The MHA was formed in the late 1950s and incorporated as a non-profit in 1964. In that forty-year history, the organization has established a record for raising awareness about the needs and concerns of persons with mental illness, advocating for improved care, empowering mental health consumers and spearheading efforts to create more opportunities for community-based care. In 1967, we played a critical role in establishing the first community mental health center in Westmoreland County, the Latrobe Area Hospital Mental Health Center. In 1970, we helped create Threshold, Inc., a leading housing provider in Greensburg for mental health consumers. Throughout the years, the agency has always provided case advocacy services for mental health consumers using either community or institutionally-based care.

Until 1972, the organization was primarily volunteer-driven with only an Executive Director. In 1993, the MHA entered into a contractual arrangement with the Westmoreland County Mental Health/Mental Retardation Office for the provision of specific advocacy and support services, a contractual relationship that has steadily expanded over the years to include a broad array of services. The agency was selected in 1997 as one of 60 sites from the National Mental Health Association’s 350 affiliates to coordinate the Campaign for America’s Mental Health.