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Our story in our own words...

About the photo:  At just 17, Jessica has faced many challenges. Struggling with mental illness of her own, her mother often couldn't care for Jessica and her siblings. Sometimes the family lived in shelters; sometimes the older children were taken in by the child welfare system. Youth Villages' intensive in-home services program was called in to help Jessica make a successful transition back home. Jessica and her mom Judy are pictured above after happily reuniting. Family intervention specialist Mandy Carr helped Jessica work on her relationship with her mother and make the right moves toward a better future for herself. "She helped tremendously," Judy said. "Mandy was the inspiration that my family needed. Without her and Youth Villages, I don't know if we would have made it."  Photo credit: Brian Adams

ChristieCare’s history dates back to 1859. Today, our work serves a clear and straight forward mission: to create and deliver mental health solutions for children and families.

To do this effectively in Oregon’s dynamic and changing communities presents therapeutic and financial challenges. To overcome this challenge effectively, ChristieCare developed an innovative and far reaching plan to repair a critical rupture in the regions readiness to provide quality care for children, youth and young adults with severe psychiatric conditions.  

Meyer Memorial Trust has been with us from the start – initiating our 1.8 million dollar Turning Point Campaign with a $250,000 grant. From that point the momentum for the campaign took off.

With mental illness affecting 1 in 5 children in the nation, the need for care is great. ChristieCare serves all 36 counties and nine federally recognized tribes providing services to 35% of the states children that need this care.

In Oregon, the number of children placed in foster care is twice the national average. These are children with emotional, mental health and complicated social problems. Foster care is expensive and not successful for these children’s welfare and future. By the age of 18, 25% have no high school diploma. By 24 years of age fewer than half are working and 60% of the boys have a criminal record. They will have experienced more than 3 placements and innumerable school changes. A quarter of them will suffer post traumatic stress disorder.

ChristieCare invested Meyer Memorial Trust funds in facility and program modifications needed to implement Oregon Intercept. This new program model delivers better results for more children at costs sustainable in the current economic environment. Oregon Intercept provides intensive in-home services to troubled children who have emotional and behavioral problem and their families. The program is designed to divert children from residential services and foster care whenever possible. And, if a child has been residential treatment facility or foster home, the Oregon Intercept program staff is skilled at successfully reuniting them with their family.

Before ChristieCare began changing the way we provide mental health services, private donors supported 10% of the cost of care per child and reimbursement rates left a 34% funding gap. Today, that funding gap has narrowed to 7%. The average number of children we serve each day increased 15% over the last fiscal year.  

With support from Meyer Memorial Trust ChristieCare has evolved as an innovative leader providing effective solutions for children and families from diverse cultures coping with significant mental health challenges.