John Van Camp has 40+ years of experience in the health and human service field. Before joining the OPEN MINDS team as a Senior Associate, Mr. Van Camp held the title of President and CEO of Southwest Solutions, an organization dedicated to serving individuals dealing with mental illness and homelessness in the Detroit, Michigan area. Southwest Solutions serves these individuals with complex needs with their two core programs: Southwest Counseling Solutions and Southwest Housing Solutions.

Since 1972, Mr. Van Camp’s management and leadership experience helped transform Southwest Solutions from a community mental health agency with ten staff members to a thriving organization that employs a staff of 500 and offers over 40 community-building programs. Mr. Van Camp started as an administrative assistant until working his way to the head of the organization in 1981. He is credited with broadening Southwest Solution’s vision and ultimately shaping the future of the organization.

Mr. Van Camp was recognized nationally for the many innovations he has initiated at Southwest Solutions and in the greater Detroit market. Van Camp’s unprecedented career did not go unnoticed. Just recently he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015 by Life Directions who described him as “one of the city’s most distinguished and effective leaders.” With Mr. Van Camp’s leadership and guidance, Southwest Solutions has been able to successfully grow to effectively serve the community. Since then, Mr. Van Camp has been referred to as one of the city’s most distinguished leaders having built Southwest Solution from its inception into an influential integrated healthcare center serving the community of southwest Detroit.

While leading Southwest Solutions, Mr. Van Camp served the southwest Detroit by reintegrating the mentally ill and homeless into the community, and by providing quality affordable housing and support services, all while orchestrating neighborhood revitalization and economic development. Mr. Van Camp is a native of Michigan and a graduate of Wayne State University.