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The Ohana Wellness Center

Creating a mental health environment that fosters better mental health, emotional intelligence, and personal development.

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Project Description

The Ohana Wellness Center kindly requests funds for a mental health wellness center in Dutchess County, New York (exact location TBD). We look forward to partnering with you in what we believe will be an impactful project for our entire community.

The main objective of our proposed project is to help people in the community with resources that can help them change their lives. We plan to achieve this by creating a mental health facility that fosters mental health, and personal development, and also by providing useful resources that can help people advance to the next stage of their lives.

We would like to see measurable progress in a year and we’ll specifically be looking at implementing programs that help both men and women address mental health issues they might be facing by providing free therapy/counseling, yoga classes, meditation sessions, self-care classes, and chakra balancing teachings, among other classes built around sustaining mental health. The building would also have a healthy food/smoothie bar, among other useful on-site amenities.

The facility would also host a program called the Total Transformation Program for recently released inmates. It would provide packages to inmates that contain the things they need to help reduce recidivism. The packages would include things like:

  • Mindset/success/personal development/business books
  • Guide to how to start a business or side hustle
  • Business plan template specific to whatever business they want to start
  • Freelance business contract
  • One free consultation per week with a business coach or mentor per week for four weeks
  • Investing guide (stocks, bonds, bitcoin, forex, real estate, etc.)
  • Access to free leadership training webinars
  • A stipend (weekly) until they find a job or start making money from their businesses
  • A questionnaire to determine potential life goals/challenges and a meeting with a mentor/coach to discuss ways to overcome those challenges (with ongoing support)
  • An accountability partner
  • Monthly check-ins with a rep from the agency to make sure they’re on track
  • Mental health resources like the classes from the Ohana center, access to support groups for recently released inmates
  • Free therapist for a month (will work with inmates to help them get continuous therapy support afterward on their own)

With your funding, we’ll really be able to make a difference in our community and hopefully, we’ll inspire other communities to implement similar programs.

We appreciate you taking an interest in helping our local community and for considering investing in our program. Please give us a call at 845-214-3197 or 845-464-3026 if you have any questions or require any additional information.

Sincerely,

Shanea & Shaleah Patterson

Founders

The Ohana Wellness Center

[Address TBD]

Poughkeepsie, New York

2. Executive Summary

Shanea and Shaleah Patterson have always had a passion for helping others. Growing up in the City of Poughkeepsie, a city that wasn’t the richest, and therefore, didn’t have as much entertainment to offer as bigger cities. As teenagers, they were introduced to a program called YRDC (Youth Resource Development Corporation) by their cousin, Jaz’man Williams, another City of Poughkeepsie resident.

Once in the program, the girls all learned valuable skills, got a stipend, and were able to have incredible life experiences they might not have otherwise been able to have, such as ice skating, snow tubing, attending art classes, and tons of other exciting activities.

But before they left high school, the program was forced to close its doors due to a lack of funding. And there were few programs for the teens and young kids of Poughkeepsie to enjoy.

That’s what inspired the sisters to create The Ohana Wellness Center. That, and a passion for helping those at the lowest points in their lives. Everyone needs a hand at some point.

And they feel as though helping people address their mental health as well as their emotional health can help them make better decisions, leading to a happier, healthier life.

The Ohana Wellness Center was established in 2022 by Shanea and Shaleah Patterson who have the vision to help people in their community improve their overall mental health and emotional intelligence. The organization isn’t currently operational but hopes to be with funding. The Ohana Healing Center hopes to serve thousands of people through a variety of long and short-term programs.

Our mission is to empower those that need help emotionally, mentally, developmentally, and financially to give them the best chances of succeeding – with a focus on minorities and low-income individuals.

We are aware of the unique educational and social challenges that our community faces on a daily basis and are committed to adapting our organization to meet their needs.

Our program objectives include:

  • Providing useful resources to help people build generational wealth for their families and stop the cycle of poverty
  • Teaching financial literacy
  • Providing helpful mental health classes, therapy sessions, support groups, etc.
  • Educating people about different investing methods 
  • Reducing the recidivism rate in our community
  • Providing monetary support while each client gets on their feet
  • Resources to help clients start a business, side hustle, or start freelancing
  • Affordable childcare

The project will run for one year, after which we will re-evaluate. The next step will be to establish a scalable process that could be implemented in other communities we’re hoping to expand into.

We believe that this program will help introduce our services to an underserved community. By the program’s end, we anticipate an improved quality of life and better educational and career-related outcomes for Dutchess County and Ulster County, New York.

The total cost of implementation for this project is $1 million. Your investment will help us implement the program in our first community and start driving change for a critical group of people.

We are excited to collaborate with you on making our local community better and achieving our common goals. Thank you for considering our project.

3. Statement of need: What is the problem?

The need this project is trying to address is the problem that’s been plaguing the City of Poughkeepsie and similar low-income areas – poverty, which can lead to gang activity.

Poverty can lead to a host of other problems, as we already know. For instance, a lack of access to helpful resources that can help them level up in life – or just deal with their current circumstances.

Things such as mental health resources, affordable childcare, educational resources, financial literacy educational materials, etc.

Our organization has a passion for helping people at their lowest because the founders know what it's like to be at their lowest mentally and emotionally.

That’s why they have a need – not a want – to serve not only their community but similar communities that deserve better. They want to make things a little bit easier for future generations in their community and all over America.

This is just the beginning for them. They plan to expand all over the country to help bring positive change into communities and transform communities plagued with mental illnesses into communities full of bright, young, emotionally intelligent individuals eager to bring positive change into this world.

The City of Poughkeepsie has been steadily declining when it comes to finances, employment, and a host of other problems, leading them to implement parking meters up and down Main Street. The city’s economy is suffering, which has a significant impact on criminal activity.

Poughkeepsie was listed as one of the Top 10 Worst Places to Live in New York for 2021, according to Hudson Valley Post.

While the unemployment rate has gone down since 2020, there is still significant work to be done to revitalize the city and help ensure it fosters an environment in which the community can truly thrive.

There are limited mental health resources for the nearly 300,000-person population of Dutchess County and the services that are being rendered are outdated and don’t fully take into account the cultural factors that might impact a person’s mental health. While there are some available, there’s room for vast improvement.

There is a growing need for more specific mental health services executed by professionals and distributed across the community with a strong infrastructure.

To address these issues, we propose a mental health clinic and program that would aim to help people with not only major mental health issues but minor ones they face in everyday life. For example, a mother that doesn’t have enough financial support from family or friends might come to the center to take a “mental health break” and bring her child to the daycare center. She could visit one of the spas, get a massage, go to individual or group therapy, take an exercise class, or participate in one of the many activities and classes the center will provide – right on campus.

4. Goals and Objectives: Getting Specific

The overarching goal of the Ohana Center is to provide low-income individuals in Dutchess County with sufficient mental health resources that can help them thrive in their daily lives, lessening the need for more extensive mental health services in the future. We believe mental health care should be an ongoing task. We hold the following targets for delivery:

  • Enroll a minimum of 100 participants in the program
  • Assess the current mental health of each participant, determining their needs and goals
  • Create a mental health care plan (an ongoing plan to maintain mental health) with each participant
  • Ensure that every participant has reached certain milestones based on their goals after a six-month period
  • Will re-assess every year to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the program

5. Methods and Strategies: Time for Execution

First Objective: Obtain a location for The Ohana Wellness Center Main Office Building

Methods:

  • Host mental health classes and workshops to bring awareness to The Ohana Wellness Center at The Family Partnership Center or Dutchess Community College
  • Use our Passions to Profit Business to raise money for the center
  • Host fundraising events in the community
  • Hold charity galas/balls and invite generous donors
  • Online campaigns and fundraising sites (like DonorBox and GoFundMe)

Second Objective: Enroll a minimum of 100 participants in the program

Methods:

  • Employ two full-time program administrators that will recruit program participants, help them apply for the program, and help them sign up for classes and programs they want to participate in
  • Employ five mental health professionals that can teach mental health classes, such as guided meditation, yoga, anger management, etc.

Third Objective: Assess the current mental health of each participant, determining their needs and goals

Methods:

  •  Do an intake of each program participant, assessing their needs and goals
  • Require each program participant to see an on-site NYS licensed therapist to assess mental health
  • Talk about treatment and coping methods
  • Re-assess every three to six months

Fourth Objective: Create a mental health care plan (an ongoing plan to maintain mental health) with each participant

Method:

  •  The program Administrator will sit down with each participant at the end of the program to determine whether re-entry is needed or whether release from the program is the appropriate course of action
  • Re-assess mental health care plans every three months to determine the effectiveness

Fifth Objective: Ensure that every participant has reached certain milestones based on their goals after a six-month period

Methods:

  •  Conduct surveys and gather data to determine where each program participant is toward the end of the program

Sixth Objective: Re-assess the program and participants every quarter to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the program and discover any new needs that may arise

Methods:

  • Measure each program participant's level of mental health at the end of the program compared to when they entered the program
  • Adjust the program to meet the needs and goals of the program participants and the community

6. Evaluation Plan: How We Will Measure Success

The program facilitators will administer surveys and collect data from program participants to evaluate their mental health before the start of the program and periodically throughout the duration of the program.

After collecting the data, the participant will be continuously evaluated by an internal team TBD, which will include at least one licensed NYS therapist. For the duration of the program, a plan will be designed to evaluate all aspects of the program, including but not limited to:

  • How effective it is at helping improve the overall mental health of the participants
  • Which aspects can be improved upon or weeded out
  • How best to improve the program on an ongoing basis and continuously serve the community

7. Project Budget

  • Financing a location for the Ohana Center (between $8,000 and $15,000 per month)
  • Incorporation costs (Average = $612.50; Minimum = $375; Max = $850)
  • Filing for Tax Exempt Status (For form 1023 - $600; For Form 1023-EZ - $275)
  • Charitable Solicitation Fees ($25 in New York State)
  • Insurance ($500/year and up)
  • Communications and Marketing (website hosting - $30/month, graphic designer, email marketing services, etc.) ($250/year and up)
  • Construction to transform the property into a fully operational Ohana Wellness Center ($500,000+)

8. Organization information

About us

The Ohana Center was established in 2022 (currently seeking legal status as a 501(c)(3) organization) when Shanea and Shaleah Patterson decided to start a mental health organization that could help people with low-income gain access to ongoing mental health services in their community and meets a need that isn't being met. We’d love to proudly serve our community of almost 300,000 people by giving them something everyone deserves.

Our mission is three-fold:

  • Mission 1: To help low-income individuals find the mental health resources they need to not only survive but thrive.
  • Mission 2: To help low-income individuals access the personal development resources that would help improve their overall well-being (which will improve their mental health by default at least to some degree).
  • Mission 3: To build a supportive community and bring awareness to mental health, removing the stigma surrounding it once and for all.

Our programs

We’d like to operate about 10 programs (starting with two) mostly focused on building and maintaining mental health. Some of our upcoming projects include:

  • The Total Wellness Program
  • The Total Transformation Program (Recidivism Program)

Updates

The Campaign FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • How do I donate to The Ohana Wellness Center? You can donate online at GoFundMe or DonorBox. 
  • How will my donation be used? Your donation goes to a variety of things needed for The Ohana Healing Center to become fully functional. That includes things like:
  • Financing a location for the Ohana Center (between $8,000 and $15,000 per month)
  • Incorporation costs (Average = $612.50; Minimum = $375; Max = $850)
  • Filing for Tax Exempt Status (For form 1023 – $600; For Form 1023-EZ – $275)
  • Charitable Solicitation Fees ($25 in New York State)
  • Insurance ($500/year and up)
  • Communications and Marketing (website hosting – $30/month, graphic designer, email marketing services, etc.) ($250/year and up)
  • Construction to transform the property into a fully operational Ohana Wellness Center ($500,000+)
  • Resources, such s books to help improve mental health, financial literacy, and personal development
  • Classes to improve physical and mental health (including yoga, tai chi, breathwork classes, anger management classes, etc.)
  • Affordable on-site childcare while using the program facilities
  • Individual and group therapy sessions
  • Costs of operating the facility (electricity, water, etc.)
  • Office equipment and supplies and equipment for the various classes (i.e., yoga mats, tables, chairs, etc.)
  • Paying non-volunteer staff members, such as the licensed NYS therapist, administrative staff, security, janitors, etc.
  • Stipends for clients in the Recidivism program that need financial support until they get back on their feet
  • What programs do you offer for mental health and wellness? Our center offers two broad programs - The Total Wellness Program and the Total Transformation Program.

 

 

Monetary Contribution

Just Because I Care

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25.00 USD
Ohana T-Shirt

An Ohana Wellness Center T-Shirt that shows your support for mental health for all!

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About the Entrepreneur

Poughkeepsie, NY
Created 1 Campaign
Health + Science
Social Good

Rewards

Monetary Contribution

Just Because I Care

0 Supporters
Select this reward
25.00 USD
Ohana T-Shirt

An Ohana Wellness Center T-Shirt that shows your support for mental health for all!

0 Supporters
Select this reward