NATURE HEALS
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
There has been a dramatic increase in those suffering from Mental Health disorders. From 1999 through 2017, there has been a 33 % increase in the rates of suicides. Suicide now ranks as the second leading cause of death for 10- to 34-year-olds. 20 % of parents report behavioral or mental health problems for children age 1-14, with 45 % of 7th and 8th graders report bullying and 8 percent having attempted suicide. Similarly, high school students and adults are suffering. Nationwide, 57.2% of adults and 59% of youth with mental illness receive no treatment. In Colorado, 48.7% of adults and 55.6 % of youth were unable to receive treatment. Nature Heals is a service organization that provides nature-based therapies in order to improve the mental and emotional well-being of children and/or adults who would not usually be able to afford these therapies.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Healing Through Horses
Grief is a normal and natural part of life. However, that does not make it easy to cope with the loss of a loved one. Our Healing Through Horses group, partnered with Healing Circles and Hospice, is an Equine Therapy support group for youth who have experienced loss and are undergoing various stages of grief.
Becoming a Herd
LGBTQ youth are twice as likely as their straight peers to be physically assaulted or harassed at school. They are four times as likely as their straight peers to attempt suicide. However, for LGBTQ youth with supportive parents or mentors, the suicide rate drops from 57% to 4%. Because of this, we provide an equine therapy group for LGBTQ youth and allies, focusing on building a community, finding support, and encouraging empowerment in a safe and secure environment.
Striding for Change
Horses don’t judge; they don’t make demands; they don’t show up as anything other than who they inherently are. Because of this, horses only care who you are in the very moment you are with them. This enables them to give unconditional acceptance to troubled youth who are revealing their true selves. This unconditional acceptance provides a healing platform for youth to begin to feel what a healthy, positive relationship is like. Our equine group looks to support at-risk youth learning to develop responsibility and make healthy decisions in an empowering manner.
Boundaries and Balance
50% of adults are exposed to at least one traumatic event in their lifetimes. 8% of survivors are likely to develop PTSD. Women are twice as likely to develop PTSD than their male counter parts. For many women, it can be overwhelming to attempt to reclaim their lives after they have experienced some type of trauma. Being embodied in day-to-day life can be a challenge, and boundaries can be a constant struggle to reclaim. This equine support group for women attempts to serve as system of support for women who are looking to reclaim their power.
DEMETER’S JOURNEY: AN EXPLORATION OF MOTHERHOOD
There are many different ways of being a Mother. From choosing to be a mother, or not; from infertility to adoption. This group seeks to support women in various stages of the trials of Motherhood.
Where we work
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Nature Heals is a service organization that provides nature-based therapies in order to improve the mental and emotional well-being of children and/or adults who would not usually be able to afford these therapies.
Our desire is to host programs that impact and are geared towards women of trauma, at risk youth, LGBTQ youth, children diagnosed on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD), parents of children with ASD, and individuals suffering from substance abuse and PTSD. In addition, we would like to support those who are dealing with chronic illness and grief. All of these groups can be greatly impacted by nature-based therapies, especially equine facilitated psychotherapy (EFP).
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Nature Heals seeks to improve the mental and emotional states of others by using a variety of nature-based therapies including, but not limited to: equine facilitated psychotherapy, horticulture therapy, and utilization of the natural environment provided by our location in Boulder County, Colorado. We cultivate community, connection, compassion, and respect all within a natural and nurturing environment.
According to the Natural Wild Life Federation, reconnecting with nature makes for kinder, more socially aware human beings. It affects health, daily happiness and promotes intellectual enrichment, as well as encourages all to promote conservation efforts.
Being in Nature allows reconnection with the earth; providing a grounding mechanism for our busy and often chaotic lifestyles. From this safe space, we are able to address our own deeper issues, dropping barriers and connecting with others in a compassionate and respectful way. Exploring nature and the wilderness areas surrounding our community in groups allow for team building, cooperative learning, responsibility, and the development of respect for self and others.
It is our belief that no one should be turned away from nature-based therapy programs because of financial stress. Therefore, we work with individuals based on their financial situations allowing for sliding scale payments. Grants and donations through Nature Heals help to fund as many individuals as possible.
We offer both Individual counseling sessions and group programs. These therapeutic programs can be either open group programming or private, closed groups. We also have access to referrals and resources for individual, couples, or family therapy sessions.
Our group experiences are geared towards providing support to individuals who are experiencing times of stress and emotional or mental unrest, in a supportive and sympathetic environment. We believe that having a safe place to find comfort, relief, respite, and exploration amongst others who are undergoing similar life challenges can provide one of those most profound experiences: one of acceptance and the understanding that we are not alone in our struggles.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our setting in rural Boulder County also allows us to offer horticultural therapy techniques. Studies have shown that working with the earth and plants help improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation, language skills, and socialization. Furthermore, it can allow individuals to learn to work independently, problem solve, and follow directions.
We have partnered with Body N Soul integrative Equestrian so we are able to offer many programs centered around Equine Assisted Therapy.
Horses are authentic, congruent, sentient beings, that act as partners helping us to identify old patterns of behavior, which were once intelligent survival mechanisms, but which now need to be transformed in order for us to become more fully conscious, functional human beings. This relationship dynamic provides for an immediate experience, revealing consequences of our behavior. They demonstrate that as we change internally so does our external world. Furthermore, since horses are social beings that live naturally in groups, they allow for children and adults to learn how to authentically and safely connect with animals first and then be able transfer those experiences to others in their own lives, helping in turn to generate compassion and healthy partnership.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have developed many programs which are listed above and they have all been well received. We continue to assess the community's feedback in our offerings.
As a young organization, we are need to focus on our marketing and our fund raising. We have been fortunate to receive Grants and community sponsorship from The Longmont Community Foundation, 100 Women Who Care of Boulder County, /the Schultz Family Foundation to name a few. We are striving to increase our revenue so that we can offer more programs and scholarships
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
NATURE HEALS
Board of directorsas of 05/03/2020
Linda Foust
Linda K Foust, MD
Term: 2016 - 2019
Tim Hebert
HKS Builders
Ron Kertzner
Choice Point Consulting
Ivan Solotov
Western Union
Stacie Meredith
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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