March Newsletter

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Louisville, KY Permit No. 1105

Hearty Thanks to the Independent Order of Oddfellows, Lorraine Lodge #4, who helped us prepare an old space for a new use!

Wellspring Administrative Center 225 W. Breckinridge Street (502) 637-4361 www.wellspringky.org

P.O. Box 1927 Louisville, KY 40201-1927

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Luckily, a gift from the Beargrass Fund has already gotten us 1/2–way there!

Board of Directors

Chief Executive Officer Katharine R. Dobbins

March 2019

Business First recently recognized Louisville’s “Health Care Heroes”. The news agency recognized community members making an impact through their concern for patients, research and inventions, management skills and innovative programs for employees and their services. Wellspring is proud to say that our organization’s CEO, Katharine Dobbins, LCSW, received the Health Care Hero Manager Award from a list of five phenomenal nominees!

While Kathy has been an integral part of Wellspring since the organization began serving the community in 1982, she has made a dramatic difference during her nearly ten years as the organization’s CEO. Since 2009, Kathy has guided Wellspring as it has more than doubled the number of clients served and doubled its organizational budget. Under her leadership, Wellspring has:

Thanks to a new fundraising challenge from William O. Alden, Jr., Wellspring has an opportunity to receive a gift of $20,000...IF we can raise matching dollars!

Alan MacDonald, Chair Carrie Schanie, Vice Chair Steve Kerrick, Treasurer Curtiss Scott, Secretary Rolandas “Ro” Byrd Paul Coomes Dawn Croft Rosmond Jones Dolen Rif El-Mallakh, M.D. Rich Freeman Bill Friel Gregory E. Mayes, Jr. Cissy Mills Margaret Pennington George W. Rapp, Jr. John “Jack” Trawick Jefferey M. Yussman

Wellspring’s Health Care Hero

It’s March “Matchness!”

Now is the perfect time to mail a check to Wellspring, call with a credit card, or go online to www.WellspringKY.org.

Derby Preview Party Tuesday, April 23, 2019 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Millionaires Row, Churchill Downs Thanks to our American Pharoah Sponsors:

expanded the volume and types of services offered, tripled its agency-owned and leased housing, doubled the workforce providing services, received the industry’s highest accreditation (CARF) in 4 categories.

But Kathy’s devotion to improving Louisville through mental health recovery services goes beyond Wellspring. She has been a key player in numerous advocacy groups and she constantly campaigns for the best interests of adults with serious mental illnesses – especially those who are most vulnerable from experiencing homelessness, trauma, or co-occurring substance use disorders. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of families whose lives have been disrupted when serious mental illness altered the course of what they had hoped would be.

As we celebrate Kathy’s 10th Anniversary as Wellspring’s CEO, we are so glad that the editors of Business First also recognized her outstanding leadership as they awarded her the Manager Health Care Hero Award!

Home at Last

Churchill Downs The LDG Foundation Todd Asset Management WAVE 3 News

Photo courtesy of John Nation

with special guests: wave 3’s Kevin Harned, Master of Ceremonies

Tim Laird, America’s CEO - Chief entertaining Officer Bill Doolittle’s Kentucky Derby Handicapping Tips

Donna has come a long way since just a few months ago when she was living in a freezing tent, her basic needs going unmet. “I might not own it, but it’s my apartment,” says Donna. She has been in her new place since November. She spent more than a year being homeless, part of it in her car, and then eventually, in a tent that was freezing in the winter. She lost an incredible amount of weight as many times it was too cold to go out to get food.

One of Donna’s best friends was her father. She took care of him and he helped her manage life with a mental illness. Cancer took him from Donna in 2015 and it started her downward spiral.

“It pushed me over the edge,” Donna said. She had been hospitalized in the past due to her mental illness, but when she got out, her dad was always there for her. He helped to provide a home and stored her belongings. She lost everything when she lost her father. She started out in her van but was told it would be towed if she was living in it, so she moved into a tent. “I honestly don’t know how I made it,” she said of those rough months.

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Our Mission: Wellspring promotes mental health recovery and supports individuals in building

healthy and hopeful lives through behavioral health, housing and employment services.

crisis stabilization services | supportive housing | case management services | outpatient services | supported employment

Report Finds “Wellspring Works” Working Well Fidelity Review Finds Wellspring’s IPS Program is on the Right Track

In January, three Individual Placement & Support (IPS) reviewers analyzed Wellspring’s Supported Employment program called “Wellspring Works” and awarded the program with a Good Fidelity report (just 4 points shy of Exemplary). Wellspring Works helps adults with serious mental illness obtain employment that nurtures an individuals’ recovery. It is a collaboration between employment specialists, vocational rehabilitation counselors, benefits specialists and the client’s mental health treatment team.

As one of Wellspring’s newer programs (launched Nov. 2015), the IPS team welcomes professional feedback which assures quality services to improve clients’ lives. A Fidelity Review provides specific evidence-based feedback. Wellspring’s most recent Review revealed great progress, as well as opportunities for more community participation.

The Fidelity Review rated areas of staffing, organization and services. The highest scores centered on the outstanding personal attention Wellspring staff gives each client in the areas of caseload size, integration of rehabilitation with treatment teams, diversity of jobs/employers, engagement and outreach, and executive support. However, the Review also encouraged improvement in these areas: • Job Development – more frequent employer contact, • Collaboration with Vocational Rehabilitation counselors, • Community-based services.

How can you help?

Addressing these areas of opportunity will take a community effort. Wellspring welcomes assistance finding employment opportunities in the community and making contact with hiring personnel. Our staff is eager to spend time in the community discovering how IPS can help area employers and how we can work together to improve the lives of hundreds of adults with serious mental illness who see employment as a step along their recovery path.

If you would like more information about Wellspring Works or feel you can help, please contact: Ericha Winters, Wellspring Works Supervisor (502) 475-0236 or Ericha.Winters@WellspringKY.org.

Pass It On

“Home at Last” Continued

by Jeff Yussman, Wellspring Development Chair

A woman from the Phoenix Health Center would check on her occasionally and that’s how she eventually met Matt, a Wellspring Case Manager. Donna was slow to trust, but Matt was patient. He visited with Donna on her comfort level, which initially meant conversations through the closed tent. Now she says, “I don’t know where I’d be today if it wasn’t for Matt getting me the apartment.” Donna now takes her medication every day and has gained weight. She is also contemplating the future.

“I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do. It’s taking little steps day by day to better myself.”

Donna knows that change doesn’t come all at once but she is thankful she has a roof over her head and a door to shut at night to keep her safe when she goes to bed. “I take it day by day,” Donna says “some days are better than others”. One of the good days was when her eldest son delivered roses to her on Valentine’s Day, right in her own home.

While I am not a religious scholar, every faith seems to teach the importance of giving and teaching others to do likewise. In the Jewish faith two words and one phrase sing to me the importance of generational giving. The Hebrew word “Tzedakah” emphasizes that charitable giving is one of the greatest moral tenets and a personal obligation. Likewise, the phrase “L’dor Vador” is used in many contexts and means “from generation to generation.” To complete this circle of Jewish thought, to give and to teach others to give is a true “Mitzvah,” or blessing. I would be interested in learning how your faith tradition (or personal beliefs) emphasizes the importance of generational charitable giving.

Regardless of your choice of religion or none, these principles are easy to comprehend, but can be hard to implement. Fortunately, there are public examples of how some local families practice this principle as a part of their basic value-system – and the degree of wealth is not what’s important. The importance comes in helping others and teaching one’s family and friends to do likewise. Thus, people often give in quiet ways that are meaningful to them and those they serve and they teach their successors to do likewise. If we practice this by giving to those in need (like Wellspring and thus its clients who suffer from serious mental illness) and we teach our children and grandchildren to do likewise, we are truly doing a Mitzvah!

There are various techniques that can help as you involve your children and grandchildren in the process. By including your children and grandchildren in your current and planned charitable giving, you teach them the importance of generational giving.

Annual Philanthropist Awards Wellspring honored Churchill Downs as our Corporate Philanthropist of the Year and Amy Benovitz as our Volunteer of the Year for 2018! We cannot thank them enough for their dedication to and support of Wellspring!

Tonya Abeln and Mark Stone accepted the award on behalf of Churchill Downs.

Please contact Kim Johnson in Wellspring’s Development office, your CPA or a lawyer to learn more about various techniques that you can use to implement a generational approach to charity.

In addition to helping others, it’ll give you a chance to see your children and grandchildren a little more often and to “Kvell” in their accomplishments! That Yiddish word you’ll have to look up on your own.

! ration b e l e C Client

Amy Benovitz

We had a full house for our client holiday party!

Special thanks to the Trager Family Foundation for sponsoring the event and to 4th Ave. United Methodist for letting us use their beautiful church!

Thanks to all of our 90 donors who provided 162 clients with gifts & gift cards!

Special Thanks To:

Great things are happening thanks to recent grant awards!

• The William E. Barth Foundation – security systems have been

enhanced at one of our Crisis Stabilization Units.

• The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels – improved our computer firewall system and implemented network security measures.

• First Financial Bank – is providing new plank flooring that is more durable and easier to maintain in 19 Wellspring residences.

• The Gheens Foundation – is creating new resources focusing specifically on highly-vulnerable and/or previously-homeless clients.

• The Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence – We will be able to better analyze health outcomes using Key Performance Indicators (KPI) from clients’ electronic health records. ssdfdfff

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To make a gift visit our website at www.wellspringky.org - OR - write a check and mail it to Wellspring, PO Box 1927, Louisville, KY 40201 - OR - call 502-753-1457 and let us help you make a donation via credit card.

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