Statewide non-profit to lose both state and federal funding after 2 decades of service

After more than 2 decades serving families across the state, a local non-profit could be forced to shut down at the end of this month after losing both state and federal funding. Parents Helping Parents is now exhausting all efforts to try and continue their operations. 

Parents Helping Parents' mission: 

“At Parents Helping Parents, we serve as a resource provider. We do some advocacy work, we provide education, support groups, and really help families and parents who have a loved one with addiction. We just help them navigate through whatever needs they may have,” said Tree Keley, the Executive Director of Parents Helping Parents. 

“We reach around 3,000 people a month, and we've been at this for about 23 years,” said Keley.

“I've been with Parents Helping Parents for about six years now,” said Tara Carr, the Marketing Director and Outreach Coordinator for Parents Helping Parents. “It's just been incredible to see this organization grow and evolve and to see all of the families that have been impacted along the way.” 

“We've had so many families call us and say, I don't know that I would have made it through the darkest time in my life, I mean we've lost count at this point over 23 years, how many families have said that. It's hard to really say how much our resources have meant for people,” said Carr.

"The importance of having a community cannot be overstated. As parents, you're so involved with making sure that your child is okay that you're most of the time neglecting yourself and your own needs,” said Carr. 

“A lot of parents come to us and they don't have anybody else to talk to, but they're at their wits' end, they're at rock bottom, and that's when they find Parents Helping Parents. Then they're able to talk with somebody, they're able to call somebody who has been through the exact same thing, so a little bit of weight is lifted, and now they're plugged into a group, so now a little more weight is lifted. You can just kind of see the light come back on, and it’s very inspiring to watch them be able to share without shame with people who understand,” said Carr.  

“Hope on Wheels” Initiative:

“We do a bus tour, we call it ‘Hope on Wheels’, and it's incredible because we're able to reach all of the rural areas. We focus on each quadrant of the state; we do one at a time, and we stop in all of these different rural towns. We've been to northeast Oklahoma and southeast Oklahoma, and our next one was supposed to be southwest Oklahoma,” said Keley.

“The bus tours are new as of last year. That's one of the things I've always been so amazed with, Parents Helping Parents: just the ideas and the creativity of the people on the board and the volunteers to do things that other people aren't doing,” said Carr. 

“We load up the bus with professionals, with case managers, with service providers, board members, just anybody who wants to come help. Spread out all over the town and we visit people and we hand out supplies, we give out fentanyl test strips and Narcan and information about where they could go for local help,” said Keley.

“It meets a great need, and it was a great way to help us reach all 77 counties. Those bus tours aren't going to happen anymore unless we can come up with the funding to do that,” said Keley.

Expansion of non-profit requested: 

“They're also requesting more in-person events and more in-person support groups; we typically offer that online. We're really excited to look to the future and start doing some more in-person events and starting some in-person support groups, so finding out that we've lost all of our funding is just crushing,” said Keley. 

100% of funding cut: 

“We rely on that funding 100% we have three contracts. Two of them are state contracts, and one of them is federal, and they total around $230,000 a year, which is very close to our budget. We might raise about $10,000 more a year,” said Keley.

“I’m so fearful for rural Oklahomans that they're gonna fall through the cracks,” said Keley.

Staffing cuts to come: 

“Sadly, I had to let five of our staff members know that their last day would be September 30th, and there's only seven of us,” said Keley. 

“Not only is it Oklahomans who are now gonna lack the resources that we provide, but it’s such a blessing to have people that have so much passion for what they do and drive and want to make a difference, and now I’m not going to be able to utilize their skills, simply because I can't pay them,” said Keley. 

“I told my staff that my ultimate goal is that we can all be back together. I just need a little time,” said Keley.  

Working to find a solution: 

“The solution is money. I wish I had a magic wand, but right now the focus is to just try and raise as much funds as we can. I’m applying for every grant I can get my hands on. I’m looking for ways that I can correlate what we do with all of the different grants out there, even if they don't sound like they may fit with us, I’m searching,” said Keley.

“I’m hoping that month by month I can keep us open,” said Keley. 

Community help needed: 

“I’m just asking people, if Parents Helping Parents has touched their lives somehow and they see the value in what we do, if they could just please support us. Anything that people can do is incredibly helpful right now,’ said Keley. 

“I think a lot of people are just unsure of what it looks like, but we know that we're willing to do whatever we need to do to continue to provide resources. However, we can help the community impact our neighbors and our friends and families, that is what we're going to do. Obviously, we're hopeful that we will be able to secure more funding so that we can continue providing the valuable resources and education, and support that we have been providing for over two decades. We're gonna do anything we can to do that,” said Carr. 

“I'm just confident that where there's a will, there's a way,” said Carr.

“We can tell the Department of Mental Health and other organizations what we do all day long, but until the people who have actually been touched and impacted by our services speak out, it just comes off in a whole new light,” said Carr.

Other organizations impacted: 

“Parents Helping Parents is not the only non-profit that lost their funding, and so many of us are losing our funding; we are the ones that take care of people that live in what we would call a “resource desert.” It’s really sad, and I worry for those people,’ said Keley. 

“There are a lot of other organizations that have been impacted, and to think about what Oklahomans are going to have to face without additional support and resources. It makes me sad, but I am hopeful as well. I know that Oklahoma is super resilient, and I know our people are as well,” said Carr.

To learn more about Parents Helping Parents, or to donate, visit their website: https://www.parentshelpingparents.info/support-us