Funding Rural | Episode #19 | Season 3: Kimberly Lindsay, “I can lend a hand; I can volunteer; I can be available.”
Meeting the mental and behavioral health needs of rural communities, where people are dispersed and remarkably self-reliant, can be a challenge for a variety of different reasons. In Northeast Oregon, Community Counseling Solutions serves an area of more than 60,000 square miles, in which just 100,000 people reside—the sheer distance can stretch resources thin. Kimberly Lindsay is their director and she cofounded the David Romprey Oregon Warm Line in Oregon, which unlike a hotline for an immediate crisis, warm lines provide early mental health intervention with a confidential free phone service. If you or someone you know is just wanting to connect, call 800-698-2392.
“Showing up there.. and the outpouring of support within the community; the coming together to do what we do, which is to feed and nurture and offer support and love— that’s what’s hopeful to me.” —Kimberly Lindsay
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About Kimberly Lindsay
“The last six words of the Pledge of Allegiance says with liberty and justice for all, not for some, but for all.”—Kimberly Lindsay
Discussion Questions
- Kimberly talked about the significance of small foundation gifts, and how there can oftentimes be no alternative funding in rural counties. How can your organization effectively bring more resources to the areas you are funding?
- Kimberly also mentioned how exhausting the grant-seeking process can be, and how it helps when foundations proactively reach out before a grant application. Make a list of 5 rural organizations or causes that you would fund and cold call those places to see where you can collaborate.
Resources
- Kimberly Lindsay | National Center for Family Philanthropy
- Community Counseling Solutions named in Oregon Business magazine – Elkhorn Media Group
- Future uncertain for Oregon mental health hotline – OPB
- June 26, 2024 | Oregon’s Health Crossroads: Can the State’s Medicaid Program Help Fix our Behavioral Health System?
- Why an Oregon nonprofit is working to reopen a psychiatric hospital in eastern Oregon | The Lund Report
- https://ccswebsite.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Community-Connections-Issue-1.pdf
“I can’t emphasize enough that in some of those small counties, without the small foundations or donors, they would have nothing.” —Kimberly Lindsay
Transcript: Episode #19 | Season 3: Kimberly Lindsay, “I can lend a hand; I can volunteer; I can be available.”
Erin Borla 0:10
Welcome back to funding rural I’m Erin Borla with the Roundhouse foundation in Sisters Oregon. Meeting the needs of rural communities is often a challenge for a variety of different reasons. People live remotely, they can be incredibly self reliant and not reach out for help when they need it. Maybe they can’t access the services that are available to them, or they aren’t even aware of those services. There’s an organization we at roundhouse have supported because it meets so many of the mental and behavioral health needs of communities across so many counties in rural Oregon, community counseling solutions based in rural northeast Oregon, serves an area of more than 60,000 square miles, 60,000 with just 100,000 people living across that area that’s remote country, and their work is very much needed. They also run what’s called the David romper Oregon warm line, which started in rural Wheeler County and now serves the whole state, unlike a hotline for an immediate crisis, warm lines provide an early intervention with a confidential, free phone service. If you or someone you know is wanting to connect, call 800-698-2392 Kimberly Lindsay is the director of community counseling solutions. I started off by asking her how she got into this work and what kinds of services CCS provides.
Kimberly Lindsay 1:29
You know, when I was in high school, I was told that I was a good listener, but I actually aspired to go into politics a little bit at the end of the day. Though, ultimately, my father died by suicide when I was 10, and I, despite that, lived a great life. Both my mom and dad loved me, amazing sister. I do think that that opened up my eyes a little bit to how trauma impacts people and how to, how do they move forward? And in talking with friends and co workers and fellow students in later years, I just really felt drawn to, drawn to this profession and supporting people so we provide services from the Washington to the California border. And then we also have a couple of regional programs. One of those is the Foster Grandparent senior companion program via AmeriCorps. And then we have a statewide program called the David romper Oregon warm line. And I got to circle back because I forgot also one of our programs specific to Grant County. We operate the Public Health Department and also operate a primary care program there within our public health so we provide services from cradle to grave. We provide services that you can bill insurance for, and services that are 100% preventative and supportive. As a community mental health program, we also provide well within community mental health as a behavioral health provider, we’re providing Addictions and Mental Health Services closely tied to that, we operate multiple residential facilities, most of those serve individuals that are 18 years and older, but really excited to mention that we are we just completing building a sub acute psychiatric residential Treatment Facility in Boardman at the north end of Oregon that will serve what I fondly refer to as the littles, individuals that are 12 and under. And it’s the only facility of its kind on the east side of the state providing this service.
Erin Borla 3:56
I mean, that’s that’s a lot of things, and you’re carrying a lot for a variety of different populations in a variety of different places. So certainly appreciate all of the work that you’re doing, but I think the statewide program, let’s, let’s just double down on that for a little bit.
Kimberly Lindsay 4:17
Alrighty. So in 2000 early, 2000s I was at a meeting, and I was introduced to a gentleman by the name of David romper, who was, what’s called, at the time, a mental health survivor in his early 20s. He experienced his first psychotic break and was in a state institution. And he’s he was in and out of institutions for several years, and when he started to get his feet underneath him and started to reflect back on what was most helpful for him, the medications were helpful, sure, the psychiatrist and the counselors, but he felt that. It was the peer support, talking with other individuals that had had these big struggles. So he was he moved to Oregon, and he decided that he really wanted to work in the promotion work to advocate the promoting peer support. I met him at this meeting, and I just had this aha moment like this makes complete sense, and I feel like I just missed the boat, you know, for so many years. So I asked David if we could get together and talk more about what this would be like. And he introduced the concept of a warm line to me, which is very similar to a hotline, only the person doesn’t need to be in crisis, which also like, Duh, of course. Like, why not be preventative, as opposed to reactionary on the backside, which is what the hotline piece is. So we started up the warm line. We just called it the Oregon warm line, and received a small grant from the state, $20,000 hired two gentlemen in Wheeler County, Oregon, one was a painter and one was a farmer who had struggled with some mental health issues, to staff this line for five hours a week, 5pm to Friday to 10pm and The first call we got, the first week, we had one call that was David just calling to check on him. But at the end of a year we we had about 1000 calls, which is, you know, amazing, this one 800 number stopped by these two guys in Wheeler County
Erin Borla 6:37
and talk about growth. And obviously there’s a need of it leads into this idea about loneliness and isolation that so many people are feeling, and I know in rural places, especially that are so far communities are just far from services from other needs. When people decide they need support, it’s hard to access those services. Talk about how that aligns with, you know, trying to prevent some of these, these concerns around loneliness and isolation. What are things that you’re doing through CCS across the board? I mean, all those things I’m sure, kind of stem back to being in community.
Kimberly Lindsay 7:18
I really want to focus for a minute on our seniors. So when you think about who are our most vulnerable, it’s, in my opinion, it’s the elderly, the disabled and the young, the very young, and how we treat them is is a reflection of upon us as individuals. So what can we do to lift them up in their time of greatest need, especially with the seniors, when, for so many years they you know, they were serving individuals so a long time ago, back in the 70s, the Foster Grandparent Senior Companion Program emerged. It. It was born of the AmeriCorps program, which was a very visionary program from one of our past presidents that said, we want to put volunteers to work. We want to put them to work. We want to make this, this word meaningful, and we want to pay them something. Now I get that you might say, Well, if you’re a volunteer, you’re not getting paid, but if you’re going to do volunteer work, most of the time, you got to have some some financial support, right? Seniors, sometimes they have to retire for various reasons, but most of them find out, and we see this with our friends and family, that if you retire and you don’t have something to do that’s meaningful, you’re going to start to wither on the vine. So the Foster Grandparent Senior Companion Program is a way for low income senior seniors to stay busy, keep their minds engaged and be active and not jeopardize their social security, because if you make too much on Social Security, you will lose it. So the Foster Grandparent Senior Companion, it pairs seniors who are able bodied and mentally well with kiddos in the schools who would benefit from somebody reading to them or helping them with basic mass that also pairs these seniors with other shut in seniors, they earn a stipend of around $5 an hour to go out and provide this work, and because it’s a stipend, it does not impact their Social Security, this program has been an incredible it’s helpful in our schools. It’s helpful to the little kids that are receiving the services. The connection that the kids have with the seniors is incredible. It’s like a grandparent, you know? They get very attached in our clothes and. And then for the seniors that are shut in that are receiving this service, obviously it’s vital, especially in our rural areas. So it’s a great program. I could go on about it. Unfortunately, the OMB at the federal level has held up the funding, and that funding is going to and will really a dead end on July 1. So we’re having to end that program. That is going to end the last day of Operation fully will for us be September 30 of 2025 it’s devastating for the kids. It’s devastating for the schools. It’s devastating for those seniors that have been receiving the services, those that were shut in, and then all of the volunteers, all of the volunteers. And you know, what’s interesting, Erin, is that that’s going to impact their health. And I’m just, I just, I really believe that they’re going to have more health issues, and it’s going to cost more. It’s going to end up costing us more. So I’ve been asking myself, what can we do? We don’t have the funds to continue that program, but what can we do to continue to look at ways to provide supports to those individuals who are no longer receiving those supports? And that’s probably a different conversation all by itself. I guess I’m just trying to circle back to say that it’s incumbent upon us to look at ways to reach out in a very creative way to those individuals. The last six words of the Pledge of Allegiance says with liberty and justice for all, not for some, but for all. So how do we do that? I’m just going to stop there,
Erin Borla 12:09
if I could go on. And so you’ve written and spoken as well about the opioid epidemic and what that looks like in rural places in the communities that you serve. How is it different in rural than it is in urban or metro places?
Kimberly Lindsay 12:28
We know every one of them. Yeah, we know them. They are our neighbors. We see them at church. We see them at the grocery store. Their kids are going to school with our kids, or it’s a kid that’s going to school with our kid, or it could be a teenager that’s not there the next day, or an eight year old that cleaned off a counter that had opioids on it and ended up in the hospital or worse yet. So I think that’s the first thing that I think of, is that these, these are our friends and neighbors and and it makes it our onion is just much smaller, you know, so in a larger community like Portland, well, I think, you know, at this point, most people have know Somebody that has been impacted by the opioid endemic, but it might be seven or eight or nine layers removed often, but here in Eastern Oregon, it’s, you know, one, two or three layers removed. So it’s just very real. You’re having these conversations with your kiddos about WHY SO and SO isn’t at school, or what are all the cop cars, you know, just down the street? Why was so and so life flighted? They might be the it might be their son or daughter. I mean, I might work with somebody in dispatch, in my position, the 911, dispatch center and their loved one might have been impacted by an overdose. So, yeah, I think that’s the first thing I don’t know. Beyond that though, Erin, where it falls off in incredibly different ways. And then I’ve been thinking about that since you said that. I think that some pockets of our population have been even more impacted. And I think sometimes because of the rural nature. Our isolation, we also can be easier targets, and most of you don’t need me to talk about how the appellations were the hardest hit in the beginning with the opioid epidemic, just because they were royal role, because information didn’t get out there as quick, because there were blue collar workers working in industries where injuries were higher and these medications were given out like candy, right? So sometimes we can be a little bit more vulnerable to industry influences, and that also impacts impacts us in ways that it might not impact the larger communities.
Erin Borla 15:52
I think when people think about opioids now, and I might be putting words in people’s mouth, I don’t know when I think about it, I think about the settlement dollars, and it gets confusing, because especially as a funder, there’s this idea that, well, we’ve solved that now that there are these settlement dollars, now it’s time to turn our attention to other places. But the reality is that the settlement dollars don’t hit communities equitably, and they land it. There’s gaps in where they can fund and what they do fund. So how can funders participate in this work to continue to make a difference?
Kimberly Lindsay 16:34
I want to give an example. So the the settlement dollars in Oregon didn’t go to all counties. They went to some counties, and each state decided how those dollars were going to get out to their counties. I am not entirely sure exactly how Oregon did it, but for sure, many of the very small counties, of the small counties, didn’t receive it. So I want to, I just want to, I think that’s important to highlight when you talk about rural, the rural nature that we live in. I’ll use Wheeler County as an example. Started the warm line, amazing. Receive no opioid dollars. But has there been opioid related instances in Wheeler County? Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, not only do people use it, it’s also a pipeline for drugs to come up, because it’s rural, right? You can get larger shipments through these rural areas at any rate, when, if you want to. It just highlights the inequity. Now, I also don’t want to sign up to be a decision maker in Oregon to figure out how to get these dollars to everyone. I think that that’s a very difficult job. I just would state that, once again, some of the small counties were completely left out Morrow. County is a little bit larger. It’s where I’m talking to you from right now. They receive $30,000 a year for a few years, and then that’s going to drop off. I think, actually, it’s already started to drop off. I think they’re down around 20,000 is 20,000 helpful? Absolutely. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because I am grateful to have those dollars to talk with our communities about how we can use these funds. And they are not the answer all by themselves. They cannot be the answer. They are not going to address what it needs to be addressed in Morrow county period, and so going back to the foundation dollars, critical, extremely needed, highly important, so significant, in some cases, bridging the gap right, or in some counties that receive nothing, just bringing something into their community that has a focus on addressing the opioid use, like I can’t emphasize that enough in some of those small counties, without The small foundations or donors, they would have nothing.
Erin Borla 19:23
You know, we first connected with your organization because of a opioid related funding project around talk a little bit about that work. It’s within one of the jails, or folks recently stepping out of the jail system,
Kimberly Lindsay 19:40
love that program, so we took funds from roundhouse foundation and paired it with two other funding sources to create to begin to provide or deliver Mo, u, d, medication for opioid use disorders. And. In the Umatilla county jail. So with those funds, individuals are screened if they would like to get started on opioid replacement therapy, Suboxone or buprenorphine. They can get started at no cost to them, and then when they get released from the jail on that medication, they don’t have the craving, and we are seeing a significant reduction in recidivism rates for that population, because they’re going out and doing other things, hopefully, you know, reconnecting with their family, and they’re also following up with us on the outpatient side, it’s significant. The medication, especially the tablet, is so inexpensive, it just makes sense. So it was. The funding from roundhouse allowed us to purchase the medication. We took other pieces of funding to hire the staff to provide the needed services, and it’s an incredible success. Thank you to roundhouse for those funds. I mean it, it is life saving,
Erin Borla 21:11
and it’s such a beautiful way to talk about how, I mean, it was a relatively small investment on our end, but is, making some big changes and a pilot program that could be replicated in other places. I think it’s just a really powerful, powerful program. So thank you for running
Kimberly Lindsay 21:30
it. Absolutely. We love it, and I would be happy to talk to anybody who’s listening to this program who’s thinking about putting something like this in their jails, like it’s there are some hiccups, or there can be some hurdles, but when you get to the other side, it’s amazing and life changing for those that are receiving the service.
Erin Borla 21:55
So some of those services were funded by Medicaid dollars in the past, how have federal cuts made it harder? How do you anticipate it getting more difficult?
Kimberly Lindsay 22:08
That’s a really good question right now. We haven’t seen any reduction in the Medicaid dollars, but if you follow the big, beautiful bill, by the time 2031, 32 comes around. We’re looking at significant reductions. So it is, it’s gradually significant over the next six years, and will be very impactful. So if no changes are made to that what our work looks like today will significantly change, and we’re going to have to try to get out in front of that and be very proactive and advocating for our services, talking with those who are served. And you know, I’m going to say it working with or reaching out to organizations such as roundhouse to look at ways of partnering. And I think I might have said creative earlier, but just with the dollars that we do have, how can we leverage them best? I think the role of small foundations is going to increase significantly, and I’m not inferring that the dollars are going to increase, but the role that small foundations play in health care, especially behavioral health care, is going to be significant. And I love it that you all are having these conversations now. I think that that the work that you do is going to be incredibly impactful, more impactful than it is today.
Erin Borla 23:56
So foundations that want to start doing this work, or at least building the groundwork to build relationships. What can they do? How can they do better than they’re doing now? How do they who do they reach out to whether they’re here in Oregon or somewhere else in rural America?
Kimberly Lindsay 24:13
You know? I suppose if you’ve seen one foundation, you’ve seen one foundation, right? Like if you’ve seen one county in Oregon, you’ve seen one county in Oregon, I don’t have lots of experience working with many foundations. I’ve worked with some. I would say this to anyone. I’m not just saying that because I’m talking saying this because I’m talking to you with roundhouse, but your approach was putting people out in the field, going to the individuals, to the agencies. Cold calling you. Cold called me, your employee. Cold called me and said, This is who I am, and this is who roundhouse is, and I want to, I’d like to meet with you to see if there’s anything that we can do to support you. Blew me away, aside from the fact that I. Think that Rebecca Barry is amazing. So I think who you have do the work is really important, that outgoing, gregarious personality, that’s how we got connected. I could go online and kind of get like my eyes might roll in the back of my head, because I could type in foundations that support opioid work. There’s a lot that come up. It’s a lot of reading. It’s a lot of reading to go through to try to figure out who funds in Oregon and where the matches are. And you don’t always know. You know, sometimes foundations might advertise that they have funds, but they might be more interested in funding existing programs. And you don’t know. You just, you just don’t know. And I’ve written a lot of grants that have went unanswered. And so you try to figure out, how do you best spend your time? And again, it’s just really different when somebody knocks on your door and says, I’d like to see how we can support you, let’s talk. That’s the reason why we’re talking today. And yeah, I just can’t say enough good about round house’s approach to how you’re putting those resources out in your community.
Erin Borla 26:19
Yeah. What are you most hopeful about?
Kimberly Lindsay 26:23
Well, I mentioned earlier the kids program that we’re opening up. I’m going to start specific, and then I’m going to go up higher, really excited and hopeful about the important services that will become to Eastern Oregon when that program opens. And I’m going to do just a quick shout out, or just mention the the building was empty. I mean, we just finished it as empty. It’s not going to open until late spring. And you may have heard Erin that the community of Boardman suffered a like a really tragic fire recently, and four families lost their homes, and the Boardman Food Pantry burned to the ground. And you know, as a friend of mine is saying, feeding people isn’t political. And so I was able to reach out to the Boardman Food Pantry board that night that they lost their pantry and offer them a new home, a temporary home, and our kids subacute respite facility, we’ve got a commercial size kitchen, and the building, again, wasn’t getting used. And that’s, that’s the new home of the Boardman food pantry. You know? I guess that’s what I want to talk about, is that that’s a specific example of people coming together, helping people, and that’s what, that’s what’s inspiring to me, that’s, that’s what brings me hope and joy every day. So when we can get past all of our differences, all of our political divisions, all of the financial or economic stressors. And just say, I can lend a hand, I can volunteer, I can be available. That’s where the beauty is. That’s what’s important. And showing up there, seeing individuals coming with uninterrupted service, and the outpouring of support within the community, and the coming together to do what we do, which is, you know, to feed and nurture and offer support and love like that’s what’s hopeful to me. And maybe that sounds Pollyannaish, but the day that I don’t have, that I don’t have that kind of joy in the work that I do to see people getting better than that, I don’t have hope.
Erin Borla 29:09
Yeah. Well, that was my my last thing on my list was a thank you to you for opening that space for the food bank. That was something that we had heard about as well the day that had happened, because we are working on a larger investment to rural food banks and food pantries due to recent cuts and the increased need. And had been in touch with the director of the Boardman Food Pantry the day before about a grant for that work, and then had found out what had happened, and found out that they were in your space, I mean, and almost instantaneously, like, talk about a community that has lifted each other. So that was my thank you to you of showing up in a way that is not like, well, it’s sort of outside our mission. Sorry. Story, but just making it work. And then you’re right. I mean, food is the great equalizer, right?
Kimberly Lindsay 30:10
Everybody can come together over food, right? Let’s break break bread that’s in literature that’s 2000 years old. So that’s our roots. And, yeah, see. And they’re like, we get to be in their space. And for me, I’m thinking, oh no, like, we’re getting the greater gift out of this CCS is getting the greater gift?
Speaker 1 30:42
Yeah, when
Erin Borla 30:57
we first connected with Kimberly Lindsay and her program in northeast Oregon. I don’t know if any of us had any idea how vast that program was, and how many different opportunities and different things and different communities that she was serving through that work and her desire to really build community around safe spaces and mental health and making sure people feel supported is so powerful, and what a gift to all of us to be able to be connected to her work. When we initially connected around funding the MO U D treatment in the northeast Oregon jails, it was an interesting conversation at the trustee and board level about that work, but her passion and her interest in her community connections, the fact she’s already working with the Sheriff’s Department, the fact she’s already working with the community and already known in those places, and that this is a pilot program that can be replicated and implemented in other places. That was a no brainer and an easy sell for our organization to kick start and be able to try it, and it’s really proven successful. We’ve talked a lot about different crisis lines on this show, and I’m sure many of you have seen different ads and different things for other crises lines across different advertising platforms. I love this difference between a warm line and a hotline to be able to connect ahead of a crisis that early intervention and the fact that the David romper, Oregon warm line started in rural Wheeler county with two guys, they were open a few hours a day has now shifted to a statewide warm line where people can call and just connect, just have an opportunity to talk about what’s going on. That’s such a gift to the state. If you or someone you know wants to use the David romper warm line here in the state of Oregon, Please call 1-800-698-2392,
Erin Borla 33:10
thanks for listening to funding rural.
Transcribed by AI. Please forgive any mistakes.
