2022 has been a record-breaking year for guides seeking Redside Foundation mental health services.

They need your help.

In 2022, your support helped more than 90 guides receive confidential mental health support. This is more guides than we served in the last six years combined! The startling reality? We project this number to increase to 150 in 2023.

We traditionally see an increase in the volume of calls to our Guide Helpline starting in October. The shorter, darker days can bring on seasonal affective disorder and depression and highlight difficult seasonal transitions. This is also when guides slow down enough to recognize they need help with challenges like trauma and substance use issues.

The last few years have been full of uncertainty and grief for everyone. Guides have continued to work to provide fun, safe, and engaging trips in wild places through it all - including fires, high water, drought, COVID, and more. During this time, many guides have put their own challenges aside to ensure their guests have safe and meaningful experiences, and now they are seeking support.

Thanks to your support, talking about mental health or needing help is becoming normalized in the guiding community. Admitting that you don't 'got this' has traditionally been seen as a weakness, especially in a profession that requires mental and physical strength, fortitude, endurance, and teamwork. Asking for help is the hardest thing to do, and thanks to you, guides are asking for and getting the help they need. When the Redside Foundation was founded, we knew that if we could help save just one life, we would be a success. Since then, we've helped save multiple lives and have helped build a healthier, more connected community of guides in Idaho and now also in Montana and Wyoming. Without the Redside Foundation, where would guides in need turn?

Our services are made possible by the generous donations of people like you.

Our Guide Helpline and providing access to confidential mental health care is at the heart of the Redside Foundation. However, good mental health is not a stand-alone issue. We also award professional development grants and academic scholarships, hold an annual health fair, offer a financial health hotline, issue physical health care vouchers, and host community building and educational events. A strong community is a core pillar of good mental health. Thanks to your help, we have a stronger, more connected community.

Guides are not just the cornerstone of the outdoor recreation economy. They play a vital role as many people's first mentors in the outdoors and stewards of our public lands. Guides have families, raise children, and are leaders in their communities. Providing the critical services of the Redside Foundation ensures not just healthier guides but healthier lives for all.

Support the health and wellness of the guiding community by donating to the Redside Foundation now.

Donate today!

* Website: https://www.redsidefoundation.org/donate

* Venmo @redside-foundation (the last four of our phone number is 8090)

* Mail a check to: PO Box 8734, Boise, ID 83707

You can also support our mission by shopping at our online shop.

All monies raised in the fall fundraising drive will go directly to fund mental health and substance abuse counseling.

photo: Kelli O'Keefe

We stick to our mission by providing 24/7 confidential assistance and financial support for counseling and mental health services. We host an annual health fair and provide $100 vouchers to guides for physical health services at participating clinics. We also offer a financial health hotline to improve financial literacy, a guide-friendly job board, academic scholarships, and professional development grants. In addition, we organize several community events, clinics, and meetings every year. Providing each of these services is a crucial element of our comprehensive approach to supporting the health and strength of the guiding community.

Thank you for your support.

We appreciate all you do to help the Guiding Community. Thank you for helping us ensure their well-being and success. We couldn't do this vital work without you.

2021 Redside Foundation Fall Fundraiser

Support the Health and Strength of the Professional Outdoor Guiding Community

Team Members