3 Degree Guarantee to benefit Johnson County non-profit taking on mental illness

OLATHE, Kan. (KCTV) - We may be through the season of giving but help for those in need never stops. That’s why our weather team is starting the new year by giving back to another charity, Pathway to Hope.

Right off Santa Fe Dr. in Olathe, Emily Lamar and Jimi Barkley have found a new home where they can laugh and feel loved as they seek a better life.

“When I first came here I was a mess,” Lamar confessed from four years ago. “I was hiding under a desk; I didn’t want to talk to anyone.”

“They helped me find housing and they helped me find a job at Amazon,” Barkley added.

When you bridge that gap to help people with mental disabilities find a job, a place to live, and finish school, Pathway to Hope sees major progress in their members mental health.

“Peer support, case management, housing, all those things wrap-around services,” Pathway to Hope Associate Director Akeem Curns explained. “For an individual that are not just clinical and therapeutic services.”

When members are not out looking for new employment, going to school, or housing, the clubhouse of Pathway to Hope gives them a positive environment they’ve never had before to connect with others.

“Everyone understands and I can go talk to and say hey I’m really struggling with this,” Lamar said. “And I’ll get a bunch of ideas and support. We live life together.”

“They love me here too much and I just love coming here as much as I can,” Barkley reflected.

Pathway to Hope serves 60 people a month. Through Three-Degrees Guarantee, KCTV will donate up to $1550 to them through January. You too can join their fight against mental illness and donate by clicking here.

“We are predominately grant and state-funded so the more donations and the more things individuals feel like giving the better it is,” Curns told KCTV.

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