Lifeline Resources leads dramatic turnarounds
By DAVID GUNTER
Feature correspondent
SANDPOINT – What is the true measure of an effective non-profit organization? Is it the amount of money it raises, or the number of people it helps?
If the latter benchmark is used, then Lifeline Resources stacks up as one of the strongest players in the local non-profit world. Founded in 1995 as Life Skills NW, the group has now served several thousand clients from literally every walk of life, steering them away from the kinds of reactive behavior that, many times, dragged them into the court system and cycling solid citizens back into the community.
According to Linda Larson Spagon, executive director for Lifeline Resources, the organization has done its work quietly, with a focus on client success. To a large degree, that approach has put them under the fundraising radar.
Add to that the nature of those who attend the classes – parents about to lose their children, people addicted to alcohol or drugs and individuals who have been “court-invited” because violent behavior put them one step away from going to jail – and it’s easy to see why the group falls outside the mainstream when it comes time to donate.
“We are kind of the stepchild of non-profits, because our clients are not cute,” the executive director said. “But when you think about it, we are the linchpin for getting healthy citizens back into society.”
The economics behind that progression are huge, she added, since the cost of going through the program comes to scant pennies on the dollar compared with how much it costs to incarcerate an individual. That said, nearly all of the clients need some form of financial assistance to pay for the classes. Lifeline Resources provides merit-based scholarships to many of those people, but the load has become onerous and expensive. So much so that the six instructors now have taken cuts in pay or are volunteering their time to keep the program in operation.
“Our clients pay less than $10 an hour and 90 percent of them need scholarship funds,” said Larson Spagon. “Even if the money is not there, we don’t turn anybody away.
“But every client knows they have to earn those scholarships by being committed to the program,” she added, noting that the course covers 60 hours of class time, twice a week over a 10-week period. A yearlong program works with people who have been ordered to attend classes because of domestic violence or battery.
The monetary gap is partially filled by churches that step up to pay for scholarships, as well as some funds coming from Health & Welfare. Despite that assistance, however, Lifeline Resources still is playing a constant game of fiscal catch-up, which Larson Spagon understands is not specific to her organization.
“There are limited dollars in the community and we all do the best we can to hang in there – but we’re all struggling,” she said. “We would love to have about 20 donors who could each give $500-1,000 a year. And with that, we could make it.”
The return on investment, in societal terms, is remarkable. Based on exit interviews with clients who have completed the classes, it life-altering.
“Thank you for keeping the doors open for a place that has helped me heal and given me back my life – a life I want to live,” read one anonymous entry that typifies most responses.
According to Larson Spagon, the program’s hallmark can be found in the “dramatic turnarounds” that put families back together, break the cycle of domestic violence and, in some cases, help people turn what looked like the road to a penitentiary sentence into the path toward becoming a productive citizen. Many times, clients opt into the classes after seeing the success stories of friends or family.
“Our tag line is ‘Healing the roots of brokenness,’” Larson Spagon said. “Our clients are going deep and doing the work of breaking cycles, so they don’t pass them on to the next generation. It’s hard work – it would be very difficult to just come in and warm a chair.”
Along with specific, separate programs designed for men and women, Lifeline Resources also offers classes tailored to the needs of teens. Most recently, the group has partnered with Neurotherapy Northwest in the Spokane Valley to offer neurofeedback and biofeedback support to help clients go from “getting it at a cognitive level” to “using it in their lives,” the executive director explained.
These changes, positive and powerful though they might be, have taken place largely outside public view. And though Hoot Owl restaurant owners Jeff and Wendy Sater sponsored a “Hope Springs” fundraiser for the organization last month – an event Larson Spagon said felt like “getting a big hug from the community” – the greater need for supporting donors remains a constant reality.
“It’s heartbreaking to say it – or even think it – but we need the help of consistent donors or we can’t continue this work,” she said.
In the end, the executive director offered, the program is about “connectedness and the web of humanity.”
“That’s really the story of the people who come here,” she said. “People who want to live a good life where they can be respected in this community.”
For more information about Lifeline Resources or to donate to the organization, visit them online at: www.lifelineresources.org or call (208) 265-6796