Updates from Looking Glass
Help our youth cool off and stay active this summer! Looking Glass needs your support in providing fun outdoor summer activities or admission to community events. Our youth thrive when they can take a break and have fun in the sun. You can donate through our donations page on our website or click this Amazon wish list link (https://a.co/0060V7Sl) and purchase any of the summer items directly on the Looking Glass Summer Activities Wishlist!
Looking Glass President and CEO Chad Westphal was on hand on Thursday, May 7 for several important Governor Kotek bill signings in support of crucial behavioral health work - HB 4069; HB 4115; SB 1546; SB 1547. One of the senate bills (1546) aims to compel AI chatbots to connect suicidal users to real life help.
Thank you to all those who attended this year's Looking Glass auction gala fundraiser event! This year’s event had an old Hollywood Oscars theme and raised a RECORD-SETTING amount of donations for Looking Glass at-risk youth programs. With red carpets, movie-themed decor and a live jazz club band, supporters felt like members of the Hollywood elite - as they should for supporting our organization with such generosity!
Each quarter, the members of the Looking Glass Cultural Awareness and Equity Committee (CAEC) review nominations of staff members who have gone above and beyond their job requirements to promote cultural awareness and equity on the job. Nominations come mostly from staff peers. Then the committee randomly selects one nominee to win a $100 gift card. This quarter’s random drawing winner is Mae Camara.
National Safe Place Week, an annual promotion to raise awareness about the Safe Place Program (a nation-wide program which brings together youth service agencies, businesses, volunteers and other community partners to help youth in crisis) is March 15th through 21st this year. In Lane County, Looking Glass Station 7 is the Safe Place program provider. Looking Glass partners with several area businesses and agencies including LTD, all Dari Mart locations, fire stations and more (67 locations in total).
During this year’s Safe Place week, Looking Glass has a fundraiser at Tacovore (530 Blair Blvd in Eugene) wherein Looking Glass will receive 10% of all sales on Wednesday, March 18th. No flyer needed.
In early 2026, Looking Glass received another 4-year award from The Council on Accreditation (COA), which is based in New York and accredits organizations & programs in the social and human services sectors. This includes child welfare, behavioral health, community-based services, juvenile justice, military family support, and early childhood development. COA conducts a comprehensive peer-review process in which the agency’s administration, management, and service delivery are evaluated against rigorous, evidence-based standards.
Looking Glass has several experienced certified alcohol and drug counselors (CADC) working within the Counseling Program who assist youth between the ages of 13 and 24 with assessment and outpatient treatment programs tailored to the needs of each youth client. These CADCs do an initial assessment to determine the level of need and develop individualized treatment goals. Most commonly, services involve weekly sessions focusing on harm reduction, identifying triggers, and helping navigate social environments which can often be difficult for young people to handle on their own. The Looking Glass Counseling Program has immediate openings to provide these services.
Since forming in 2018, the Looking Glass Board of Stewards has helped support and advance fundraising and community awareness efforts in and around Lane County. The group that makes up this board has changed year to year, but the passion and dedication of the various personalities within the group have kept it focused on its mission to help improve the lives of our most vulnerable populations in our community.
