SKY'S THE LIMIT FUND

Our goal is to provide youth in crisis with financial need the means to receive effective and lasting treatment for their mental health illness. Through wilderness therapy and the STLF Family Coaching Service, youth can transform their lives and become healthy, functioning members of their family and community. In addition, we want to bring awareness to the mental health crisis facing youth today and the benefits and efficacy of wilderness therapy.

Our FYE 6/30/2023 goal is to provide $1.00,000 of support to approximately 135 youth in crisis and their families and to serve 85 families through the STLF Coaching Service.

In addition, we plan to host 2 community outreach events.

We have a Parent Support program to provide additional support to STLF families. This is a service whereby experienced parents share information and offer support to families whose youth are currently in a wilderness therapy program.

Our Wilderness Therapy Support Program addresses the mental health and well-being of youth in crisis with financial need by providing access to wilderness therapy and transitional support. Wilderness therapy is the prescriptive use of wilderness experiences by licensed mental health professionals to meet the therapeutic needs of clients. By immersing youth in the wilderness for 8-12 weeks, wilderness therapy programs combine the powerful effects of nature with licensed mental health professionals and trained field guides, enabling youth to focus on their mental and physical health. The wilderness provides hands-on learning opportunities and natural consequences, forcing the youth to take responsibility for their actions and the outcomes. The youth learn leadership and healthy coping skills to aid in their recovery and wellness.

STLF’s Wilderness Therapy Support Program includes:

1. Access to Wilderness Therapy - STLF believes that cost should not be a barrier to any family seeking effective and lasting treatment for their child’s mental health illness. STLF provides financial assistance, ranging from $3000 - $15,000 per youth, to offset the high cost of wilderness therapy. We partner with 14 wilderness therapy programs across the United States and we require our partners to provide a reduction in tuition, further reducing the financial burden on the family. This is significant considering most insurance companies do not provide coverage for wilderness therapy. In fact, 89% of STLF families reported that their health insurance did not cover any of the wilderness therapy and/or after-care expenses for their child.

2. Coaching - Statistics show that the best formula for success happens when a youth graduates from a wilderness therapy program and has a support mechanism for transitioning to the next stage of life. Realizing the importance of this follow-up support, STLF created the Coaching Service in 2016. Offered free-of-charge to all STLF families, this 12-15 week service involves the entire family. Coaches lay out a weekly curriculum, which includes phone calls, homework and psycho-educational materials. This hands-on approach helps guide families out of the pitfalls of relapse and into healthy, balanced family dynamics, and a life of success and independence for the youth. We also offer this program to non-STLF families for a fee of $1,800.

3. Local Continuum of Care - Sky’s the Limit Fund’s Local Continuum of Care (LCC) program provides families and young adults participating in STLF Coaching Services the opportunity to be reimbursed for a portion of the cost of treatment for the youth or young adult in his/her home community following wilderness therapy.

We run several donation campaigns and host several fundraising events every year to generate the income necessary to fund our Wilderness Therapy Support Program and operating expenses. Our wilderness Program Partners are committed to reaching out to their families and alumni to support STLF. Every year since inception we have increased revenue, grown our support base, reached more families and served more youth in crisis. Staff and Board members are committed to the mission.

In FY2022 (7/1/2021 – 6/30/2022) STLF experienced an increase in the number of donors as well as an increase in the average amount of each donation. In addition, we were the beneficiary of several significant donations from families who experienced first-hand the efficacy of wilderness therapy. This generosity allowed STLF to increase the average amount of support for wilderness therapy from $5,000 to $10,000 per youth/young adult (youth). We provided a total of $1.9M of support to 213 youth and their families. In addition, we were able to increase the amount of the Local Continuum of Care (LCC) reimbursement from $2,500 to $5,000 per family.

Current Trends:
This year, as a result of the mental health crisis from the pandemic and the economic uncertainty, we are seeing a different trend. Through discussions with donors and recent donations, we are being conservative in our spending. We are concerned that we will not meet our budget for donations during our fall fundraising campaign. Unfortunately, more families are needing financial support and the mental health issues of the youth are more extreme.

We have received more applications and provided more families with financial assistance than a year ago. We are focused on our fundraising efforts in order to continue to support these families in need. It is critical to expand our donor base, increase our revenue from foundations and corporations and retain our current donors.

STLF is a Friend of the OBH Council (Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare), supporting its research and member program accreditation. STLF collaborates with Dr. Michael Gass, Director of Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center (OBH Center), to share research and data supporting the efficacy of wilderness therapy. Dr. Gass and OBH fully support the mission of STLF and the importance of providing those in need with access to wilderness therapy.