — to improve patient health.

Art Pharmacy drives clinical and quality outcomes with its healthcare partners through its tech-enabled, human-powered social prescribing solution. Art Pharmacy will connect participants to community-based activities with protective and therapeutic benefits to their mental health and well-being. To increase adherence and utilization, patients will have access to a broad range of activities and care navigation services. Arts-based social prescribing is an effective, evidence-based way to support patients with mental health needs, reduce social isolation and loneliness, and promote adherence to co-morbid treatment plans.

San Ysidro Health is a non-profit organization committed to providing high-quality, compassionate, accessible, and affordable healthcare services for the entire family. San Ysidro Health provides innovative care to more than 145,000 lives in our care through a vast and integrated network of 50 program sites across San Diego County including medical clinics, dental clinics, behavioral health centers, HIV centers, WIC nutrition centers, mobile medical units, school-based health centers, chiropractic services, pediatric developmental clinic, teen clinic, senior health center and Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). San Ysidro Health and its program sites are designed under the concept of the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of care, where the patient, not the support staff or provider, is the focus of all care and services. To learn more visit www.syhealth.org.

Catalyst is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing philanthropy and social impact in Southern California. Serving as a hub for local philanthropy, Catalyst fosters collaboration between funders, nonprofits and community leaders by providing opportunities for connection like its annual conference and educational opportunities including hosting classes on impact investing. By providing resources, networking opportunities and policy advocacy, the organization aims to drive meaningful change and strengthen the local nonprofit ecosystem. For additional information please visit catalystsd.org/.

The Prebys Foundation partners with community leaders like the teams at Catalyst and San Ysidro Health to transform San Diego County through the arts, healthcare, medical research, and youth success. To learn more visit www.prebysfdn.org/.

The Clare Rose Foundation is dedicated to building the capacity of nonprofit leaders, organizations, and the non-profit sector in order to increase their sustainability to have an even greater impact on those they serve. To learn more visit clarerosefoundation.org/.

The work to offer social prescription through Art Pharmacy is collaboratively supported by the Clare Rose Foundation, the Prebys Foundation, University of California San Diego, the Latatorre Foundation, Avila Fund, the Parker Foundation, and the Tippet Foundation.

To learn more, contact hello@artphamacy.co or visit http://www.artpharmacy.co.

Minah Thomas
Rhythm Communications
+1 717-253-6433
mthomas@rhythmcommunications.com
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