Healing Ranch
S and I have had quite the adventure. In the last month, we've encountered two people, both with small children, leaving or considering leaving abusive relationships who needed places to stay during the discernment phase (neither of whom we could help, besides offering a space to listen). We've temporarily housed a friend who was grief-stricken after the loss of her sister. We've temporarily cared for two little girls from our church who are in a most difficult situation on two weekends. And, we've figured out a way to ensure that a trans friend whose health fell apart partly due to his hormone dosages was able to make rent rather than losing his home (thanks to the help of many generous friends with more financial resources than we have).
Clearly, God is trying to tell us something. These incidents--and others like them, like the time we had a new mother and her infant living on our couch, or the time a friend struggling with an eating disorder showed up night after night to be with safe people in order to be sure she could eat a healthy meal--are telling us something.
All of this has been hard for T, who has been experiencing these incidents from across the country over the phone and wanting to be here. All of this has been hard for me--I am still parenting a special needs teen, after all, and I have a more-than-full-time job.
But it is time now to start taking these messages seriously. S agrees--recently, when we received pressure again from our social worker to explore other living options for S, she said, "I want to start Healing Ranch! Why isn't anyone listening?"
I said, "I'm listening." And then I prayed, hard. And then I sent an e-mail to our social worker telling her about this dream.
Surprisingly, she was supportive, and wanted to meet immediately to talk about some potential resources and how to include this dream into S's goals. The next step was writing up the attached overview, which I sent to our minister and a friend, who added more ideas.
In the midst of it all, I said to T, "Do you think we are crazy?"
"We're not crazy," she said. "This is what we're supposed to do--or some version of it, anyway. All of my life, all I have wanted is to heal people."
"Me too," I said.
And so, here it is: a first draft of our seven-to-ten-years-from-now dream. Maybe we'll never achieve it, exactly, but I have no doubt that we'll make some part of it happen--that my whole life up to this point was intended to make part of it happen.
But first...
About a week after I had shared our vision with our minister, we had a difficult congregational meeting. She's been an interim minister for two years. She's beloved, but also feared, for reasons too complicated to get into here. So far, the search committee, comprised of a very diverse group of church members, has failed to find a new minister for the church--mostly because our parsonage is old and in terrible shape and we have very little money to offer. We spent an hour talking about how to mess with the budget to fix these issues. After awhile, I felt called to speak. I raised my hand and said that maybe this was beside the point, but wouldn't a clearer mission and vision lead to more members lead to more money lead us out of the problems we have now? I mentioned that the regional shelter for domestic violence victims had closed, that within our own church, we had children without permanent homes that we were helping to house, one weekend at a time. We had members transitioning out of prison and back into society with very few resources. We had people dealing with a lot of grief and fear. Could we do something big, spectacular, even, with what we did have--then have faith that the resources would come? Some members avoided eye contact after church, but others made an effort to get more information, ask follow up questions, write some things down.
The next Sunday, our minister relayed the most amazing dreams in a sermon to a church in deep transition, on the verge of doing something dynamic--or nothing at all. She dreamed a broken-down, dirty church, where she had come to see a movie. After the movie, she had to cross a suspension bridge to get to the basement kitchen, where church ladies were serving coffee and bars. On the way, she passed room after room filled with all kinds of stuff, some of it very old, much of it still useable. Nothing from the past had been sorted. There was no room to grow. In the end, she reached the kitchen, but the cookies and coffee weren't satisfying in the least.
The same week, she dreamed another church, small, simple, but uncluttered. People were talking dynamically with one another. There were embraces and tears. She was a guest, worshipping in an unfamiliar space, and yet she felt welcomed. She was offered a tour afterwards, and learned that the Sunday School rooms were also sitting rooms, and bedrooms--somehow these uncluttered, multi-purpose spaces worked as all three. The church lived out a radical welcome, and anyone needing a place to rest could come. Outside there were gardens overflowing with fresh food. During the tour, the guide explained who had helped with each task--who had planned the garden, who weeded it, who had built the furniture, who welcomed those needing rest--and our minister realized she knew all of these people, but had never known they had these particular talents.
Prophetic, I hope.
And now, finally, about Healing Ranch (with an invitation to help shape this dream however you can!):
Healing Ranch: Our Dream
What is the mission statement of Healing Ranch?
Healing Ranch aims to transform individual and collective trauma into healing; individual loneliness, abandonment, and discrimination into inclusive community; self-doubt into empowerment, and injustice into justice. We enact this mission by working individually with people who want to determine how to heal from past trauma in order to discover how they are called to use their unique gifts and insights to transform the world.
Who can live or spend some time during the day here?
Healing Ranch is open to anyone in need of a place to focus on their healing. We believe the process of healing leads people to important self-discoveries. People dedicated to healing learn who they are, what difference they want to make in the world, and how they can utilize their unique gifts to create a better world. Those who come to Healing Ranch may choose to live and work at the ranch for short or long-term stays or to visit occasionally or regularly, with or without an overnight stay. Those who visit, work, or live at Healing Ranch are dedicated to this journey of healing as a pathway to creating a more just and inclusive world.
Those who might benefit from Healing Ranch include, but are not limited to:
--Young people in the foster care system who have experienced abandonment or abuse and are in need of a place where they can work through trauma, determine what gifts they have to offer the world, and begin to utilize those gifts—as well as prepare for a more permanent family situation or for a meaningful, productive life after high school.
--People with disabilities who need a place where they can discover, develop, and use their gifts to better the world.
--People who are experiencing difficult passages in their lives—leaving an abusive relationship, deciding whether or not to leave a partner, coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, experiencing financial crises, etc.—and want to process what has happened to them and find their “next step” in life.
What services can we provide?
*Community meals: We cook and eat three healthy meals a day together, and invite others to join us for supper. We believe we can make or purchase locally most of what we eat. We believe that cooking and eating together builds meaningful, reciprocal communities. Everyone will be involved in some way in meals on a rotating basis, and those especially interested in food-related careers can be involved in meal planning and coordinating cooking and clean up.
*Coaching in developing a healthy lifestyle: An on-staff nurse will be available to provide expertise in helping people develop healthy habits that will work best for their goals and interests and working on particular health issues.
*Meaningful work on site—and placement at off-site volunteer opportunities to develop job skills: We hope to have an on-site kennel and farm and other work opportunities on site. An on-staff job coordinator will help people determine where they want to work or volunteer, and where. This staff will have connections with many partnering organizations and businesses in the region.
*Educational resources: An on-site educational coordinator will ensure that everyone is able to attain their educational goals through on-site tutoring and job training or connection to other community resources, such as mentors and tutors. We will also offer homeschooling to school-aged residents or daily visitors who do not thrive in a typical school environment. In the long-term future, we may be able to establish a charter school on site.
*Connection and coordination of other regional resources: Our staff will have established partnerships with many community resources and understand how each of these resources can help with particular aspects of a person’s life. We hope to develop teams of resource people for each person who lives or regularly visits the ranch and ensure that there is communication among these resources.
*Spiritual direction (not required): Our staff will include a spiritual director. Spiritual direction means helping a person to understand themselves as spiritual beings and determine what this means in terms of what role they are meant to play in making the world a better place at this time and over time.
*Meditation and prayer sessions (not required): Our daily schedule will include opportunities to explore different types of meditation and prayer in order to determine what spiritual practices might best fit each person.
*Learning circles: Our schedule includes learning circles 2-3 times a week. This is a time to share and deeply listen to one another. Learning circles are designed to help a group of people dedicated to living in a shared community to remain connected to each other and able to work through any challenges that might arise.
*Guest speakers/performers/special activities: We hope to have a special guest at least two times a week and to make some of these sessions open to the public. These sessions will depend on the interests of those living at Healing Ranch at the time. In some cases, guests may come for a longer stay of up to two weeks and offer a series of opportunities.
What is the daily schedule like?
5:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.: Chores and breakfast preparation; meditation and prayer session (optional).
7:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m.: Breakfast and clean up; those who have jobs or schools off site leave for those experiences. Kennel drop off time.
8:30-12:00: Those who receive services at the ranch only in the mornings arrive. Work on site in the on-site kennel, barn, garden, buildings, and kitchen. Spiritual direction and meetings with case managers, tutors, coaches, nurse, etc.
12:00-1:30: Lunch together and lunch clean up.
1:30-5:30: Those who receive services at the ranch only in the afternoons arrive; morning people leave. Work on site in the on-site kennel, barn, garden, buildings, and kitchen. Spiritual direction and meetings with case managers, tutors, nurse, etc. Those who have work/school off site return at the end of this time frame. School-aged children meet with tutors during the last two hours of this time frame. Welcome supper guests and evening guest speakers/performers at the end of this time frame.
5:30-7:30: Supper and supper clean up. Household chores, outdoor chores, kennel pick up time.
7:30-9:00: Depending on the evening, this time frame will include:
*Learning circle (at least twice/week—some will be for those living at the ranch only, and others open to anyone receiving services through the ranch)
*Evening activity geared toward those living in the house: We will bring in guest speakers/performers as special educational opportunities for those living in the house or to address specific skills/topics that those in the house could benefit from learning.
*Evening activity open to the public: Some evenings we’ll open the ranch to the public and have a guest artist, speaker, or performer—and charge for this experience in order to make a bit of income.
9:00-10:00: Free time/bedtime/those who were staying temporarily leave during this time. Optional meditation/prayer time.
Note: Weekend schedules will be a bit less structured and will include “family outings” around the region, as well as some evening events open to the public.
What work opportunities do we hope to have on site?
Community garden team: The community garden team plans the garden during the winter months, purchases plants, tends to the plants, harvests, and stores the plants.
Meal planning and cooking team: The meal team plans a weekly menu, purchase food locally, and prepare the meals.
Kennel/Petsitting team: The kennel team manages an on-site kennel and a petsitting business.
Evening Programming team: The evening programming team helps to book guest speakers and educational opportunities and to promote those that will be open to others to the general public. They also coordinate volunteer tutors and coaches.
Learning circle team: The learning circle team plans and facilitates evening learning circles and helps to ensure that there is mediation for any challenges that might come up in the house.
Hospitality team: The hospitality team helps to promote opportunities at Healing Ranch and to welcome those who come for short or longer-term stays.
Education Team: The education team ensures that everyone who is living or visiting healing ranch has access to educational opportunities. They recruit tutors and coaches for those who need job training, GED prep, ACT prep, assistance with homework, and the like.
Farm team: Healing Ranch hopes to have a small farm, and the farm team works with the farm animals and facilities.
Those who live or come to Healing Ranch during the day for a full day will typically work on one of these teams in the morning and work on their own healing/growth/goals in the afternoon, or vice-versa. Full day people who don’t stay the night will typically eat lunch and one other meal with the group. Or, they might go to an off-site educational opportunity or job during the day and help with one of these teams on the weekends.
Those who come to Healing Ranch for a half day will typically work on one of these teams each day, or alternate to experience different types of work, and will share one meal with the group.
As long as each person who receives services from Healing Ranch is helping with one or more aspects of the life of the ranch while utilizing its resources, the specifics can be somewhat flexible.
How many people can live at or be served by Healing Ranch at once?
To start, we will have three full-time residents who are coordinating the ranch. We hope to also have one or two college interns on site each semester and over the summer. We hope to house between 4-8 additional individuals, and to serve up to 20 people total.
What kind of facility will you have?
We are looking for a facility with between six and eight bedrooms, a commercial kitchen, and ample space for small and large group discussions, as well as an office and a library/work room with multiple computers. The outdoors will have space for a large garden and a barn/grazing area for small farm animals. A kennel will be on the property as well.
Finally, we hope eventually to add a small cabin to the property for people who want to come on a retreat, and this will be another source of income for us. These retreaters may choose to be involved in some or all of our activities, or none of them, depending on their needs.
What is the intake process like?
Some people will be placed at Healing Ranch as adult or child foster placements. Others will make a choice, usually through referral, to explore the possibility of receiving services or living at the ranch. Those who choose to live or receive services at the ranch will meet with an intake staff person to determine their short and long-term goals and make a decision about the kind of commitment they want to make to the ranch and vice-versa. They will develop a daily schedule with this intake staff person as well.
How long can people stay?
Those who stay the night have their case reviewed by staff and those resource people with whom they have connected every three months—or whenever they feel ready to leave, if before three months. At these reviews, we discuss how well Healing Ranch’s services are working for the individual and the feasibility of staying longer, review the individual’s goals/make changes to those goals, and put together a transition plan if the person will be leaving. We continue to stay connected to those who leave and ensure that they are welcome to return for short-term visits, meals, or other activities.
Those who come for half or full days could continue to be a part of Healing Ranch for as long as they wish—particularly those who might not otherwise have feasible work opportunities. Some who move out may choose the option of continuing to work at the ranch for partial days and to continue to receive services through the ranch.
How is this all funded?
We hope to be funded by multiple types of funding. We will:
*Remain as self-sufficient as possible; we will pay staff only if those living in the house cannot do the work required and those with expertise cannot afford to serve as volunteers.
*Sell some of the food we produce.
*Provide 5-10 people the opportunity to eat supper with us (with reservations) and/or experience our evening program; we will charge a fee for this.
*Operate an on-site kennel and petsitting business.
*Utilize county, state, and federal funds from some residents who are child or adult foster care placements.
*Determine on a case-by-case basis how much each person can contribute financially to the operation, based on income or savings. (Some will not be able to contribute at all, but others may).
*Achieve non-profit status and seek individual and other donations.
*Write grants!
Where are we now?
We’re in the very early stages of researching this endeavor. We are making a list of similar facilities to visit and resource people to interview. We understand the research phase will take 1-2 years, after which we hope to work on fundraising for a facility and acquiring licenses we wish to pursue. We do not yet have a space, and we need to raise money to purchase one. We may need to have a temporary healing house before purchasing a facility that can offer all of these services.
What do you have figured out so far?
We have this grandiose idea, which we realize may require some changes during the research phase. We have three very committed people (one with experience in petsitting/caring for animals, one with expertise in coordinating work/volunteer opportunities and interns, as well as coordinating educational and spiritual opportunities, and a RN with expertise in healthy living coaching, working with people with a wide range of disabilities, and coordination of resources) who wish to live at and coordinate the services at Healing Ranch. We have two others who have offered to help us think through our process on a volunteer basis. We have experience in planning and cooking healthy meals for large groups of people, and some limited gardening experience (though we cannot claim to have expertise in either area).
Next steps
We know very little about farming (and realize this aspect of the plan will be achievable only if we find the right partners to help us learn). We also have very little expertise on the business side of this endeavor—applying for non-profit status, managing a series of accounts with money coming in from different sources, etc. We are looking for people who want to help in any way they can—advise, expertise, short-term or long-term.
During the research phase, we wish to meet with anyone and everyone willing to share any expertise or ideas they may have, and to visit similar facilities. We are currently making a list of such people and facilities. We hope the end of the research phase will involve determining a clearer scope and timeline for the project. We expect the spirit of the project to remain the same, but many of the details to shift depending on our research.
At this time, our goal is to open between 2020 and 2023 (in seven to ten years), though if we were able to move up this timeline, we would be grateful and excited to do so.
Clearly, God is trying to tell us something. These incidents--and others like them, like the time we had a new mother and her infant living on our couch, or the time a friend struggling with an eating disorder showed up night after night to be with safe people in order to be sure she could eat a healthy meal--are telling us something.
All of this has been hard for T, who has been experiencing these incidents from across the country over the phone and wanting to be here. All of this has been hard for me--I am still parenting a special needs teen, after all, and I have a more-than-full-time job.
But it is time now to start taking these messages seriously. S agrees--recently, when we received pressure again from our social worker to explore other living options for S, she said, "I want to start Healing Ranch! Why isn't anyone listening?"
I said, "I'm listening." And then I prayed, hard. And then I sent an e-mail to our social worker telling her about this dream.
Surprisingly, she was supportive, and wanted to meet immediately to talk about some potential resources and how to include this dream into S's goals. The next step was writing up the attached overview, which I sent to our minister and a friend, who added more ideas.
In the midst of it all, I said to T, "Do you think we are crazy?"
"We're not crazy," she said. "This is what we're supposed to do--or some version of it, anyway. All of my life, all I have wanted is to heal people."
"Me too," I said.
And so, here it is: a first draft of our seven-to-ten-years-from-now dream. Maybe we'll never achieve it, exactly, but I have no doubt that we'll make some part of it happen--that my whole life up to this point was intended to make part of it happen.
But first...
About a week after I had shared our vision with our minister, we had a difficult congregational meeting. She's been an interim minister for two years. She's beloved, but also feared, for reasons too complicated to get into here. So far, the search committee, comprised of a very diverse group of church members, has failed to find a new minister for the church--mostly because our parsonage is old and in terrible shape and we have very little money to offer. We spent an hour talking about how to mess with the budget to fix these issues. After awhile, I felt called to speak. I raised my hand and said that maybe this was beside the point, but wouldn't a clearer mission and vision lead to more members lead to more money lead us out of the problems we have now? I mentioned that the regional shelter for domestic violence victims had closed, that within our own church, we had children without permanent homes that we were helping to house, one weekend at a time. We had members transitioning out of prison and back into society with very few resources. We had people dealing with a lot of grief and fear. Could we do something big, spectacular, even, with what we did have--then have faith that the resources would come? Some members avoided eye contact after church, but others made an effort to get more information, ask follow up questions, write some things down.
The next Sunday, our minister relayed the most amazing dreams in a sermon to a church in deep transition, on the verge of doing something dynamic--or nothing at all. She dreamed a broken-down, dirty church, where she had come to see a movie. After the movie, she had to cross a suspension bridge to get to the basement kitchen, where church ladies were serving coffee and bars. On the way, she passed room after room filled with all kinds of stuff, some of it very old, much of it still useable. Nothing from the past had been sorted. There was no room to grow. In the end, she reached the kitchen, but the cookies and coffee weren't satisfying in the least.
The same week, she dreamed another church, small, simple, but uncluttered. People were talking dynamically with one another. There were embraces and tears. She was a guest, worshipping in an unfamiliar space, and yet she felt welcomed. She was offered a tour afterwards, and learned that the Sunday School rooms were also sitting rooms, and bedrooms--somehow these uncluttered, multi-purpose spaces worked as all three. The church lived out a radical welcome, and anyone needing a place to rest could come. Outside there were gardens overflowing with fresh food. During the tour, the guide explained who had helped with each task--who had planned the garden, who weeded it, who had built the furniture, who welcomed those needing rest--and our minister realized she knew all of these people, but had never known they had these particular talents.
Prophetic, I hope.
And now, finally, about Healing Ranch (with an invitation to help shape this dream however you can!):
Healing Ranch: Our Dream
What is the mission statement of Healing Ranch?
Healing Ranch aims to transform individual and collective trauma into healing; individual loneliness, abandonment, and discrimination into inclusive community; self-doubt into empowerment, and injustice into justice. We enact this mission by working individually with people who want to determine how to heal from past trauma in order to discover how they are called to use their unique gifts and insights to transform the world.
Who can live or spend some time during the day here?
Healing Ranch is open to anyone in need of a place to focus on their healing. We believe the process of healing leads people to important self-discoveries. People dedicated to healing learn who they are, what difference they want to make in the world, and how they can utilize their unique gifts to create a better world. Those who come to Healing Ranch may choose to live and work at the ranch for short or long-term stays or to visit occasionally or regularly, with or without an overnight stay. Those who visit, work, or live at Healing Ranch are dedicated to this journey of healing as a pathway to creating a more just and inclusive world.
Those who might benefit from Healing Ranch include, but are not limited to:
--Young people in the foster care system who have experienced abandonment or abuse and are in need of a place where they can work through trauma, determine what gifts they have to offer the world, and begin to utilize those gifts—as well as prepare for a more permanent family situation or for a meaningful, productive life after high school.
--People with disabilities who need a place where they can discover, develop, and use their gifts to better the world.
--People who are experiencing difficult passages in their lives—leaving an abusive relationship, deciding whether or not to leave a partner, coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, experiencing financial crises, etc.—and want to process what has happened to them and find their “next step” in life.
What services can we provide?
*Community meals: We cook and eat three healthy meals a day together, and invite others to join us for supper. We believe we can make or purchase locally most of what we eat. We believe that cooking and eating together builds meaningful, reciprocal communities. Everyone will be involved in some way in meals on a rotating basis, and those especially interested in food-related careers can be involved in meal planning and coordinating cooking and clean up.
*Coaching in developing a healthy lifestyle: An on-staff nurse will be available to provide expertise in helping people develop healthy habits that will work best for their goals and interests and working on particular health issues.
*Meaningful work on site—and placement at off-site volunteer opportunities to develop job skills: We hope to have an on-site kennel and farm and other work opportunities on site. An on-staff job coordinator will help people determine where they want to work or volunteer, and where. This staff will have connections with many partnering organizations and businesses in the region.
*Educational resources: An on-site educational coordinator will ensure that everyone is able to attain their educational goals through on-site tutoring and job training or connection to other community resources, such as mentors and tutors. We will also offer homeschooling to school-aged residents or daily visitors who do not thrive in a typical school environment. In the long-term future, we may be able to establish a charter school on site.
*Connection and coordination of other regional resources: Our staff will have established partnerships with many community resources and understand how each of these resources can help with particular aspects of a person’s life. We hope to develop teams of resource people for each person who lives or regularly visits the ranch and ensure that there is communication among these resources.
*Spiritual direction (not required): Our staff will include a spiritual director. Spiritual direction means helping a person to understand themselves as spiritual beings and determine what this means in terms of what role they are meant to play in making the world a better place at this time and over time.
*Meditation and prayer sessions (not required): Our daily schedule will include opportunities to explore different types of meditation and prayer in order to determine what spiritual practices might best fit each person.
*Learning circles: Our schedule includes learning circles 2-3 times a week. This is a time to share and deeply listen to one another. Learning circles are designed to help a group of people dedicated to living in a shared community to remain connected to each other and able to work through any challenges that might arise.
*Guest speakers/performers/special activities: We hope to have a special guest at least two times a week and to make some of these sessions open to the public. These sessions will depend on the interests of those living at Healing Ranch at the time. In some cases, guests may come for a longer stay of up to two weeks and offer a series of opportunities.
What is the daily schedule like?
5:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.: Chores and breakfast preparation; meditation and prayer session (optional).
7:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m.: Breakfast and clean up; those who have jobs or schools off site leave for those experiences. Kennel drop off time.
8:30-12:00: Those who receive services at the ranch only in the mornings arrive. Work on site in the on-site kennel, barn, garden, buildings, and kitchen. Spiritual direction and meetings with case managers, tutors, coaches, nurse, etc.
12:00-1:30: Lunch together and lunch clean up.
1:30-5:30: Those who receive services at the ranch only in the afternoons arrive; morning people leave. Work on site in the on-site kennel, barn, garden, buildings, and kitchen. Spiritual direction and meetings with case managers, tutors, nurse, etc. Those who have work/school off site return at the end of this time frame. School-aged children meet with tutors during the last two hours of this time frame. Welcome supper guests and evening guest speakers/performers at the end of this time frame.
5:30-7:30: Supper and supper clean up. Household chores, outdoor chores, kennel pick up time.
7:30-9:00: Depending on the evening, this time frame will include:
*Learning circle (at least twice/week—some will be for those living at the ranch only, and others open to anyone receiving services through the ranch)
*Evening activity geared toward those living in the house: We will bring in guest speakers/performers as special educational opportunities for those living in the house or to address specific skills/topics that those in the house could benefit from learning.
*Evening activity open to the public: Some evenings we’ll open the ranch to the public and have a guest artist, speaker, or performer—and charge for this experience in order to make a bit of income.
9:00-10:00: Free time/bedtime/those who were staying temporarily leave during this time. Optional meditation/prayer time.
Note: Weekend schedules will be a bit less structured and will include “family outings” around the region, as well as some evening events open to the public.
What work opportunities do we hope to have on site?
Community garden team: The community garden team plans the garden during the winter months, purchases plants, tends to the plants, harvests, and stores the plants.
Meal planning and cooking team: The meal team plans a weekly menu, purchase food locally, and prepare the meals.
Kennel/Petsitting team: The kennel team manages an on-site kennel and a petsitting business.
Evening Programming team: The evening programming team helps to book guest speakers and educational opportunities and to promote those that will be open to others to the general public. They also coordinate volunteer tutors and coaches.
Learning circle team: The learning circle team plans and facilitates evening learning circles and helps to ensure that there is mediation for any challenges that might come up in the house.
Hospitality team: The hospitality team helps to promote opportunities at Healing Ranch and to welcome those who come for short or longer-term stays.
Education Team: The education team ensures that everyone who is living or visiting healing ranch has access to educational opportunities. They recruit tutors and coaches for those who need job training, GED prep, ACT prep, assistance with homework, and the like.
Farm team: Healing Ranch hopes to have a small farm, and the farm team works with the farm animals and facilities.
Those who live or come to Healing Ranch during the day for a full day will typically work on one of these teams in the morning and work on their own healing/growth/goals in the afternoon, or vice-versa. Full day people who don’t stay the night will typically eat lunch and one other meal with the group. Or, they might go to an off-site educational opportunity or job during the day and help with one of these teams on the weekends.
Those who come to Healing Ranch for a half day will typically work on one of these teams each day, or alternate to experience different types of work, and will share one meal with the group.
As long as each person who receives services from Healing Ranch is helping with one or more aspects of the life of the ranch while utilizing its resources, the specifics can be somewhat flexible.
How many people can live at or be served by Healing Ranch at once?
To start, we will have three full-time residents who are coordinating the ranch. We hope to also have one or two college interns on site each semester and over the summer. We hope to house between 4-8 additional individuals, and to serve up to 20 people total.
What kind of facility will you have?
We are looking for a facility with between six and eight bedrooms, a commercial kitchen, and ample space for small and large group discussions, as well as an office and a library/work room with multiple computers. The outdoors will have space for a large garden and a barn/grazing area for small farm animals. A kennel will be on the property as well.
Finally, we hope eventually to add a small cabin to the property for people who want to come on a retreat, and this will be another source of income for us. These retreaters may choose to be involved in some or all of our activities, or none of them, depending on their needs.
What is the intake process like?
Some people will be placed at Healing Ranch as adult or child foster placements. Others will make a choice, usually through referral, to explore the possibility of receiving services or living at the ranch. Those who choose to live or receive services at the ranch will meet with an intake staff person to determine their short and long-term goals and make a decision about the kind of commitment they want to make to the ranch and vice-versa. They will develop a daily schedule with this intake staff person as well.
How long can people stay?
Those who stay the night have their case reviewed by staff and those resource people with whom they have connected every three months—or whenever they feel ready to leave, if before three months. At these reviews, we discuss how well Healing Ranch’s services are working for the individual and the feasibility of staying longer, review the individual’s goals/make changes to those goals, and put together a transition plan if the person will be leaving. We continue to stay connected to those who leave and ensure that they are welcome to return for short-term visits, meals, or other activities.
Those who come for half or full days could continue to be a part of Healing Ranch for as long as they wish—particularly those who might not otherwise have feasible work opportunities. Some who move out may choose the option of continuing to work at the ranch for partial days and to continue to receive services through the ranch.
How is this all funded?
We hope to be funded by multiple types of funding. We will:
*Remain as self-sufficient as possible; we will pay staff only if those living in the house cannot do the work required and those with expertise cannot afford to serve as volunteers.
*Sell some of the food we produce.
*Provide 5-10 people the opportunity to eat supper with us (with reservations) and/or experience our evening program; we will charge a fee for this.
*Operate an on-site kennel and petsitting business.
*Utilize county, state, and federal funds from some residents who are child or adult foster care placements.
*Determine on a case-by-case basis how much each person can contribute financially to the operation, based on income or savings. (Some will not be able to contribute at all, but others may).
*Achieve non-profit status and seek individual and other donations.
*Write grants!
Where are we now?
We’re in the very early stages of researching this endeavor. We are making a list of similar facilities to visit and resource people to interview. We understand the research phase will take 1-2 years, after which we hope to work on fundraising for a facility and acquiring licenses we wish to pursue. We do not yet have a space, and we need to raise money to purchase one. We may need to have a temporary healing house before purchasing a facility that can offer all of these services.
What do you have figured out so far?
We have this grandiose idea, which we realize may require some changes during the research phase. We have three very committed people (one with experience in petsitting/caring for animals, one with expertise in coordinating work/volunteer opportunities and interns, as well as coordinating educational and spiritual opportunities, and a RN with expertise in healthy living coaching, working with people with a wide range of disabilities, and coordination of resources) who wish to live at and coordinate the services at Healing Ranch. We have two others who have offered to help us think through our process on a volunteer basis. We have experience in planning and cooking healthy meals for large groups of people, and some limited gardening experience (though we cannot claim to have expertise in either area).
Next steps
We know very little about farming (and realize this aspect of the plan will be achievable only if we find the right partners to help us learn). We also have very little expertise on the business side of this endeavor—applying for non-profit status, managing a series of accounts with money coming in from different sources, etc. We are looking for people who want to help in any way they can—advise, expertise, short-term or long-term.
During the research phase, we wish to meet with anyone and everyone willing to share any expertise or ideas they may have, and to visit similar facilities. We are currently making a list of such people and facilities. We hope the end of the research phase will involve determining a clearer scope and timeline for the project. We expect the spirit of the project to remain the same, but many of the details to shift depending on our research.
At this time, our goal is to open between 2020 and 2023 (in seven to ten years), though if we were able to move up this timeline, we would be grateful and excited to do so.
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