03/20/2026
Behind every mission is a “why.”
At Thresholds, our Board of Directors brings more than leadership - they bring personal conviction, lived experiences, and powerful moments that shape their commitment to mental health. We’re asking board members to share the stories behind their support: what moved them, what keeps them engaged, and why they continue to choose Thresholds year after year.
These are the moments that turn awareness into action, and compassion into lifelong commitment. 💙 Our first story comes from Thresholds board member, Ronald Grais.
🗨️ Every year when it starts to get cold, I go looking for coats. I find them and I bring them to Thresholds members, the people Thresholds serves every single day, many of whom were living on the streets before Thresholds found them, housed them, and helped them find employment.
My family has been serving Thanksgiving lunch at a Thresholds residence for so many years that my granddaughter was a baby in arms the first time she came. She kept coming every year, too, until she moved to San Francisco after graduating college. That's just what we do.
But for me, my commitment to Thresholds really started with a moment in a kitchen.
One night I was walking through a building I'd developed, and I saw a man from a Thresholds cleaning crew. He'd taken off his rubber gloves and was reading a medical textbook. A big one, with drawings. I asked him about it.
He said, "I had my first episode of schizophrenia during my first year of medical school. I know I'm not going to be a doctor. But Thresholds is helping me get my life back together, and this job is part of how I do that."
I couldn't quite believe it. That moment knocked the legs right out from under me. And I've spent the last 45 years trying to help people just like him. 🗨️
Ron has given 45 years to Thresholds. If his story moved you, consider giving what you can. Every dollar goes directly toward Thresholds' mission: to help people living with mental health and substance use conditions build lives of stability, dignity, and purpose — through housing, meaningful work, and the kind of steadfast human support that never stops showing up. The link to give is in our bio and here. 🎁 Make a gift at thresholds.org/donate.
