Thank you for being an invested supporter! Let me start by saying, your support helped 2023 to be an incredible success! Your commitment to Liberty House is a driving force behind our ability to care for every child we see, and this is why I want to share our plans for 2024, our 25th anniversary year. Your support has allowed us to achieve incredible milestones in 2023, impacting thousands of children and families across Marion and Polk Counties.
It is important to me that you know about these five important and exciting projects happening this year. Your time, attention, and financial gifts allow us to look at 2024 with ambition, excitement, and hope. Not all of our supporters will receive this list of projects. It isn’t a secret, but it means the most to those most invested in Liberty House and the welfare of the children we serve daily, which is why I want to share it with you. As you scan through these five projects and have ideas, comments, questions, and interest, I’d love to learn what makes you feel excited!
1. **New Positions for Enhanced Impact:**
At Liberty House, we are strategic with every cent we receive. In 2024, we plan to bring on new team members to ensure continued excellence. We are ecstatic to hopefully hire two more medical providers to the clinic team this year! Later this spring, you will have an incredible opportunity to match a gift to bring on one of these providers. The math is simple: We cannot meet the number of referrals we receive unless we have the appropriate number of medical providers on staff. Additionally, as our North Marion County location (see #2) begins serving children later this winter, multiple bilingual positions will be added to this new clinic team, which include an intake and family support coordinator and a community engagement/prevention coordinator. Once these members are up-and-going, they will be an incredible contribution to our team and provide transformation support to the families of North Marion County!
2. **Expansion into North Marion County:**
We are putting the final touches on the expansion into the northern part of Marion County. This new space is critical in allowing us to meet the growing need for child-facing services due to the dramatic population growth in that area. A few staff members have already transitioned office spaces, and we aim to be child-ready by late-February or early March. We still need help outfitting our spaces with some furniture, child-friendly decorations, and some specific medical equipment pieces. Would you like to join for the ribbon cutting this spring, or do you want a tour of this new facility?
3. **Meeting Mental Health Needs:**
Despite Oregon’s challenges in mental health resources, Liberty House remains committed to trauma-focused therapy for children in our community. This is a space of deep healing. Our dreams and plans for 2024 and beyond include doubling our number of therapists, providing more counseling to family units, and providing additional appointment opportunities to children in our communities. One exciting opportunity we have is to have an educational program (funded by Oregon HOWTO) to train therapist working toward their certifications.
Why does responding child abuse, neglect, trauma, and grief matter so much to Liberty House? We strongly believe unaddressed trauma can avalanche into devastating outcomes for an individual and our entire society , AND we believe proper approaches to healing can begin to transform even the deepest wounds. Here is a fantastic 15-minute video from Dr. Nadine Burke Harris in a TED Talk, where she explains the significance of the work you are invested in through supporting Liberty House: “How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime”
Do you know of any therapist looking to provide incredible healing to children who have experienced trauma?
4. **Prevention Curriculum Growth:**
Alongside many trainings and presentations, our team of prevention specialists is working on a significant project – the “myWorth” curriculum for middle school age children. We received high praise for the pilot program, which worked with 25 educators in the Salem-Keizer, Perrydale, and St. Paul school districts. Next, Phase 2 will involve three years of collaboration with the Center for Prevention of Abuse and Neglect at the University of Oregon to see this curriculum accredited, with the hopes that it will be adopted and used nationally. Our goal is to produce and provide best-in-class child abuse prevention education to keep children safe. We are actively seeking investments for the $200,000 it will cost to achieve full accreditation. Let me know if you’d like to learn more about this curriculum and the outcomes it seeks!
5. **Celebrate and Vision Cast:**
Throughout 2024, we will continue hosting events to raise awareness, align the community with our vision, and celebrate success. As we mark our 25th anniversary, these gatherings will play a vital role in preparing for our next 25 years. Your participation helps the community understand the widespread impact of abuse, fuels the vision of healthy and hope-filled children, and celebrates the positive changes in the lives of those we serve. One way we want to encourage our community is sharing the vision, stories, encouragement, and desires of those who support Liberty House or were impacted by our services. If you are interested in sharing a testimonial about your support or experiences through an event, eNewletter, or a post (named or anonymous), I would love to hear from you.
Alright, I hope you’re inspired and excited as you read through this list!
Now that you know five ways we are excited to continue changing lives, I’d love to learn: Which of these topics and projects is most interesting to you? Do you have questions about any of these projects? I would love to chat with you and hear your thoughts about any or all of these projects. It is clear, you are a partner who responds to and reduces child abuse in our communities. Your thoughts, input, and investment allow us to pursue big, audacious projects like these five mentioned above, in order to assess, treat, and prevent child abuse, neglect, trauma, and grief.
Please let me know what specific updates you would like throughout the coming months as we pursue these projects. You can send an email to clocke@libertyhousecenter.org, or give me a call or text at 971-375-5237.
Again, thank you. This work cannot happen without the generous support and enthusiasm of our community.
With gratitude and excitement,
Conner Locke
Donor Relations Officer
Email: clocke@libertyhousecenter.org
Phone: 971-375-5237
THANK YOU!
