Unfinished Business

RAVEN ROCK REPORT                                   

August-September 2025

As we enjoy the last days of summer and grip our coffee mugs tightly, bracing for windier, rainier conditions, I think back over the last two months in a reflective moment. Raven Rock is ever-changing, yet ever consistent. Teens have come for years seeking healing from trauma, real and perceived. Now we welcome children seven and eight years of age, though requests come in for 4- and 5-year-olds, as well as young adults and middle-aged adults requesting help with unfinished business concerning their mental health. While we do not treat the children under age 7, we do have a wider scope of all ages. What we find is the trials are consistent: suicide, anxiety and depression dominate our client base.

Is it tougher out there in the schools? Yes. Is it tougher out there in the home? Yes. Is it tougher out there in the workplace? Yes. The difficulty is everywhere and diagnoses fly. Over 80% of our clients are engaged in more than one kind of therapy. Most have an average of three diagnoses. Yet, the mental health in our society has never been worse. So, who is to blame?

Many people ask me how I can keep doing what we do here. I smile knowingly when I respond, “We love the work we do here because it is SO effective. We have people of all ages see the world in a clearer, more organized way. They feel good about who they are and feel confident in their own ability to manage life’s trials. There is no “learned incompetence.” People step into their own power and live a life that they were born to live, to be the best they can be.

I would be lying to you if I told you it was because of how smart we all are or how fabulous the treatment modality is. We are nothing more than available and we sometimes care more than we should about each and every person who comes through our gate. Compassion and acceptance work a lot of miracles. There is more, though. We are a faith-based program. I can think of dozens of kids whom I would have never agreed to take on without knowing that where I work is sacred ground. There is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control here at Raven Rock. If you have visited, you know that to be true. God embraces all of us, whispering through the trees, floating over the pond, reflected in the eyes of the horses engaging with their person. It is so simple, so powerful.

Your donations directly affect the next generation of leaders like “Linesha” a slim young lady who was referred to us by the state. Linesha was taken from her drug-addicted neglectful mother when she was only 4 years old. She had been in what she said were “several” foster homes, never finding a family of her own. We spoke on the phone and through tears, she told me of her concern for the horses she might work with. “I am so damaged, so traumatized that it might traumatize your horses to be near me.” My eyes filled with tears. “Please don’t worry about that, Linesha. You will help our horses work through their own hurt. Each one has a story, and when you meet them, you will find the story that is healing for you.” We will start next week. I know she is very important to God, and therefore, she is very important to me.

We have our end of year fundraising to do in the next few months. I humbly ask for as much support as you can give to us. Your love for the teens, children and adults who come here as well as the horses that I love means more to me than you will ever know. It adds up, you know. When you love, it multiplies back to you. Thank you for sending your love to this place that can’t do this work without you.

Love and blessings to you all, Sandy