KINGSFORD, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Forever Friendship Drop-in Center in Kingsford is facing potential closure following concerns raised at the county board meeting. The center, serving around 50 disabled adults, is in jeopardy of losing its contract with Northpointe Behavioral Health. Executive Director Talitha Nelson expressed frustration, stating, “They have never given me any information. They have never in any of the meetings said you need this much for attendance, or this is the research that we need to support our program.” Despite efforts to address funding cuts, Northpointe plans to terminate the contract by the end of December, citing insufficient evidence to support the program. Trico Opportunities, a similar disability-focused organization, is also at risk of losing its contract with Northpointe.
Nelson explained that The Forever Friendship Drop-in center is a peer support group that operates as a 501c3 non-profit organization. The Center serves as an adult peer support group in various capacities, emphasizing those with disabilities, and those with increased suicide risks. The center has various peer support meetings that are open to the public, such as a suicide loss support group, and a suicide attempt survivors group. The center also facilitates monthly “women-only” military support groups, as well as “men-only” support groups.
She shared: “The state of Michigan has done a number of medical studies over the years comparing peer support to clinical support, and through those medical studies they have found that individuals with mental health diagnosis prosper and get more long-term stable mental health with peer support opposed to just clinical support alone. So with those medical studies they found that they put a lot of funds into peer programs and that’s why drop-in centers are open all over the state of Michigan including lower Michigan and Upper Michigan. In order for us to get funding as a drop-in center, we have to be connected to a CMH – community mental health organization – and in Dickinson County that is Northpointe – so they are in Iron County as well as Menominee county, but since we are Dickinson County, our funding goes through that CMH”
The latest e-mail from the director of finance at Northpointe to Nelson states:
“I wanted to notify you that the board agreed to extend your contract through 12/31/23 at a total of $20,000. It is essential that evidence is provided supporting the necessity to continue Northpointe funding of this program into 2024. At this point in time, without evidence and approval, we are unable to extend the contract past 12/31/23. You are free to pursue alternative funding sources. However, our Board of Directors have grave concern about contract continuation. Please expect a contract to be sent to you via DocuSign early next week, upon contract execution payment for November will be made. The next board meeting is scheduled for December 7 at 4:30 at our administrative building.”
Nelson has shared that she doesn’t feel comfortable signing the contract without further clarification from Northpointe.
“We’re directly contracted through them, so every year we come up with a new budget, and a new contract that’s negotiated between me and usually a liaison – which I [currently] do not have, and have not had for months. The liaison is with Northpointe, and they’re kind of the connecting person between the Board of Directors, the administration, and the financial department, so it’s just me. So every year we usually sit down and go over my contract. They said they were in an audit, so I submitted my budget as of August because my fiscal year ends September 30. Our contract would kick in as of October 1. So I submitted my budget, and I didn’t hear anything. I emailed a couple of times to the few people that I know to email. Of course, I know Northpointe has had a lot of shifting, and employees that were fired or moved to a different department, so it’s always changing – so I do my best to contact who I know to contact,” informed Nelson.
“So I reached out to [the CFO/CEO] saying that I felt disrespected that you have not communicated with me, or let me know what’s going on in my program. We’re getting close to the end of my fiscal year, and I need to know what my budget is for the following year,” Nelson shared, adding that the Northpointe CEO responded that they’d get back with her, and they were ‘doing research’ into the Forever Friendship program.
Nelson shared a frustration with the lack of communication as to what exactly was required of her at the drop-in center regarding what research Northpointe needed to continue the program. “So I don’t know what they are researching because nobody will tell me. Nobody has contacted me. Nobody has contacted my board. Nobody has reached out to my members. Nobody has come to my drop-in center, so I’m not sure what you’re researching,” she stated.
“Finally, I was contacted by Kellie Davis who is the Director of Finance, and they went over my budget, and felt like it was not appropriate for my attendance. So I was like, ‘OK, what do we need to change?’ …and she said, well, we need to make some serious cuts. And I’m like, ‘OK’. Well, I met with my board again, because all of the budgets, and all financial decisions go through my board of directors. We are just like Northpointe in the fact that we are both 501(c)3 nonprofits, we have to operate with a board. We cut to the point of covering just payroll and our basic bills like rent, utilities, gas, loan payments, stuff like that – so I resubmitted again. She gave me a budget that was even lower, so I submitted it to the board yet again.”
Advocacy efforts involve petitioning the community for signatures of support, and reaching out to the local health department and organizations like Great Lakes Recovery. The situation raises broader concerns about the center’s ability to provide essential mental health support in the community.
The next board meeting for Northpointe is scheduled for December 7, and the story will be monitored for updates.
