Category: Staff

“As an advocate for mental health, I work every day as a voice for those disadvantaged and under serviced. The mental health crisis motivates me to strive for a more informed and de-stigmatized world.”

Rachel McDonald, Hopewell’s Regional Marketing Manager, has always felt herself drawn to working with vulnerable populations. She joined the Hopewell staff after two years working with autistic youth in Cleveland. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Ever since she was younger, she learned the power of community. Growing up in a large family with six older brothers, she was always surrounded by support (not without its difficulties) and was graced with learning how impactful those values are today as an adult. “My family owns a local small business that sells, services, and distributes engines upon which instilled in me an entrepreneurial spirit that further heightened that value of true community. Rachel stated, “I owe everything to and have so much appreciation for my parents.”

During high school, Rachel volunteered in a special needs classroom, on a committee to raise funds to build a facility for adults with mental illness, and at Hamlet Manor, a geriatric nursing facility. Warm, compassionate, and high energy, her positive spirit helps motivate the people she works with to achieve their best and try new things. But her long-term goal was law school. Merging her two interests was a challenge to be explored.

First, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in business for a great basic education. An MBA followed and she expected to find work to raise funds to pursue her law degree dream. During her studies, she was exposed to health care law and health care management, both of which piqued her interest.

Working with Autistic Youth

Rachel said, “Typically, hospitals look for management candidates who have had direct experience in health care. I felt comfortable working with a geriatric population or with special needs youth.” This led her to Bellefaire JCB where she accepted a position as a Youth Autism Specialist.

“This was a hard job at a great organization,” Rachel continued. “There were a lot of clients with co-occurring autism, behavioral issues, and mental health disorders. We worked on everything from activities of daily living, getting kids ready for school, helping prepare meals, and teaching coping skills. The number one job was to keep kids safe from themselves and others, and to keep staff safe, too.”

Rachel then trained to become a Therapeutic Behavior Specialist and over time she made her way up to a supervisor role with a caseload, where she worked with clients and their families. “It made it real to see an individual and how they fit into the family system. I gained a ‘therapeutic brain’ through working with families on a deeper level.”

As a direct care professional, Rachel was often the first one in a crisis. She remembered, “It was physically and mentally challenging to protect yourself and others, keep your composure, stay calm, and keep your ‘therapeutic brain’ on at all times to help clients process their emotional deregulation. On the flip side, we did a lot of fun activities, went on trips, danced, played, and tried to make sure that they had a childhood even though they were in a residential facility. I will be eternally grateful to have been a part of an organization helping to change the lives of individuals who would not have been given a chance otherwise. I witnessed a few kids move on, and how they grew was humbling.”

Outreach at Hopewell

Rachel found herself ready to explore new career opportunities and again asked herself how she could couple her business background and health care experience. “Then the outreach role showed up at Hopewell and it emphasized community, building relationships, spreading the word about the services we provide and helping those in need of treatment know that there is a more holistic option out there. It just felt right. Hopewell is more than just a therapeutic farm, it is a way of life that encompasses everything intrinsic about being human. Community, support, nature, meaningful work, and joy are just some of the things that make Hopewell so great.”

As an outreach manager, Rachel works on building, maintaining, and sustaining relationships in the immediate community around Hopewell and the region encompassing Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan. “It is fulfilling to tell people about Hopewell and the services we provide. Before Hopewell, I did not know about therapeutic communities. My role encompasses educating clinicians and counseling programs to let them know we are an option. We want to be sure that we are the right fit for prospective residents.”

Another aspect of Rachel’s position is being a member of Hopewell’s admissions team. She takes incoming calls from families in crisis and shares our options for their loved one’s mental health care. “Hearing the heartaching situations that families are going through motivate me and reminds me why what we do is so significant”

Part of outreach also includes connecting Hopewell staff with programs, hospitals, and clinicians who offer services in mental and behavioral health. When residents are ready to move on, clinicians have more options to offer for aftercare services. “A big part of my job is being a good referral partner to other programs. We provide discharge options for Hopewell’s clinical team and help them find a therapist, medical providers, and future care based on the individual resident’s needs, wishes and goals.”

Hopewell is part of GCR (Give Connect Receive) Networking, which coordinates lunches for mental health professionals to connect and share resources. Rachel explained, “Lunches, dinners and facility tours happen all over the regions. We therefore have more resources to share client-centered resources with families. This includes lunch and learns where I speak to clinicians and explain our services and how we can mutually benefit our clients.

Yet another part of Rachel’s job is developing social media content and marketing materials. She’s the person behind weekly “Meet a Team Member” Monday about our fabulous staff, and she has a camera at the ready for Hopewell Happenings posts about interesting things happening on the farm.

Some of her marketing is representing Hopewell at events such the NAMI walk, when residents, staff, and families did the walk as a group. She also represents Hopewell at regional conferences of the NASW (National Association of Social Workers), the AOCC (All Ohio Counselors Conference), and the Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services Conference. She is also part of the Employee Appreciation Committee, where she helps plan events to celebrate and appreciate our internal community and is part of our CIA Committee (Collaboration, Innovation, and Action). ‘I love being involved in these committees! We must take care of our own,” she said.

The Hopewell Effect

“I always say that everyone at Hopewell – board members, staff, residents, animals, even delivery people – everyone gets level of respect that you don’t get outside of Hopewell. We are a therapeutic community and it’s transformative when you come to campus. First time visitors even feel the effect that Hopewell has on anyone. We don’t define anyone by their diagnosis which is extremely important for someone who has only been defined that way. Everyone wants to feel normal, and everyone is met where they are at and accepted.”

When asked about a Hopewell memory, Rachel recalled, “Before the holidays, residents wanted to have a karaoke day. I like to keep the energy high and fun, so I found some random karaoke on YouTube. Residents brought cookies and hot cocoa and we took turns singing karaoke with battery powered microphones. The acuity of the residents did not matter. It was a very neutral, safe space and we had a blast. A resident who does not like to talk sang because that was easier. We all sang ‘Sweet Caroline,’ and then learned Elton John’s ‘Daniel,’ which we recorded and sent to our Clinical Director, Daniel Horne. It took 20 minutes, and it brought so much joy. It was awesome.”

Finding Joy

When it comes to her spare time, Rachel described herself as “an old soul. I enjoy the Cleveland Browns, sports, laughter (as it is the best medicine), music from the 40’s til current, and fishing. I can find a pond anywhere for the sport of it and for being outside. Another thing that brings me joy is helping my family in any way I can. A future goal is raising a family. . . someday!”

Thank you, Rachel, for bringing your positive energy to everything you do!

A journey towards the Peace Corps led to traveling with a van of hippies, volunteering on organic farms in over half a dozen states, trips to Texas and South Dakota, and much more for Hopewell’s Garden and Landscape Manager Kelly Flynn. You could say that the path had many twists and turns, all leading home with some new direction.

While still in school for her Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy and Studio Arts from Ursuline College (2018), Kelly planned to go into the Peace Corps. She found after much research that positions in the Peace Corps were highly competitive and required a lot of experience. It was then decided that volunteering would be a great start to gain that experience.

A Turn Towards Horticulture

Kelly’s first volunteer opportunity was through the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), an educational organization where one can learn agricultural skills through work in exchange for room and board. “I began my volunteer work on a farm in Richfield, Ohio when a week after I had started, I met a van of ‘hippies’ who arrived to also volunteer. I worked with them for two weeks before I was invited to join them and I jumped on the opportunity. I took a leave of absence from my job and worked with them for over a month, traveling and camping every night. We went to upstate New York, Vermont, Rhode Island, and back to New York, working on farms for various times at each,” she remembered.

The next year she accepted a job with AmeriCorps State/National working with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, teaching natural sciences to kids K-2 in Texas. She also found placements on a community garden in New Orleans and completed a farm apprenticeship in Tampa, Florida.

“Throughout all the places my work and volunteering took me, my main goal was to help others in an accessible and substantial way,” Kelly stated. Upon returning to Northeast Ohio, she realized that she would find it fulfilling to work in Agricultural Education. She pursued a Master of Science in Agricultural Education (Kansas State 2022). She also became certified as a Master Gardener through The Ohio State University’s extension program in 2019. “Every year I complete at least 25 volunteer hours. I also do 10 hours or more of continuing education through classes and tours of local growing establishments. I’ve learned more about setting up greenhouses, irrigation, and lighting, which gave me insight into what I bring to Hopewell for better growing,” she said.

Working With People With Mental Illness

When asked about what motivates her to work with people with mental illness, Kelly replied, “I have an autistic family member with high support needs. Growing up alongside that I naturally found myself working with individuals with developmental disabilities and issues with mental health. When I first started, I wanted to help others but had not decided on a specific population. As I followed my career path, I found my way into that niche and when I arrived at Hopewell, I knew I had found a home. I am lucky that my career encompasses my lifelong enthusiasm for gardening and my desire to work in a therapeutic setting.”

The primary aspect of Kelly’s job is educating residents in a safe environment where they can learn, try new things, and make mistakes. She explained, “There is no failing when gardening in an environment like Hopewell – just a lot of experimenting and learning from mistakes and new challenges. Horticulture and gardening are skill sets in which you start somewhere – really anywhere – and build on what you learn. For many individuals, the most gratifying part of gardening is the end result. By the end of the season, seeing plants develop and grow is a great confidence booster after all the work that was put into it. Along the way there is a lot of immediate and mid-term satisfaction planting, weeding, and watching things grow. Of course, there’s also the joy of being out in nature and working on Hopewell’s beautiful grounds.”

All are welcome to join the Garden Crew with Kelly for any reason. She said, “Some individuals who get involved with Garden Crewdevelop an interest in learning about plant science and agriculture, some like the work involved as there is a good mix of detail work and bigger projects, sometimes they come just to keep busy with others. There are a lot of sensory experiences when gardening. Some residents just like the physical part of it – working in the soil can make you feel grounded – and gardening in general helps you be more active. There is also a socialization aspect. Even if residents don’t want to talk, they can work side-by-side with others to complete unified goals. Being outside is its own reward. Recently a resident with no garden/plant experience who has been joining Garden Crew said, ‘I didn’t realize how much I’d like working with plants. They are pretty interesting!’”

While some residents find comfort in the similar daily routines on the Housekeeping and Farm crews, others look forward to the changing types of work on the Garden Crew. “There are periods when we’re all doing hard work such as shoveling, mulching, and prepping the soil to grow crops, but other days there’s lighter work such as seeding, weeding and pruning. This year the Garden Crew started a native pollinator garden and saved the seeds. All of this involves a little bit of learning as well,” Kelly explained.

Contributing to the Hopewell Community

Kelly coordinates with Food Service Manager and Wellness Educator Jenn Miller on what vegetables, fruits, and herbs to grow to assist the farm nutrition program. “For example, we grew 606 pounds of tomatoes this year of which many have been canned to be used throughout the rest of the year. We harvested over 91 pounds of lettuce, 70 pounds of onions, 144 pounds of yellow squash, 140 pounds of zucchini, 70 pounds of watermelon, and much more. That saves significant money on the food budget.

“In the winter, we propagate house plants, start seeds indoors, grow herbs in the conservatory, and propagate some cold weather crops such as spinach, radishes, beets and lettuce in a hoop house. We often experiment to see if things work or not.”

This winter, Kelly will take over maple sugaring with Theresa Merten, Farm Animal Manager and Program Facilitator. “That’s quite a fun farm project and lots of people get involved. We order supplies, watch the weather to determine the optimal time to tap the maple trees in our sugarbush, and organize residents and staff to help with tapping. Then we harvest the sap, boil, and bottle the syrup. My favorite part is taste-testing the freshly boiled syrup while it’s still warm.”

In addition to gardening, Kelly is a musician who plays in bands with her husband. She brings her talents to the Musical Journey interest group and plays bass so coordinator Bob Weirich can play piano with the residents. One of her goals is to travel with her husband from LA to Seattle, up the coast. She also wants to do more art. She makes jewelry focusing on metalsmithing and enameling.

Kelly finds working at Hopewell to be extremely rewarding. “I love seeing the joy on people’s faces when they realize that all the hard work they did amounts to so much. Planting a seed and watching it grow. Growing a plant and producing food that goes to our kitchen to feed our community.” She continued, “Towards the end of the season, a resident looked over our garden and said, ‘Wow, we grew all of this!’ That realization is what I strive for.”

Kelly DiTurno joined the Hopewell team in February 2024. She brings a trauma-informed life course perspective to the person-centered care environment at Hopewell. She specializes in creating group psychoeducation experiences using various treatment modalities to help residents reflect on how the tools they are learning impact their ability to sit with difficult experiences in their life and treatment. Kelly noted, “Using language to empower others is great, but providing opportunities for residents to that same language to empower themselves is what really leads to change, in my opinion.” She encourages her clients to maintain a journal/care diary during treatment as a meaningful tool to narrativize their growth in the future.

Hands-On Involvement is in her Genes

The biggest influences on Kelly’s adult life and career have been access to great public education and learning how to be a caregiver for family from family members. Her grandmother Juliet’s example of being a lifelong caregiver informed her choice to study gerontology and social work. As a granddaughter in a family of Italian and Irish immigrants, the tradition of multi-generational living and care inspired Kelly’s interest in developing programming and supporting programs that met the needs of family members living, working and aging together.

Like her grandmother, Kelly attended public high school in Solon, Ohio, where she developed confidence in her leadership skills that allowed her to find purpose and meaning in her college career. At Miami University of Ohio, she developed an interdisciplinary academic degree allowing her to receive her BA in several overlapping areas of special interest: American studies, sociology and gerontology. This course of study helped her understand the role of location, class and culture in impacting health outcomes across the life course.

When asked how she ended up in a mental health career, Kelly noted, “I always assumed I would end up in academia because it felt like the only place to have the hard conversations I wanted to have. Then a professor of mine who knew me very well told me, ‘You don’t have to stay in school forever because you like school. You could be a very well-informed yoga instructor, for instance, if that’s how you make the most impact.’ That was revolutionary to me!” She remembered, “Later, when I was considering graduate programs, I pictured how my efforts would both impact my community and provide me access to community, which I really wanted more than anything. I decided that I did not want to write papers that would sit on a shelf. Instead, I chose to select a program focused on service delivery.”

Aligning with that value of service, Kelly attended the Mandel School of Social Work at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She completed an Aging-in-Place Interprofessional Leadership Practicum which engaged students in both theory and hands-on practice in the greater Cleveland area. In this transdisciplinary program, Kelly was one of many students from CWRU’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and Social Work who collaborated with community members and clinical preceptors at the Veterans’ Association (VA) and Jewish Family Services Administration of Cleveland (JFSA). They provided in-home care consultation and social support to Holocaust survivors aging in place while completing coursework in the impact of trauma across the life course.

Kelly notes that one of the highlights of her CWRU career was an immersive study abroad program in Amsterdam, in which she studied Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment for Inpatient Settings (IDDT). This evidence-based practice improves the quality of life for people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders by combining substance abuse services with mental health services. The program also focused on the cultural underpinnings of social tolerance and medical friendship that have allowed medication assisted treatment (MAT), and physician assisted suicide debt recovery and forgiveness policies to succeed in The Netherlands. Kelly also had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe for the first time during the program which she describes as life-altering.

Kelly completed her dual Master of Social Work and Nonprofit Administration at CWRU in spring 2019. Since then, she has served on transdisciplinary clinical care teams providing acute crisis response, adult behavioral health care, and death, grief, and loss support to patients and families across Northeast Ohio.

Applying Lived Experience as a Family Caregiver

Kelly spent much of her mid-20s to mid-30s learning from the men and women in her family how to be a caregiver. She applied that experience directly to her work after the deaths of her uncle in 2018, grandmother in 2022 and her father in 2023. Kelly’s aunts, uncles and mother all collaborated to support these three in what Kelly notes was an awesome labor of love. In the latter part of that time, Kelly was working as a grief counselor at Hospice of the Western Reserve. In late 2022, Kelly began providing caregiver and resident support group discussions at assisted living facilities in greater Cleveland, the first of which was Light of Hearts Villa in Bedford, Ohio, where she had worked and her grandmother had lived until she died.

Kelly notes that developing and presenting the content of her caregiving groups allowed her to connect to her father, who was a doting and precise caregiver to his own mother. In the days before her father’s sudden illness and death the next year, she learned about his project of tracing and understanding his own family history. “Life narratives are very important to my work. I’d love to finish compiling family stories. My brothers and I plan to eventually visit Italy in honor of my dad and grandmother to meet extended family,” she said.

Working with People with Mental Illness

When you talk to Kelly, you can’t help but be struck by how articulate she is, and this helps inform her work with residents. “I have found that I can utilize interpersonal connection, especially through language, to help remind them that they are not defined by their worst decisions.” she stated. “I also write letters of medical necessity for treatment in which I use language to empower other people. This is my calling right now.”

She continued, “I try to provide an open, neuro-affirming environment in therapy that allows residents to experiment with what makes them most comfortable. For example, I provide a lot of sensory tools such as stimming toys, blankets, and softer lighting, which allow residents to meet their sensory and biological needs so they can engage more fully in care. If it is more comfortable to walk and talk out of the office, then we do that, and incorporate the natural beauty at Hopewell as needed. Walk and talk therapy has evidence behind it that you can deal with hard to process thoughts more easily. These approaches help when residents have atypical nervous systems.”

A Hopewell Moment

When asked about a “great day” at Hopewell, Kelly remembered gathering on April, 8, 2024 with Hopewell residents, staff and their families to watch the solar eclipse, “The eclipse was such a humbling moment to witness as a community. In our Grief Processing Group, when we discuss non-death loss, we often talk about grieving the big monocultural moments that are so rare now, where everyone is bearing witness to the same event at the same time. Whether we are distracted by our devices (myself included) or simply too overwhelmed with grief to remain engaged in our communities before we all arrived at Hopewell, I think most of us agree that the slow, intentional pace of the farm allows us all to be more present for moments like this.”

When asked to describe the event, Kelly laughed, “We all went outside and ate sun chips and moon pies and were goofing around until the eclipse started. When people started shushing each other, I thought, oh no, will some of us miss it? Astoundingly, every person present, kiddos and adults, fell silent as the eclipse happened, completely silent. It was one of the coolest things I’ve shared with others, and it happened at work!”

Interests and Hobbies

Kelly has been involved in community theater, sketch and improv comedy and writing narrative nonfiction and poetry since high school. Currently she prefers to enjoy the art her friends are making in the community and supports them by producing, developing and promoting projects in greater Cleveland that center issues at the intersection of class and disability. A fun fact about Kelly is that she has a black belt in karate and has recently taken up boxing.

Outside of Hopewell, Kelly advocates for elder care policy and facilitates caregiving support groups for aging adults and their families. Since the recent losses in her family, she has been relishing time with her mother, twin brother, big sister and baby brother, her favorite people on earth. Kelly spends her weekends attending live music events, supporting local artists, writing, and playing with her nieces June and Ada. Some of her travel goals in the next few years are to visit more east and south Asian countries, the Mediterranean and Middle East, and to encourage her nieces to see as much of the world as they can.

Thank you, Kelly, for everything you do for Hopewell!

A stint as a Hopewell dishwasher during college led to clinician Nicole Homes’ change in career. Over time, Hopewell worked its magic and Nicole’s life path moved from law to social work.

“Hopewell itself was my driving force and inspiration to work in mental health. I started working at Hopewell in 2008 as a dishwasher as I was finishing my BA. At that time I figured I would work for 6 months then go to law school. After graduation I realized that being an attorney was not for me, but I really loved the work that Hopewell did and my goals changed to a career in social work. While I was getting my master’s degree at Youngstown State (from 2010 – 2013), I stayed on at Hopewell as a program facilitator and shift lead.”

A program facilitator assists with direct care of residents: self-administration of medications, helping residents with cleaning their rooms and doing laundry, prompting them for different activities, and transporting them to appointments. Nicole was a program services supervisor during most of this time and was shift lead when all the clinicians and people in charge went home for the evening. Additional responsibilities included handling any crises that arose during her shifts.

When Nicole graduated with an MSW, she assumed the role of clinician. From 2013 – 2016, she was responsible for clinical matters including providing individual therapy, working with residents to create treatment goals, leading therapeutic groups, and communicating with families.

In 2016, Nicole felt it was time to broaden her experience, so she moved on to a position in the Youngstown City Schools. She then held a position counseling residents in nursing homes until the COVID lockdown happened in 2020 and nursing homes were supposed to be ground zero. By that time, Nicole had married and had a son on the way, so she was no longer comfortable meeting clients in nursing homes. She found another position doing outpatient therapy but she felt unfulfilled.

Meanwhile, Nicole’s husband, Jonathan (Mickey) was working at Hopewell, and they moved to staff housing in 2022. She missed the sense of community that she found at Hopewell. “I never felt disconnected from Hopewell when I left in 2016. I felt a drive to work there again and I was just waiting to come back.” In November, 2023, she learned that a part-time clinician position was opening and she was hired. She is now part of the admissions team, where she reviews records of potential admits to Hopewell and sometimes conducts intake assessment to help determine if Hopewell is a good fit for potential residents.

Nicole also works with the Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Group, facilitating 3 of the 5 meeting per week. ERP is intended for individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). “I trained with Dr. Charles Brady, a highly regarded OCD specialist that Hopewell utilized as a consultant. I am looking forward to more training through the International OCD Foundation.”

While Mickey has been working at Hopewell full time and pursuing a nursing degree, Nicole has been the primary caregiver for her toddler and young elementary school age child. She said, “Mickey and I named our daughter Clara. She isn’t named directly after Hopewell founder Clara Rankin, but we did like that it was a nod to where he and I met: Hopewell.” One of Nicole’s biggest hobbies is canning and preserving food grown in their family’s enormous garden: tomato sauce, pickles, zucchini relish, pickled jalapenos, jam, and salsa. She also loves to crochet, cook, and bake.

Fall is Nicole’s favorite time of year at Hopewell. “I love the crisp fall air and I look forward to picking apples and making fresh pressed cider. It’s not just tasting the delicious cider – it’s the process with residents and staff and engaged and working together in community among the beautiful trees,” she recalled.

Nicole believes the inclusivity of Hopewell’s therapeutic community is an invaluable healing tool for adults with mental illness. She said, “Hopewell is a special place; there is no other place like it. People who work here are dedicated, understanding, and passionate. As an organization, Hopewell is wonderful! I have never thought that I could not go to someone with a problem and feel like I wouldn’t be heard. The staff have always made me feel that as a person I am important. When I worked for other organizations, there was much less of a feeling of community and I felt like I was one of many. Here you are asked, what do you want to do, what do you feel drawn to? The quality of care is outstanding and staff can take ownership of what they want to learn and do to help our residents.”

Heidi Moser’s favorite place on the farm is on the stone wall, pictured above. A resident recently added cairns to the wall, short piles of stones that guide hikers on otherwise unmarked treks in the wilderness. To a hiker, those cairns say, “This is the way.” It’s hard to believe but until recently, Heidi did not know what those cairns signified; however, it seems that they’ve been guiding her way forward all along.

The Journey Begins

Heidi’s pathway to Hopewell began after college when she lived in Manhattan. Her first introduction to the world of counseling was as an administrative assistant in the department of counseling and clinical psychology at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Eventually she realized she wasn’t really a city girl (as she puts it) and returned to Ohio to live near her parents. Imagine an invisible cairn showing the way – a first left turn in her journey.

“I looked back at my life and animals were very important to me. I didn’t want to become a veterinarian, so I pursued an Associates of Applied Science in Veterinary Technology,” Heidi said. “Most people think of vet techs as the nurses of the veterinary field, but I found a position at a diagnostic vet laboratory. I loved being a scientist and I stayed for 18 years.”

Heidi bought a home on the Mahoning River and discovered a new love of kayaking. “I love being in nature but I had never set foot in a kayak until I bought the house. I made my maiden voyage in my backyard,” she quipped. “Being on the water brings me a real sense of peace, tranquility, and connectedness to the natural world.”

Back to Psychology

In 2015 Heidi picked up a remote position at the A.K. Rice Institute, a nonprofit organization that studies how unconscious thoughts and feelings impact our lives when we are in groups. This brought her back to the world of psychology, and a realization that she needed to find more satisfying work. Cue another turn on the pathway.

Heidi returned to school, earning a Master of Science in Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2021. She worked in an outpatient substance abuse and counseling facility as well as a private practice, and earned her credential as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

Finding Hopewell

“At one point I found a Hopewell brochure and I started following Hopewell on Facebook. I remember saying to myself, ‘That’s my dream job!’” Heidi said. When she learned about a job opening, she applied and joined the team in February 2024. Those invisible cairns were leading her to a new resting place.

At Hopewell, Heidi provides individual psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral group therapy to residents. She co-facilitates a 12-step informed recovery group and a group using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and she is training for certification in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

“Every day at Hopewell has something to offer. I enjoy interacting with residents and participating in community activities. Taking residents on a nature walk is one of my favorite activities,” Heidi said. “It’s so cool to see people improving, making changes, and watching their lives improve. That’s an encouraging thing to see and it’s what keeps me going.”

The Traveling Life

Heidi has always carved out time to travel, looking for beautiful landscapes and nature both at home and abroad. A big believer in independent journeys, she often adventures solo. “I do a lot of homework in advance so I can be spontaneous and do my own thing. Even as a woman alone, that’s more appealing to me,” she said. To keep track of her travels, you’ll need a global map and some pins.

She has visited Italy a couple of times and has made a few trips to Great Britain. Her last big trip abroad was just before the pandemic in March 2020, when she went to Iceland, rented a car, and drove the Ring Road around the entire perimeter of the country by herself. Heidi recalled, “It was quite the experience. Over ten days I saw incredibly beautiful fjords, glaciers, waterfalls, and even some reindeer on the winter tundra landscape.”

Heidi really lights up when she describes one of her travel bucket list items: walking the longest Pembrokeshire coastal pathway in Wales. “This is the most mind-blowing coastline in Britain. I’ve hiked part of it before but I’d love to hike the whole thing, which is 186 miles long. One website has broken down the hikes into chunks you can do in a day, then a bus takes you to overnight accommodations.” She’ll likely find plenty of cairns marking the pathway.

Care to Cycle?

Heidi’s love of professional cycling led to some stateside wandering experiences. She traveled in California and Colorado working as a marshal for week-long staged races. “It was really fun, riding around from spot to spot with a team of people in a van, seeing beautiful areas, then jumping out to direct the racers. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a fork in that as racing lost sponsorship,” she said. “Now I’d attend races as a fan: just walk up a mountain and watch a race go by.”

The Tour de France captures Heidi’s interest every year. “Another travel goal is to watch the first stage of the race, the Grand Depart, when cyclists often begin the race in other countries. Then I’d go to France, have a picnic in a field and enjoy a good French cheese as the riders go by.” Quite the relaxing visual!

Free time at home means hanging out and hiking in the woods with her two corgis, Patch and Ducky. Heidi used to go mountain biking but now finds it more enjoyable to travel with her bike. Recently she rode the trails with a friend in a beautiful area known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. If she gets lost or wanders away from a trail, you know she’ll be looking for cairns to guide her way home.

Hired in fall 2023, Savannah Schindelar began her career at Hopewell as a new member of the admissions team. She joined Tim Bitting (National Outreach Manager), Rachel MacDonald (Regional Outreach Manager), Daniel Horne (Clinical Director), Sarah Turner (Clinical Services Coordinator), and Acting Executive Director Colleen Welder.

The admissions team fields all incoming inquiries from families, prospective residents, and professional referrals. Tim and Rachel build relationships with mental health facilities, other mental health programs and counseling practices and handle most of the professional referrals. Savannah is often the first stop to help families and prospective residents determine whether they are a good fit to begin the application process.

Many families contact Hopewell when they are stressed and confused about next steps for their loved ones’ mental health journey. Savannah said, “Callers need some validation and reassurance and to feel like they have been heard. I can’t give clinical advice, but empathy is a huge part of initial relationship building.”

What motivates you to work with people with mental illness?

“Working at Hopewell provides the opportunity to do a little good in the world. I don’t believe that ultimate good can be achieved in one fell swoop – it takes a lot of tiny efforts,” Savannah observed. “I can help by suiting up and showing up for those with mental illness.”

Savannah’s Journey Begins

Savannah’s background in behavioral health began in 2019 when she was employed at Glenbeigh Hospital in Rock Creek, Ohio, an inpatient facility that treats adults with substance use disorder. “At Glenbeigh, I learned the boundaries of empathy and professionalism, keeping composure when clients are experiencing difficulties. When working with people in crisis, you need to navigate many strong emotions. That is much easier now,” she said.

A Chicago Detour

Life brought Savannah to Chicago in 2021. She found an Administrative Assistant and Intake Specialist position at Primary Care Psychology Associates (PCPA), which provides short-term Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for adults and children. She did intake and billing, fielded inquiries, coordinated with the clinicians and ran the front of the ship.

Savannah also held a second job as a bouncer. “Security work made me more aware of potentially volatile situations and how to handle them, and I became more attentive to my surroundings. These experiences translated into my current role in behavioral health. I am more able to handle crises with a level of tact and poise,” she stated.

The most important thing Savannah found in Chicago was her partner, Louis, who hails from the North Island of New Zealand. She has since visited him in his home country for a month of travel and Louis has joined her in Ohio to meet her family. A spring trip to New Zealand is planned.

Back to Ohio and a New Start at Hopewell

Savannah returned to Ohio in 2023 and landed the brand-new position of Admissions Assistant at Hopewell and has since been upgraded to the Admissions Coordinator title. Interestingly, she is completely self-taught. “My experience, job opportunities, and teams I have worked with molded me to the professional I am,” she said. One of her dreams is to pursue professional development opportunities in hopes of becoming a licensed clinical psychologist with her own clients.

Because Hopewell is a working farm, Savannah has had opportunities to bring other life skills to work. While growing up on her family’s farm, she worked with lots of animals – goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and horses – and participated in 4H. “This past summer I helped staff wrangle a newborn calf off the field who had not eaten because her mom rejected her. I helped set up a feeding regimen and the calf made a full recovery.”

What does working at Hopewell mean to you?

Savannah related a poignant story about what working at Hopewell means to her. “A resident came to us from another facility where he had lived for several years. He looked beaten down. I did his intake, and I saw even upon admission how relieved he was to be joining a community. It’s immensely gratifying and fantastic to watch the progress he has made on his journey while at Hopewell. That impresses me a lot. We do something right here.”

She continued, “I am proud to be one small part in a greater machine that helps people get better. It takes a village, and I am happy to be part of this village.”

Living in a tipi for four months at age 15 was a foundational experience that eventually led to Cecelia Futch, LPCC-S, becoming a credentialed ecotherapist. This fall she will lead an exciting journey into “Ecotherapy in Clinical Practice,” a four-part virtual seminar with clinicians from Hopewell and Pasadena Villa. Cecelia explained, “Ecotherapy refers to various methods of cultivating the health benefits of being in nature. My hope for the upcoming training is to instill in clinicians the confidence – based on empirical evidence, ongoing research, and personal experience – to incorporate Ecotherapy into their clinical practice as well as their daily lives.”

A Broad Counseling Background

During her lengthy career, Cecelia has counseled people with mental illness in a number of populations, including women with addiction disorders, low-income seniors, women in a prison release program, and adults and youth with HIV/AIDS. “I believe in a holistic approach that addresses the body, mind, and spirit, and I have traveled along that authentic pathway without regret,” she said.

One of Cecelia’s competencies, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), addresses the belief that cognitive, behavioral, and emotional factors together influence actions, thoughts, and mood. She stated, “CBT teaches clients skills to change their thoughts such as affirmations, challenging thoughts, and emotional regulation, which helps them modify how they respond to difficult situations.”

Cecelia trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which was developed to treat Borderline Personality Disorder. DBT helps people who engage in black-and-white thinking and who experience extreme emotional highs and lows. In this case, emotional regulation means accepting mood swings, that opposing emotions and thoughts are valid, and clients can learn to tolerate the discomfort.

Using Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cecelia helped clients accept their history and stop trying to relive it wishing things would turn out differently. “Clients going through ACT come to accept that life includes painful times, joyful times, and struggling times. We discover a path that can help make meaning of life, explore values, and define goals.”

She continued, “CBT, DBT, and ACT are all structured therapies, so different from classic psychoanalytic models. Using these modalities, we find what will help clients live better, what tools they can learn, and how to move towards a positive outcome in a shorter period of time.”

A Lifelong Journey to Ecotherapy

Cecelia’s path towards Ecotherapy started with a love of camping and outdoor activities while on adventuresome family vacations all over the United States. “I grew up in Louisiana and when I was 15, our parents took us to a homestead high in the Rockies for four months. We built a Lakota tipi and lived without running water, foraged and fished, cooked in the tipi, hiked, and panned for gold. I remember it as a real grand adventure,” she enthused with a soft drawl.

“Camping all my life as well as living in the tipi really resulted in my interest in Ecotherapy. I have always believed that nature innately supports us psychologically, emotionally, and physically. Even in my earlier counseling experience – before Ecotherapy’s recognition as a treatment modality – we did a lot of things outside, kind of by instinct. For example, we would go to a park and walk on the trails. People would talk about things differently when walking side by side outdoors as opposed to face to face in a clinical setting. It can feel safer to explore the inner landscape.”

In 2017, Cecelia took an extensive online 6-month course with the Earthbody Institute, followed by an immersion experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains with ecotherapists from around the country. She feels that Ecotherapy doesn’t take the place of other modalities; rather, it enhances them. “Research shows breathing forest air enhances our immune system and triggers our bodies to produce natural serotonin. A walk in the woods with a client is a simple way to start exploring the benefits.”

Hopewell: A Therapeutic Community

Ecotherapy fits right into the types of collaboration at Hopewell, Cecelia maintained. “The beauty of Hopewell derives from the cooperative team approach where staff and residents create a community of support together,” she recalled. In addition to weekly clinical meetings, non-clinical staff also contribute. “A kitchen worker might report that a resident was anxious about eating in the communal dining area. Or someone from the buildings and grounds staff might notice a resident yelling at a tree and bring it to a clinician’s attention. The entire staff observes, informs, and supports each other for the benefit of our residents.”

Cecelia confirmed, “Hopewell is not just a mental health facility as much as a therapeutic community, where we can reduce isolation in people who are experiencing distress or mental illness. I saw miracles there,” she exclaimed. “A new resident might present a real challenge and we would see how well they were functioning in 3-4 months. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Also, we didn’t just celebrate positive outcomes – we also suffered disappointments and losses together with support and supervision. It was sheer joy working with people who were concerned about each other’s well-being.”

In addition to counseling residents on the farm, Cecelia worked with Hopewell’s University Circle Transition (UCT) program, an apartment-based program for residents who wanted to experience more independent living but still access Hopewell therapists and services. While there, she developed an Ecotherapy module for an urban setting. “With a short walk to a nearby lagoon and nature trails, residents at UCT could find water, trees, grass, and beautiful landscaping. We incorporated nature into their apartments, such as taking care of houseplants. Pictures on a wall, the sound of birds or streams can measurably lower stress levels.”

During their walks, Cecelia would help a client find a “sit spot” where they feel comfortable. “We’d do some mindfulness and breath work, which helps people become calmer, reduces blood pressure, and feel more grounded. We did guided imagery in the natural setting and I encouraged them to return to the spot whenever they felt anxious or needed a break.”

Retirement: The Journey Continues

After over six years as a clinical counselor at Hopewell, Cecelia retired in 2023. She has traveled, camped, or hiked in 48 states, which leaves Alaska and California on her retirement bucket list. She wants to visit her children and grandchildren and do some more camping. In addition, Cecelia enjoys her lifelong photography hobby and teaches Qi Gong. Another goal is to increase her proficiency in banjo, ukelele, and other folk instruments.

Cecelia holds an MS in mental health counseling from Capella University (2013), an MDiv in Bible, Theology, and Pastoral Care from The Divinity School (1994), and a Bachelor of Arts from Morehead State University (1984).

“Working at a place like Hopewell has been a goal ever since I was a medical resident in Boston,” says Martha Schinagle, MD, Hopewell’s psychiatrist. “I heard about Gould Farm (one of the four other residential farms for adults with mental illness in the United States) and it sounded like a wonderful place to recover and a great place to work.”

An experience as a medical student cemented Martha’s decision to specialize in psychiatry. She worked on a mental health inpatient unit studying the effectiveness of a drug that treats schizophrenia. “One of my patients had a very difficult time with her illness,” she recalled. “When she reached a therapeutic dose of the medication, she said, ‘Thank you for giving me my life back!’ Where else in medicine can you hear that? Bringing her back from far away was so satisfying.”

Martha pursued a career in community mental health before returning to Cleveland to be closer to family. In 2013, she joined the staff at Hopewell, and that long ago dream that had stayed in the back of her mind was realized. Her duties include assessing residents’ needs, consulting with clinicians about treatment plans and medication, and counseling residents.

“One of the important aspects of Hopewell is the opportunity to be in nature. It’s so healing,” Martha said. She loves to garden and spend time outside with family and her dogs. During the summer, she visits Lake Chautauqua and enjoys boating.

When asked what makes working at Hopewell meaningful, Martha stated, “I like making a difference in people’s lives and seeing people get better. It is a privilege to work with our remarkably dedicated clinicians. Also, it’s inspiring to see the healing community in action!” She continued, “Recently, as a resident came out of a depression, she started motivating people to get more involved, asking them to sit with her at dinner or join her at a group. She helped a lot of her peers.”

Thank you, Martha, for fulfilling your dream at Hopewell!

In Summer 2023, after a three-month search, Ann Thompson became our Director of Development. She had been Hopewell’s Development and Communications Manager since 2017. You could say she’s outstanding in her field.

Ann leads the Development team in the Chagrin Falls office. In addition to annual fundraising, she will focus on nurturing relationships with donors, soliciting grants, marketing, event planning, and communications. Though her home base is in Chagrin Falls, Ann travels to the farm weekly to keep up to date with events and meet with residents and staff. If interested in a tour of Hopewell, contact her at athompson@hopewell.cc.

Prior to Hopewell, Ann worked with numerous non-profits, fundraising, and organizing events. In 2014, she received her master’s degree in urban design, planning and development, focusing on her love for sustainability and community involvement. She has lived in the Chagrin Valley for over 30 years, raising two children and too many cats and dogs. In her spare time, she teaches yoga and plays in her yard.

When hiring a finance manager, you need someone who is good with numbers, sharp as a tack, and right on the money. Fortunately, Darlene Pennington came to Hopewell in spring 2022 with those qualifications and more.

Working in finance and teaching math are lifelong pursuits. Darlene attended Kent State University and worked in accounting before moving to Pennsylvania to raise a family. She returned to school at age 36, earning a BS in education specializing in math and an MS in math and reading.

“I taught business, accounting, and personal finance to middle and high school students for the last twelve years. Sadly, I realized that mental health is one of the ‘side issues’ that you deal with in teaching.” Warm and compassionate, she created a safe place in her classroom. “I feel like I have a calling to help people. Students came to me when they had concerns and problems. They were like my kids and I advocated for them.”

Circumstances brought Darlene back to Ohio in 2022, and the opening at Hopewell caught her eye. “I was intrigued by the opportunity to return to finance at such a caring place. Besides, where else can you see our Belted Galloway cows out for a walk while you crunch the numbers?”

Not one to hide out in her office, Darlene has gotten to know some of the residents by joining a farm work crew. On Christmas Day, she visited the farm to play cards with those who did not go home for a break. “I thought it would be hard for residents to spend Christmas away from their families.”

Asked to sum up a “best day” at Hopewell, Darlene paused and said, “A best day is when I can work on the farm in the morning and the books balance in the afternoon.”