A Mission of Healing for All
Hamm’s mission is to promote mental health with culturally responsive, relational care, especially for those facing financial barriers.
Our Vision
- Hamm Clinic will be the agency of choice in integrative mental health care with a dynamic, collaborative, and research-based model of care. Mental health care is a basic human right and we will increase access by reducing financial barriers for our clients.
- Hamm Clinic recognizes the importance of reciprocal and collaborative relationships with our clients, partnering to create healing together. We will join with our clients to identify and address unmet community needs through advocacy and program development.
- Hamm Clinic will foster a community of professional colleagues locally and nationally by training providers. Hamm Clinic will lead this effort with innovative training and research that reflects best practice.
- Hamm Clinic will create an intentional organizational culture in which board and staff members can thrive, with the goal of creating an optimal care environment for our clients. We acknowledge the impact of trauma and mental health concerns on our clients and staff and will invest in creating an environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
A Legacy of Innovation
Our founder, Margaret Hamm Kelley, was ahead of her time. A social worker and granddaughter of renowned St. Paul leader Theodore Hamm, she recognized that mental illness was a serious problem … especially for those unable to afford care.
In 1954, Margaret established Hamm Clinic. She gathered a team of clinical social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists to provide integrated mental health care to individuals who could not pay for treatment. She also fought against the stigma of mental illness. Her motto was:
Comprehensive mental health care
is a basic human right that should be
accessible to everyone.
Margaret’s approach to treatment was collaborative and empathic. Her innovations are the foundation of our current Healing Together™ Model of Care (PDF). Our Hamm Clinic team is grateful to her as we build on her vision.
