Find Hope Right in Your Own Backyard
The hard truth is that crisis and trauma can impact anyone’s life – at any time. And when someone loses hope, they also lose the reasons they need to seek support, heal and grow. OneEighty is in the business of offering a whole multitude of powerful reasons, for those who are hurting, to reach out for help they desperately need. “A crisis doesn’t wait for a convenient time,” explained Bobbi Douglas, OneEighty Executive Director. “Accessibility is key. We know how important it is to be responsive. People who are really struggling with life, for whatever reason, can come here and get a compassionate response. I believe they are treated with dignity and we offer same-day service.”
OneEighty has always been a force for good – since it’s beginnings in the early 1970’s – with the 2006 merging of STEPS at Liberty Center alcoholism services and Every Woman’s House domestic violence and rape crisis support. United, OneEighty became solidly invested in making mental health and emotional wellbeing a priority. As a whole, the organization lives out its mission to advance the common good through active outreach, support and recovery. “I think anybody who’s got a big, deep end kind of a problem, we become a home to them – particularly for those struggling with domestic violence and sexual assault, but also with addiction,” Douglas added.
We were one of 25 agencies nationally that were among the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) founding organizations teaching process improvement, using the Deming Cycle continuous quality improvement process model to improve treatment,” Douglas explained. “The four things that NIATX has focused on:”
- Increasing admissions
- Decreasing wait times
- Eliminating no shows
- Promoting continuation of treatment
“We know that if we can get people to come in four times for treatment they are more likely to engage in treatment,” Douglas noted. “I think we’re cutting edge on many things”
A good neighbor: the difference between homelessness and home
“One of the things I most value about this organization is that we have truly become a trusted partner in our community,” Douglas added. “I think people generally believe that we do really good things that help improve our community. An example of that is the issue of homelessness in our community. We had a tent city a few years ago, right outside of our city limits. When it was closed down, the people moved it downtown on the square,” Douglas continued. “This was a real problem. You have to understand that our city is really proud of its downtown. We were able to partner with the city to intervene and offer vital resources and support services to help turn the situation around. Today we’re recognized as experts with this population. Truthfully, it’s been important that we offer care with attention to detail and create a sense of home – for every population we serve.”
Reimagining possibilities and rebuilding lives
OneEighty is in the business of finding ways to create opportunities that can advance people’s lives. “Employment has been a huge issue down here,” Douglas offered. “We were out to dinner at one of our long-term family-owned restaurants here in town. They used to be open for lunch, and now they’ve closed due to the pandemic. The owner had been trying to retire. He wondered whether we could set up something in their restaurant during the day – like for breakfast or for lunch – where the restaurant could be staffed by people in recovery or people in a re-entry program as an opportunity to get them job skills. This is the kind of community we live in, where people want to look for creative solutions to difficult problems.”
Achieve a transformative outlook on life
“We’ve been doing this a very long time. Every Woman’s House has been around since 1979, helping heal individuals and families who have experienced the impact of domestic violence or sexual assault. And we offer community services dedicated to preventing these crimes.”
“We have a number of clients who are now employees, and even a few board members who were former clients,” Douglas explained. “I have two clients now that were at the shelter who serve on our board. One is a banker and the other works at a credit union – she’s a single mom with two kids. She recently came to me and said, ‘I’ve used the services and I’m just so grateful for where I am now with my kids.’ Her older son was named Youth of the Year at the Boys and girls Club.”
Learn to trust the power of new beginnings
As an organization, OneEighty operates by the creed that no matter how far down the scale someone has fallen, there is still hope. Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places. At OneEighty, clients can find the preventive tools, the trauma-informed care, the new direction, the motivation and the understanding support they need to change their lives.
We’re here to support you
We help people change direction with programs for addiction, domestic violence, rape crisis, mental health, housing, and prevention and education. OneEighty strives to offer a safe and welcoming environment to the LGBTQIA+ community – offering a counseling staff with a wide range of backgrounds and specialties, including those that work with the LGBT community.
At OneEighty, we actively support an evidence-based approach to sustainable recovery from trauma and addiction – restoring dignity and purpose, reimagining potential and rebuilding lives.