This is an exciting time as Ridge House embarks on our first e-mail newsletter. We invite you to forward it on and share it with any groups you may be involved with. As this is our first e-mail newsletter, we want to expand our e-mail list and you are our best helpers!

It was 25 years ago this month the Ridge House began, with our first house on Ridge Street, thus we have our name. One of our great blessings over the years continues to be the Kairos community who made this dream possible and are also our primary supporters, friends and helpers. Ridge House will be working towards our official 25 year celebration in late 2007, because as we were founded in 1981 we were not incorporated until 1982. Please look forward to attending and supporting our 25 year celebration. We will keep you updated as plans progess.

Much has changed in 25 years, and much has not. One example is that a person leaving the prison system still receive the same amount as they did in 1981, $21 to make a new beginning. Due to many people exiting prison lacking the support they need, the recidivism rate for the State of Nevada is 68%. The Ridge House’s client recidivism rate for 2005 was 9%. I always remind the Governor that we save the state of Nevada $3,000,000 a year by helping all of our clients

re-enter the community as productive citizens. This saves the taxpayer money not only in reduced criminal justice costs but also by adding another taxpayer to the system. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Governor Guinn for the wonderful letter of support we recently received. We greatly appreciate it.

Today Ridge House no longer has a home on Ridge Street, but we are close by. Our main offices are at 900 West First Street in a beautiful building that serves our many clients and staff well. Currently we have 5 residential houses (2 women and 3 men), 2 transitional houses and an outpatient program of almost 100 clients. I’m very proud of our staff both clinical and administrative. They are highly professional and very committed to these men and women who deserve a second chance.

Finally, I would like to say congratulations to Step 2 as they celebrate their 20 year anniversary. One of my big words I repeat many times a day is “collaboration”. It is great working in Northern Nevada because people and organizations are willing to collaborate.

Below you will find our wonderful menu of services. Just a few years ago, grants and foundation money covered most aspects of our services. That is not the case today, so we are calling on our "Friends of Ridge" for their collaboration. Thank you in advance. You do make a difference in our client's lives.

Sincerely,

On July 25th, capping weeks of restoration effort by Ridge House staff local Rotarians pitched in and helped complete the transformation of Ridge House’s Mauldin house. Paint and supplies were donated by the Rotarians as well as their valuable time and effort. The results at the end of the effort were astounding.

“We used to hold all our events at this house," said Diane Brokaw, Residential
Counselor. “It was not uncommon for all the friends of Ridge, including Senator Harry Reid, to attend a large get-together in the Mauldin House backyard.”

The restoration and donations by the Rotarians didn't stop with the paint. They also re-carpeted two of the bedrooms and coordinated donation of interior replacement doors from Habitat for Humanity.

“Its so great to see this house back to what it once was,” said Diane Brokaw, Mauldin Counselor. “There really is a great feeling around here now.”

“What they have given our clients is difficult to measure,” said Lynda Harper, Clinical Director. “ When a woman is able to come out of prison and be welcomed into a beautiful family home, it is a wonderful thing.”

To take a tour of any of our facilities or to learn more about our mission call us at (775) 322-8941. Our doors are always open.

Basic needs - (And for our many friends that would like to actual donate “something” other than money,
the list of Basic Needs will give you that opportunity.)

Toilet paper
Paper towels
Dishwasher soap
Dish soap
Foil
Laundry detergent
Freezer bags
Household cleaner
Sponges
Window cleaner
Kitchen trash bags
Large yard bags
Storage bags

We have almost 60 people in our residential, transitional house
and administrative building daily at Ridge.

Main Course

The Daily Sponsorship- the daily cost for a residential client is $124.50.

Continuing Education - the yearly cost for continuing education for each of our counselors is $350.
(We have 10 counselors at Ridge.)
the yearly cost for continuing education for administrative personnel and house managers is $200 a piece.
(We have a total of 8 staff in this category.)

Alcohol Monitoring Machine - each of our residential locations and Transitional House sites Must have an alcohol monitoring machine on site. This would be a total of 8 that is needed and the cost is $180 each.

Medical Needs - each of our clients arrive at Ridge needing medical attention. The prison system does not address these basic realities, so every client needs dental attention and a basic physical. A donation of $100 for an individual client would assist with the basic physical and the attention costs of prescriptions.

Office Supplies - monthly costs are $540….this covers the office supplies for our administrative offices and all of our other 7 residential and outpatient sites

Utilities - the average cost per Ridge House building is $324 a month

Gas - the cost per month is $160 for each of our vehicles

Gourmet Desserts

Monetary donations toward any of the following needs/positions are greatly appreciated!

Vans/Vehicles - All of our Ridge House vehicles are more than 4 years old and two of our residential houses have no vehicles. We need two vans (they don’t need to be brand new, but safe) and additionally will need a third van in the near future
(current has over 120,000 miles)
We also need a lot of prayer to make sure the others keep going!

With all of the cut backs that occurred during 2005 and 2006 (more than $900,000 has been cut from the Ridge House Budget), we have had to trim radically all of our administrative positions by 75%. While we have focused most of our cuts on the administration staff, we have expanded our clinical services…so we need help with some new positions in clinical, too.

Outpatient Clinical Director - for more than 22 years, Ridge House has been primarily residential. Now, as we have tried to respond to the increase demand for services and providing a continuum of care, we have expanded our outpatient services by 500% with groups everyday of the week except Sunday. This involves the direction of 4 counselors, the overall group planning sessions and the processing of all of the bills and invoices. Presently, this duty has been
added to the clinical director’s work load. It is too much.

Assistant Director - with the cut back of administrative personnel by 5 full time staff, this position is essential.

Secretary Support for Executive Director and Clinical Director - During the last 3 years, it is very evident that our lack of a professional secretary has meant that the Executive Director and Clinical Director spend their weekends and late evenings.

Maintenance Man - as Ridge House has grown to more than 11 different buildings in different locations, we do need a maintenance man. This last year, we could not afford one. The duties have been assumed by the Administrative staff.
(Very honestly, we can’t afford not to have one.)

Marketing Personnel - to be able to find new funds and additional resources a marketing staff person is essential.
A contribution for this gourmet selection would allow us to get someone.

Administrative and Clinical Support Staff - 3 positions. We need assistance in clinical department to process all of the paperwork, so that it isn’t another duty piled on top of the counselors. We need assistance in our fiscal department to process all of our bills and collect fees. Like most not for profits, we do have a large data base of unpaid fees…. But no one to collect them. We need additional receptionists. The Ridge House administrative offices are now open 12 hours a day, and 5 hours on Saturday. Presently, we have a receptionist only 15 hours a week and lots of great volunteers.

Human Resources/Development - During the last three years, there has been explosion of services that are required by the State, Federal government and the substance abuse field. Personnel files, workplace safety training, health insurance, workman’s comp, unemployment, CPR training courses, TB testing, tracking of benefits and time sheets, etc. are just some of the duties that need to be covered. We are now expanding into client medical insurance, social security, Medicare and disability payment processing. During my time at Ridge, we have only had 18 months in which we have had a volunteer or a part-time staff person in this position. Our failure to have someone in this position has in the end very costly for Ridge.

Volunteer Needs

As always volunteer support is welcomed and highly appreciated. Come get your feet wet and see what we do day to day! Here is a listing of our current volunteer needs.

Plumber

Electrician

Receptionists

Seamstress (Sewer)

Landscaper

Coordinating Donation Pick Ups

Volunteers to be Relief House Managers on Weekends

If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you would like to be added to our email list please send an email to marketing@ridgehouse.org with "Add me to email list" in the subject line. If you would like to be removed from our
email list please send an email to marketing@ridgehouse.org with "Remove me from email list" in the subject line.