PLATINUM2022

SeekHealing

We Are The Medicine

Asheville, NC   |  http://seekhealing.org

Mission

SeekHealing’s mission is to make opportunities for meaningful human connection universally available and accessible. We provide support services to anyone healing from loneliness, trauma, and addiction; building communities that generate positive social health outcomes, reducing deaths of despair from drug overdose and suicide. Together, we can create a world people want to be part of, rather than escape from.

Ruling year info

2017

Executive Director

Jennifer Nicolaisen

Main address

50 S. French Broad Ave Ste 300

Asheville, NC 28801 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

81-4832857

NTEE code info

Alcohol, Drug and Substance Abuse, Dependency Prevention and Treatment (F20)

Group Home, Residential Treatment Facility - Mental Health Related (F33)

Mental Health Treatment (F30)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

SeekHealing is working to reduce drug overdoses and heal trauma linked to the loneliness epidemic by facilitating experiences of authentic human connection. We provide free support services to anyone at any stage of addiction, recovery or healing from trauma. Using a clinically-grounded method that is offered free of cost and devoid of judgement and shame, our mission is to enhance the world of recovery and healing through mutually supportive, non-hierarchical community engagement. Together, we can create a world that more people want to live in, rather than escape from.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Listening Training

Interactive training to learn the foundations of connection & healthy relationships: how to better listen to yourself, and others. Combining interactive listening & relationship exercises, harm-reduction for substance use and personal/social development; this program teaches us to build trust, minimize shame, and experience real connection.

Basis for curriculum includes non-violent communication, transpersonal psychology, authentic relating, and trauma-informed psychology. This course is qualified for 16 hours, CEU-certified for Peer Support Specialist (PSS).

Population(s) Served
Substance abusers
LGBTQ people
Economically disadvantaged people
Incarcerated people
Victims and oppressed people

SeekHealing creates and distributes these Kits which contain a variety of herbal remedies and therapeutic self-care items (such as epsom salt, calming tea blends, stress relief tinctures, and vitamin supplements) to those suffering from detox/withdrawals or those experiencing extreme anxiety due to social isolation.

These items can be a boon to individuals under the stressful experience of chemical imbalance or as a compassionate reminder of connection to those who feel alone. During the pilot in 2020 we created and distributed over 250 Kits, which contain about a weeks worth of supplies, through various community stakeholders and participants.

Population(s) Served
Substance abusers
Economically disadvantaged people

CAP provides individualized Peer Support and social integration services to individuals most at-risk of suffering a drug overdose. The program specifically engages people who've recently completed detox/drug treatment services or been released from incarceration, and features a sliding-scale pay model to ensure access is available to marginalized individuals.

CAP participants receive weekly peer support pairings for accountability and empowerment, harm reduction services, and access to holistic and psychotherapeutic services like acupuncture, spiritual counseling, bodywork, nutritional support, and EMDR therapy. To supplement this healing journey, participants are encouraged to engage with other SeekHealing programs such as group support meetings and socials, Listening Training, and Connection Missions.

Population(s) Served
Substance abusers
LGBTQ people
Economically disadvantaged people
Incarcerated people

Connection Practice is a facilitated group support meetings, offered in-person or online, for clients to practice prosocial communication and emotional regulation techniques highlighted in our evidence-based Listening Training courses.

These meetings offer safe and inclusive social spaces for people to experience meaningful human connection with each other through authentic relating exercises and mindfulness meditation practices. Connection Practices employ trained, volunteer community members to provide 1:1 engagement for those needing additional support.

Population(s) Served
Substance abusers
LGBTQ people
Economically disadvantaged people
Incarcerated people
Victims and oppressed people

The Listening Line is a non-crisis emotional support phone system, connecting trained volunteers and Peer Support Specialists with those who call or text (828-547-4547). This community-led system provides those who reach out an experience of human connection, without advice giving or judgement, as a resource for resilience against loneliness or substance use disorder.

Volunteers staffing the Listening Line must complete our Listening Training course, with the psychosocial training providing the foundation to meaningfully engage with people who experience anxiety, substance use disorder, lived experiences of trauma, or other socially isolating tendencies.

Population(s) Served
Substance abusers
LGBTQ people
Economically disadvantaged people
Incarcerated people
Victims and oppressed people

Where we work

Awards

Top Rated 2020

Great Nonprofits

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of participants engaged in programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Substance abusers, Economically disadvantaged people, Incarcerated people, Victims and oppressed people, Adults

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Engaged with SeekHealing programming (participated in facilitated gatherings, Listening Training, Extra Care Program)

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

SeekHealing aims to shift social health by connecting the neuroscience understandings of substance abuse recovery and trauma management into an accessible, community-based platform of social interaction. By removing hierarchy from engagement (we refer to anyone in our program, whether participant or staff as 'Seekers', as we are all humans seeking connection), our program encourages an inviting and stable social environment for people to feel at home with themselves and each other. We provide consistent opportunities for participants to come together in community and empower them with the tools and resources to create healthy relational bonds and gain access to resources while working to bridge the gap of disconnect often felt between individuals in an ever evolving scope of societal expectations. To supplement this healing process we offer clinical and therapeutic services to those most at risk. Through this lens we provide peer support and resource accessibility, community service projects, and connection-fueled experiences of authentic human interaction . Our goal is to make place-based communities steeped in recovery and trauma-informed facilitation, that are available to anyone free-of-charge, creating individual and community resiliency through social healing.

SeekHealing's efforts center around human connection by providing community engagement, educational opportunities, and experiential offerings to anyone in the community, especially those who may not be able to access them otherwise (often financially-related or due to mobility issues). Our program focuses on exploring and integrating Seeker's intentions (whether substance use related or otherwise) with available community resources to create a clear trajectory for participation. A keystone program we offer is our 'Listening Training' series, which provides tools and exercises for social interaction that encourage connectivity and openness with fellow humans and allow for healthy relationships to be cultivated both within and outside the program. By developing these personal relationships and encouraging the community to do the same, we establish healthy social bonds and build trust through transparency, accountability, and friendliness. We also facilitate educational/instructional seminars on the use of naloxone, which in 2019 reversed nearly 2,000 opioid overdoses in the Buncombe County area alone. Through partnerships with governmental agencies, community-oriented organizations, and compassionate individuals we offer a variety of facilitated gatherings such as Connection Practice meetings (where Seekers gather to practice authentic relating exercises and be in community), body awareness modalities (like Yoga, acupuncture, or massage), clinical offerings such as psychotherapy, and therapeutic relief through herbal remedies and alternative therapies like sound healing meditation. This community synergy is paramount to our success and thankfully creates a positive feedback loop of community relations, which has allowed for continued, strategic expansion.

SeekHealing, through the Executive Directors stewardship and the Board of Directors collaboration, uses a variety of key staff, partnerships, facilitators, and tools to implement our program, but the key component is participation from our community. Our core staff includes a Community Engagement Lead who works directly with participants and facilitates social gatherings, an Outreach Coordinator who manages our external partnerships and handles media engagement, an Extra Care Program Lead who supports our most at risk participants, handles our court-approved diversion program, and manages analytics, and a Fundraising Coordinator who cultivates resource partnerships for project fulfillment through grant pursuits, donor relations, and community giving opportunities. SeekHealing also uses in-house technology (called Athene) for database and communications, encouraging connectivity between staff and participants while securely charting individuals intentions and needs during their program engagement. We partner with area agencies and non-profits who refer individuals to our program, and offer our programming at various community-centered venues to broaden our impact and outreach. Through this community building and integration SeekHealing is able to maintain our vision as an alternative approach to recovery (non-abstinence based) and trauma management (non-hierarchical), accessible through the lens of social health.

Our organization is working to save lives by applying the latest research in human psychology, neuroscience, and social interaction into an easily accessible healing platform that can be used almost anywhere by nearly everyone. When combined with 1-on-1 support in our court-approved diversion program (the Extra Care Program), participants who were at high-risk for an overdose were able to follow their recovery intentions with an 87% success rate, a truly remarkable number compared to an average 8% recovery rate for traditional 12-step programs. A long-term vision/project revolves around a permaculture driven recovery and communal living space where participants can experience an immersive approach to health and wellness. As a way to further our networking within the clinical world, we will be offering a clinicians deep-dive into our 'Listening Training' series as a CEU for practicing mental health providers. We also will continue to explore innovative ways to partner on projects with groups such as Authentic Relating International, who use the techniques of authentic relating as a tool for rehabilitation to those incarcerated, as a way to encourage our own growth and create resonance to the ideas we feel can shift longstanding issues of social duress.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    SeekHealing serves: -people who use drugs -people in recovery -people with mental health diagnoses -people with lived experience of trauma -people who experience loneliness -people who work in human services -people who want to live more connected lives -families and social networks of the above audience targets

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    SMS text surveys, Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes, Suggestion box/email,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    SeekHealing recently shifted staff participation requirements to fulfill the scheduling needs of our Listening Line program. This shift was made to feedback from people who used the service, but expressed there were gaps in availability and responsiveness from the emotional support phone system.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    With many of our projects being community-sourced and led, receiving and implementing feedback is critical to overall success as our clients are often part of program leadership from volunteer engagement.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback,

Financials

SeekHealing
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

SeekHealing

Board of directors
as of 03/28/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mrs. Jennifer Garrett

Wester Carolina Treatment Center

Term: 2020 -

Joshua Ginsberg

Rachel Wurzman

Lauren Tevelow

Lauren Clark

Monica Crase

Josh Franks

Imani Ustawi

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 3/24/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities)
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other sexual orientations in the LGBTQIA+ community
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 03/24/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.