Douglas County honors Nikki Brooker and YANA for hospital-based maternal mental-health program

The Douglas County Board of County Commissioners on July 8 inducted Nikki Brooker, founder of the nonprofit YANA (You Are Not Alone), into the county Hall of Fame and highlighted the organization's hospital-based maternal mental-health program.

Mike Hill, executive director of the Douglas County Health Department, introduced Brooker and described YANA's Strong Mamas Thriving Babies program, which provides peer support, counseling connections and in-person groups for new mothers. "Nikki founded a organization called IANA. You Are Not Alone, in 2017..." Hill said, describing the program's hospital outreach.

Nikki Brooker told commissioners the program grew in part from a Douglas County suicide-prevention grant funded by ARPA. "Thanks to the commissioners of Douglas County, we were actually given a suicide prevention grant. So we started a new program called Strong Mamas Thriving Babies... this program is a hospital based program where every single mom who gives birth is given a full year of wrap around support for free," Brooker said. She reported YANA has enrolled 3,567 moms and said 98% of contacted mothers accept the program.

Commissioners and Health Department staff praised the program's community partnerships and said they would support efforts to expand hospital participation to a fourth local facility. The recognition included remarks from commission leadership and presentation of a certificate to Brooker; no formal board action or funding change was taken at the meeting.

Background detail from Brooker: she said the program has sent more than 80,000 emails and 70,000 text messages, and that over 42% of families served have used referred community resources.

The presentation was ceremonial; commissioners cited the program's role in suicide prevention and maternal mental-health outreach.