What’s Going On In Our Resilient Community?
Keeping Salvation Army In Our Community
Did you know that 90% of the funds raised from the Salvation Army bell ringers in Red Lodge stay in Carbon
County? During the holiday season, 49 volunteers rang the bell, contributing 82 hours and raising $5,200,
equating to $63.42 an hour or $106.12 raised per volunteer. The money raised will be used to provide
assistance meeting episodic and, often, emergent needs of Carbon County residents. These services could range
from car repair to food vouchers at a local grocer to a gas card. To keep Salvation Army in Carbon County, a
committee is being created to determine how to distribute the funds. If you would like to learn more about
the addition of Salvation Army and what comes next, please contact Therese Picasso-Edwards at 446-2820 or
Therese@rlacf.org.
Learning About Mental Health
After assessment and community conversations, there are several new programs that we will be rolling out to
address mental health in the community. A mental health curriculum will be launched in the Carbon County high
schools starting with the freshmen and sophomore Red Lodge High School health classes. A mentoring group,
Big Sky Buddies, is in development that will pair caring adults with adults in the community who have special
needs. In efforts to connect professionals, the Behavioral Health Guild will be established for all professionals
in the county who work directly or indirectly with individuals with mental health difficulties. To bring neighbors
together, the Community Mental Health Alliance will be available for caring members of the community to come
together and fight the barriers of having a mental illness. To learn more about these initiatives, connect with Sage
Henderson, Mental Health Awareness VISTA, at 406.446.2820 or sage@rlacf.org. She is striving to weaken the
stigma of mental health and form a stronger bond within the community and she would love your input.
Providing Transportation to our Aging Community
The Age-Friendly Carbon County survey identified transportation as the top concern and opportunity for
improvement. In nearly every community visited, transportation was the number one concern. During our
second visit to each senior center in the county, we discussed specific concerns that people had regarding
transportation. People were interested in rides for groceries, medical appointments, and other important
errands. In addition, transportation to Billings was considered especially important for many of these tasks.
Right now, we are putting together a request for proposals to engage a vendor that will assess the specific
transportation needs in the county and create a Transportation Development Plan. If you are interested in
learning more about this project or to volunteer, please contact George by phone at 406-446-2820 or by
email at george@rlacf.org.
Groundbreaking Developments in Workforce Housing
The Foundation Board of Directors approved $74,394 from the Habitat for Humanity funds to pay the 50% down
payment for the build of an affordable home on Cooper Avenue. Justin Elton, the shop teacher at the RLHS, and
his students are building the shed for this home as this semester’s project. The Request for Proposal for a
General Contractor has been sent out, to be awarded by Feb 19th. Weather permitting, we will break ground
the first week in May. KUDOS to ALL the many volunteers on the Workforce Housing Committee which
exemplifies how our Red Lodge Community works collaboratively with the City government, public schools,
for-profit businesses, non-profits and highly engaged citizens to make things happen. The Red Lodge way! If you
would like to find out more or would like to volunteer your time or expertise, please contact Valentine Smith at
valentine@rlacf.org or 406-446-2820.