The Scattergood Foundation believes major disruption is needed to build a stronger, more effective, compassionate, and inclusive society where behavioral health is central.

We approach our work with humility and strive to share power responsibly while being unrelenting advocates for practices that advance equity for all. At the Foundation, we THINK, DO, and SUPPORT in order to shift the paradigm and practice for behavioral health, and recognize the unique spark and basic dignity in every human.

The Scattergood Foundation takes its name from Philadelphia Quaker, Thomas Scattergood (1748-1814). Scattergood struggled with bouts of depression throughout his life and advocated for moral treatment, a model that centered dignity, respect, kindness, and love for individuals with mental illness. This model paved the way for the Philadelphia Quaker community to build the nation’s first privately run psychiatric hospital, the Friends Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason, now known as Friends Hospital.

The impetus for the Asylum began approximately 20 years prior, when Scattergood was traveled to England and visited the York Retreat, amental health facilityrun by Quakers. The Retreat was a revolutionary hospital founded on the principle of moral treatment.

Upon his return, Scattergood urged Quakers in Philadelphia to start an organization like the York Retreat. In 1812, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting started a committee charged with understanding the need for the Asylum. Another committee, not under the purview of the Yearly Meeting, founded the Asylum, including raising the funds for a building and developing its mission. The Hospital opened in 1816 and accepted its first patient in 1817.  Over the course of the next 200 years, the Hospital has functioned as a Quaker-rooted institution, providing person-first treatment.

In 2005, due to rising healthcare costs, a new partnership was developed to manage and operate Friends Hospital and the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation was formed. Today, the Scattergood Foundation aims to “be Thomas Scattergood” for the twenty-first century by building a stronger, more effective, compassionate, and inclusive society where behavioral health is central. We aim to shift the paradigm and practice for behavioral health, so that our society recognizes the unique spark and basic dignity in every human.

 For more on the history of Friends Hospital and its many contributions to the field of mental health, click here.

For more on Quakers and mental health and its intersection with Friends Hospital, click here.

New Mailing Address Effective 9/15/22

Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation
1732A Marsh Road
Suite #167
Wilmington, DE 19810

Center City Office

833 Chestnut Street, 11th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107

Friends Hospital Office

4641 Roosevelt Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19124
215-831-3000

The Scattergood Foundation is a registered 501c3 organization. You can make a donation to the Foundation using our secure PayPal platform to further support our work.