Our Story
Doing. Being. Becoming. Belonging.
These are tenets of occupational therapy and of the XDS Youth Mental Health Resilience Initiative.
From C4CC to XDS
In 2023, Center for Community Connection (C4CC) was founded by mental health occupational therapists Darren Peters, Dr. MaryBeth Gallagher, and Dr. Antoine Bailliard, and psychiatric dietitian Brittany Kern. Through their work together in a hospital psychiatric department in central North Carolina, they saw a revolving door of patients living in poverty, disproportionately people of color, struggling with getting basic needs met, without a network of support, and facing injustices at every turn. Darren and MaryBeth hailed from the UK and Ireland, respectively, where healthcare is universal and OT is central in addressing mental illness.
They began to imagine the potential for a different kind of mental health care that is accessible, equitable, just and community-based. An organization that takes whole-person-needs into consideration and cultivates a sense of belonging. They envisioned a place where people experiencing mental distress feel cared for, listened to, supported, and empowered.
The founding team was then joined by Alexa Adamo Valverde, a social innovation strategist, nonprofit consultant, and mental health counselor, and the idea grew to become a nonprofit organization. C4CC was founded in September 2023.
When C4CC approached XDS in 2023 about collaborating, XDS’s founder, Thava Mahadevan invited this new organization to operate from XDS’s therapeutic Farm at Penny Lane, where adults with serious mental illness have found hope and healing for 20 years. The collaboration prospered, C4CC’s youth programs were piloted in 2024-25, and in Fall 2025, with support from Chatham County Human Services and the Triangle Community Foundation’s Responsiveness Grant, the two organization’s decided to join forces to build sustainability. In August 2025, C4CC dissolved as a legal entity but the model continues to transform youth mental health care in North Carolina as the XDS Youth Mental Health Resilience Initiative.
XDS Youth Mental Health Resilience Initiative provides community-based holistic mental health care, therapeutic workshops and farm-based experiences, and systems-level advocacy for youth (ages 12 to 26). We are an innovative, holistic, person- and occupational therapy-centered, community-based solution to what has been called the "youth mental health crisis" in our nation.
Turning the traditional medical model on its head, we are creating a replicable, farm-based, strengths-focused organization to cultivate connection and belonging, joy and resilience. Youth who've experienced a range of mental health challenges (from anxiety or depression to a first episode of psychosis) take the lead on decisions about their mental health and well-being. We operate primarily from a 40-acre farm in Chatham County, North Carolina, where there is much opportunity for:
DOING
Engage in meaningful activities
Develop sense of identity
Tell your story
Shape society
BEING
Listen to your inner voice
Be true to your self
Cultivate authenticity
Explore curiosity
BECOMING
Define your values & priorities
Cultivate skills
Become the fullest expression of yourself
BELONGING
A community of people who care about and value each other
Building resilience and well-being together