A rein or shine event
Get a closer look at one of the busiest community support centers in Lincoln County, while shopping for deals and enjoying live music at Toledo's Olalla Center garage sale and open house this Friday, June 17.
The sale will include furniture, games, books and more. Center staff will also be showcasing their programs, services and the work that they do in the community.
“In the open house all our programs are going to have a booth,” Executive Director Denise Leonard said. “It’s a perfect time for people to learn a little more about our combination of mental health and community programs like Project Bravery and Arcoíris Cultural.”
Arcoíris Cultural focuses on celebrating and supporting underserved Latina/o/x, Guatemalan and Indigenous populations in Lincoln County, while Project Bravery seeks to foster bravery, empowerment and advocacy for LGBTQIA2S+ youth (an acronym that encompasses Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit and more).
The relatively new Pegasus Program teams horses with a mental health professional to provide individual, family and group sessions that focus on ground work with horses.
“There’s no riding, but it's like the horse is another team member during the sessions,” Leonard said. “We create a space where you use story or analogy and interact with horses physically, like by grooming them.”
Another new program is the Relief Nursery, supporting high-risk families by forming avenues for safe and sustainable reunification of children in the foster care system with their parents.
The Waldon Project is a nature therapy program.
“The kids do hands-on activities and we have therapists that do one-on-one sessions,” Leonard said. “And it happens outside in the forests we have all around us.”
The Olalla Center has been providing services as an independent non-profit since 1978.
“The cool thing about the open house is that because we do mental health programs we can’t be totally open to the public,” Leonard said. “So this is a great way for us to interact with them and show all that we do.”
The event runs from 10 am to 3 pm at the Olalla Center, located at 321 SE 3rd Street in Toledo. For more information, go to olallacenter.org.