By Joey Moore | Fundraising Coordinator
Dear Parliamentarians,
Wondering what we've been up to lately here at SeekHealing?
This winter has been a quiet time of inwardness; a time of strategizing and planning for the year ahead. And while we've been busy planning behind the scenes, there’s also been continued movement and momentum from a development and community partnership standpoint that we’re excited to share with you.
Phoenix Pilot Success
Our recent pilot with The Phoenix, a community for people in recovery, has proven to be a resounding success! Through this initiative, we expanded our Online Connection Practice Meeting (CPM) program to users of The Phoenix App. The response was overwhelming, with 752 new members joining our space on The Phoenix App and 640 individuals registering for SeekHealing events. Even more heartening was that 94 people made SeekHealing their first choice out of various resources available on the app. This pilot has highlighted the growing demand for accessible online healing spaces, and we are committed to sustaining this momentum, even as the path forward for funding is unclear.
How you can help support SeekHealing’s online community:
While the pilot phase has concluded, we are actively exploring innovative funding solutions to support the continuation of our expanded CPM schedule. If you have any creative ideas or would like to contribute, please get in touch with the online programming lead, Alison Reeves, at alison@seekhealing.org.
Haywood Street Congregation Partnership
At the end of 2023, SeekHealing received a touching donation from an anonymous donor inspired by their connection with Karen Timko. Karen's life was marked by significant challenges, including severe persistent mental illness and homelessness. A Seeker in our community cared for Karen through the end of her life and would often share their experiences of SeekHealing with her. Through their connection, Karen affectionately began to refer to SeekHealing as an organization that "helps little broken people like me." Although she didn't have two dimes to rub together, Karen had an insurance policy in her name that paid out in her passing, and which her Seeker caregiver has gifted entirely to SeekHealing. Thanks to this generous donation, we can fund our partnership with Haywood Street Congregation to help address the basic needs of individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty in Asheville, NC. SeekHealing will provide Listening Training for Haywood Street's entire staff of volunteers and peer support companions and will also support the organization in getting their Story Circle program back up and running. This partnership between SeekHealing and Haywood Street has been years in the making, and we can't think of a better way to honor Karen's legacy than by ensuring that socially healthy group experiences are available to the Haywood Street community on a regular basis.
Spring SHFT Cohort Enrollment
The Spring cohort of Social Health Facilitation Training (SHFT) launched recently, with every class seat filled. This was a big win for our team, as we experimented with new systems and strategies for attracting high quality candidates to this program. Over the next three months, 22 budding facilitators-in-training, along with a wonderful staff of course leaders, will meet weekly to practice facilitation in community. We’re hopeful that some of these folks will go on to become certified Social Health Professionals and facilitate SeekHealing meetings, in future.
EatonCare Training Program
As part of implementing our new fee-for-service programming strategies, we're excited to announce our partnership with EatonCare in Avery Creek! EatonCare is a branch of Eaton, Inc – an international energy company. The leadership team at Avery Creek has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to prioritizing mental health in the workplace. Through this partnership, SeekHealing will offer Listening Training sessions to both the local leadership team and their employees, equipping them with the skills to support one another's mental well-being within the bounds of professional confidentiality. This contracted collaboration with EatonCare brings us a step forward in working more closely with businesses and organizations to support SeekHealing’s non-profit programs in the community and to empower socially healthy workplaces where employees feel valued and receive practical support for their mental health needs.
How you can help support SeekHealing’s fee-for-service programming:
Interested in helping out? Email the team at training@seekhealing.org to discuss further.
Asheville Program Growth
We’re excited to share that SeekHealing’s Asheville program is growing exponentially — to the point where we need to assign two facilitators at meetings and are beginning to outgrow our office and meeting space. This rapid growth highlights both the need and desire for SeekHealing's offerings within the local community. It also reflects a broader societal shift towards recognizing the importance of human connection, the impact of loneliness and the need for more holistic approaches to mental health and addiction recovery. This expansion phase offers exciting prospects for increased outreach and collaboration with community partners, ultimately making a greater impact in combating loneliness and facilitating healing. There is no growth without growing pains, and we welcome any support that you may have to offer as we navigate this new-found expansiveness.
How you can help support SeekHealing’s Asheville program
Interested in helping out? Email Jennifer and Joey at joey@seekhealing.org to discuss further.
Israeli-Palestinian Connection Practice Meetings
SeekHealing was recently approached to help facilitate peaceful dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian activists who are enduring the painful impacts of the Israel-Hamas War. Co-facilitators Jennifer Nicolaisen and Cathy Courtenay have been organizing container-building sessions to provide a safe space for participants to address their heightened emotions and build trust. More recently, Israeli and Palestinian-specific Connection Practice Meetings have been facilitated, and the hope is to eventually facilitate a fully integrated meeting between both sides when the time is right. SeekHealing is engaging with these groups pro bono, and we are dedicated to doing what we can to facilitate connection and healing with our neighbors in the Middle East.
How you can help support the Israeli-Palestinian Connection Practice Meetings:
Interested in helping out? Email Jennifer at jennifer@seekhealing.org to discuss further.
Your support is what makes all of this exciting progress possible. Thank you for believing in us, for believing in this work, and for supporting our social health mission to create a world we all want to live in rather than escape from.
With warmth,
The SeekHealing team
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