We are thrilled to an­nounce that thanks to the in­cred­i­ble ef­forts of Chris­tine Pagliaro’s re­cent fundrais­er an im­pres­sive $2000 was giv­en to the Cor­ner­stone Founda­tion! Chris­tine went above and be­yond, ded­i­cat­ing her time and en­er­gy to se­cure com­mit­ments and then          em­bark­ing on a chal­leng­ing 112-mile bike ride across New York's Long Is­land in sup­port of our cause.
 
Chris­tine's ded­i­ca­tion and pas­sion ex­em­pli­fy the spir­it of com­mu­ni­ty and drive pos­i­tive change. Her hard work and com­mit­ment to our vi­sion of trans­form­ing lives and com­mu­ni­ties are tru­ly com­mend­able. We are grate­ful for her out­stand­ing con­tribu­tion and un­wa­ver­ing sup­port. Join us in thank­ing Chris­tine for her out­stand­ing ef­forts and for be­ing a shin­ing ex­am­ple of gen­eros­i­ty and com­pas­sion in ac­tion! 

Over the course of this se­ries of blog posts, we’re con­sid­er­ing ways that our system of
care­giv­ing has bro­ken down. In this post, we’ll look at signs of bro­ken­ness in the men­tal health care sys­tem—the net­work of care­givers who care for peo­ple struggling with
psy­cho­log­i­cal pain and suf­fer­ing.

The vast ma­jor­i­ty of hu­man be­ings will, at some point in their lives, face an emotion­al or
psy­cho­log­i­cal strug­gle that’s more than they can bear alone. When fam­i­ly, friends, church, and oth­er sup­ports prove in­suf­fi­cient, hurt­ing peo­ple of­ten turn for help to a coun­selor or ther­a­pist. How won­der­ful it is to be able to talk to trained, skilled pro­fes­sion­als, many of whom
gen­uine­ly care for their clients!

In­creas­ing­ly, how­ev­er, men­tal health care now re­sem­bles the med­ical sys­tem, espe­cial­ly when it comes to how peo­ple get paid. If you have in­sur­ance, usu­al­ly pro­vided by your em­ploy­er, you can af­ford to see some­one. If you don’t, you may be out of luck. Then again, while you’re hop­ing to just be able to talk to some­one, your men­tal health­care provider needs to come up with a di­ag­no­sis. They won’t get paid with­out it. Then, there’s the pa­per­work they have to file, the li­a­bil­i­ty in­sur­ance they have to car­ry, the li­cen­sure re­quire­ments they have to main­tain, and the con­tin­u­ing ed­u­ca­tion credits they have to pur­sue.

For some time now, li­censed coun­selors and ther­a­pists have stopped tak­ing in­surance. It’s too much of a has­sle. As a re­sult, how­ev­er, they may only be see­ing peo­ple who can af­ford to pay their full rate. Most folks, as I’m sure you’re aware, can’t af­ford the cost of ther­a­py. Li­censed pro­fes­sion­al coun­selors typ­i­cal­ly charge over $100 per hourly ses­sion.

That adds up quick­ly! The premise of talk ther­a­py and coun­sel­ing is sound. We tend to get bet­ter emotion­al­ly, psy­cho­log­i­cal­ly when we’ve got some­one we can talk to. How to pay for it is a ma­jor prob­lem—one that’s get­ting worse.

Most peo­ple have at least a vague sense that the sys­tem is bro­ken. What I mean, is that we all as­sume there are peo­ple and pro­grams “out there.” If you get sick, you need help from the med­ical sys­tem. If you’re strug­gling emo­tion­al­ly, you may turn to the men­tal health sys­tem. If your kids need ex­tra help in school, the ed­u­ca­tion sys­tem has the an­swers. And if you’re wrestling with life’s big ques­tions, you’re more like­ly to look to sys­tems that pro­vide spir­i­tu­al and moral guid­ance.

What most peo­ple don’t re­al­ize is that all of these sys­tems are, in fact, one care­giving
meta-sys­tem. Stop to think about it for a mo­ment and it’ll be­gin to make sense.

When a per­son be­comes anx­ious and de­pressed, they are more sus­cep­ti­ble to illness and to stress-re­lat­ed auto-im­mune dis­or­ders. They are in­clined to iso­late from friends and fam­i­ly, to call in sick for work, and to strug­gle in their re­la­tion­ships at home. At the same time, their
out­look on world, God, and the fu­ture can be­come dark and hope­less. In oth­er words, a break­down in one area of our lives can af­fect us in mul­ti­ple ways. If a per­son only gets care or treat­ment for one area of chal­lenge, they may make lit­tle progress with the over­all strug­gle.

We hu­man be­ings are com­plex! Our bod­ies are in­flu­enced by our minds, and vice ver­sa. If we spend all our time treat­ing one and not the oth­er, we may make lit­tle head­way.

If hurt­ing peo­ple are to have hope of heal­ing and whole­ness, we need sys­tems that re­late to each oth­er the way hu­man be­ings ac­tu­al­ly func­tion. We need med­ical and men­tal health care sys­tems that talk to each oth­er. We need spir­i­tu­al guid­anceand emo­tion­al sup­port, not one or the oth­er. And we need care­givers trained to think be­yond their ar­eas of spe­cial­iza­tion.

Our cur­rent sys­tem doesn’t work this way. At Cor­ner­stone, we’re work­ing to fix a bro­ken
sys­tem in or­der to care for the bro­ken peo­ple in our midst.

We are thrilled to announce a new addition to our Columbus, Georgia Cornerstone team - Kelly Hicks, our new Development Director! Kelly's background in property development and realty makes her ideally suited in her role developing relationships with Cornerstone donors. She will also focus on amplifying our impact and advancing our cause in the public sphere.

Cornerstone's vision is bridging gaps by revolutionizing our mental health, education and pastoral caregiving systems. In order to reach our goal of providing increased access to care, we need strong relationships with community and business leaders who will take up the cause of the hurting and broken. Kelly's addition to the Cornerstone team takes us a long way in the direction.

Join us in welcoming Kelly Hicks to the Cornerstone team!

Com­ing Oc­to­ber 26, 2024, Cor­ner­stone is spon­sor­ing a one-day con­fer­ence for Chris­t­ian care­givers in San­ta Clari­ta, Cal­i­for­nia.

Check it out at Cross­Y­our­Heart­Con­fer­ence.­com!

To­geth­er with our part­ner agen­cies, the Chris­t­ian Psy­chol­o­gy In­sti­tute and Bet­ter Shep­herds, we’re host­ing a gath­er­ing of pas­tors, ther­a­pists, and lay coun­selors with the aim of bring­ing en­cour­age­ment and re­new­al to their souls.

Our vi­sion of rev­o­lu­tion­iz­ing Chris­t­ian care­giv­ing by bridg­ing gaps in the men­tal health,
ed­u­ca­tion­al, and pas­toral care­giv­ing sys­tems will only be pos­si­ble with the sup­port of
church­es, non­prof­its, and in­di­vid­u­als work­ing in these fields. We’re ex­cit­ed to an­nounce this one-day con­fer­ence, which we hope to be able to bring to dif­fer­ent cities across the U.S. over the com­ing months.

We in­vite you to give gen­er­ous­ly to sup­port Cor­ner­stone’s vi­tal work. Your gen­erous one-time or re­cur­ring tax-de­ductible gift helps fund ini­tia­tives like this, help­ing to bring Cor­ner­stone and our part­ners into new com­mu­ni­ties.

Please, be pray­ing for the prepa­ra­tions we’re mak­ing and for the care­givers who will be
at­tend­ing. They’re the peo­ple God is us­ing to care for “the least of these” in their communities.

A tragic irony of our comtemporary age is the fragmentation of caregiving. Over the past 100 years, we've witnessed tremendous advances in the fields of medicine, psychiatry, psychotherapy and education counseling. As our knowledge has increased with each passing year,  so have the number of specializations (and miscrospecializations) in each field of study.

Today, our system for caregiving is as advanced as any the world has every seen. And yet, you'll probably see as many as three or four specialists before you get an answer to the question: "What's wrong with me?"

When it comes to caring well for "the least of these", we at Cornerstone as passionately committed to bringing caregivers together. As Christians, we see each of us as members of one body-Christ's body-working together for the good of others.

If, as caregivers, we hope to make a difference, we must grasp an important reality. We're all working toward the same end. We may be operating within different fields and specializations. But we're aiming for one goal: to mend, strengthen, and build lives. We are far better equipped to accomplish this goal together than we are apart.

Cornerstone's mission is to mend, stregthen and build lives, especially among the broken, the vulnerable, and the young. We will accomplish this by subsidizing care, counseling, and educational services for children, teens, and families. In a perfect world, everyone would get the help they need from skilled and compassionate educators and caregiviers. In our world, the people who most need help are the least likely to be able to afford it.

Churches are often the first stop for hurting individuals and families. Yet, churches are often understaffed and under resourced. Pastors do not usually get training in care and counseling. Our latest partner, Better Shepherds, help churches and pastoral/lay counselors respond competently and compassionately. Caregivers who complete certifications through one of our training partnerships become eligible for Cornerstone subsidies to offer their services to low- or no-income individuals and families.

Thank you, Better Shepherds, for all you do!

Welcome, Tara Howard, DNP!

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Howard to the Cornerstone Board of Directors! As a career practitioner in the field of psychiatric nursing practice, Dr. Howard brings a wealth of expertise and insight. She currently directs two psychiatric wards at Brookhaven Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. She is also on the nursing practice faculty at Molloy College on Long Island.

Cornerstone's Board of Directors helps shape our perspective on caregiving for "the least of these." Regrettably, many medical and psychiatric practitioners focus exclusively on their areas of expertise. By contrast, Dr. Howard recognizes the immense value of partnerships between the various caregiving professions-medical, occupational, psychotherapeutic, and pastoral. We are grateful to have her.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Howard to the Cornerstone Board!

Christian Psychology Institute Partnership!

The Cornerstone Foundation exists to help mend, strengthen, and build lives. We accomplish our mission by working together with like-minded partners - individuals, institutions and nonprofits - whose purposes align with our vision and values.

We are pleased to announce our partnership with the Christian Psychology Institute in Louisville, Kentucky! CPI is a nonprofit seeking to bring Christ back to the center of Christian therapy and counseling. Later this year, CPI intends to begin offering certifications in
Christ-Centered Therapy (CCT) to licensed mental health practitioners.

Cornerstone's work relies on partners like CPI for practitioner vetting and approval. With the help of CPI, Foundation-approved counselors and therapists will be well-prepared to offer the highest standards of care.

Welcome to the Cornerstone partnership family, Christian Psychology Institute!

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever, believes need never be shaken."  Isaiah 28:16

We believe Christ is the only sure foundation on which to build our lives. But what does it actually look like when we are being built up on this Cornerstone? Human beings are not merely minds in need of teaching or souls in need of saving. We were created by God to be whole persons-body, mind, soul and spirit. What if we begin working to serve and care for others in that way, especially the broken and vulnerable among us?

Christ came to save whole persons. So at the Cornerstone Foundation we seek to mend, strength and build the lives of whole persons. Each of our Four Keystones is a crucial building block without which no house can stand. When Christ is at the center of how we care for the broken and vulnerable, we too will be able to stand strong and never be shaken.

Cornerstone Columbus

We invite you to join us in welcoming Michelle Repass to the Cornerstone Team! Michelle is Cornerstone's first Executive Director, working to build partnerships with like-minded nonprofits in Columbus, Georgia. In addition, Michelle will manage the day-to-day operations of CFA-Columbus which includes writing grant proposals to help fund our work.

Michelle is an educator by training. She spent 5 years as a special needs teacher in the public school system. Her desire to serve in the nonprofit world has steadily been growing over the past few years. We're overjoyed that she will bring her passions and gifts to help us accomplish our work of Mending, Strengthening, and Building Lives.

Michelle will be writing blog entries as well. So, be sure to check back over the next two weeks to read what she has to say.

We need to be reminded-often-about the truth and beauty of Christ's resurrection. Yet, when we remember that God raised Jesus from the dead, we do well to recall what came before. He was rejected and abandoned by his friends, abused and tormented by his enemies. While his own mother watched in horror, he suffered and died with none who were willing to step in.

Yet God, in his infinite mercy, restored Jesus to life! He healed his broken body, restored him to friends and family, vindicated him before his enemies, and-here's the kicker-he bestowed on Jesus sole authority to grant the same to us! This is why he is the Cornerstone of our lives!

We take our mission seriously. We exist to Mend, Strenghten, and Build lives on this Cornerstone. To find out more, submit an information request. Or consider setting up your recurring donation to keep us moving forward.

Board Chair & CEO
Our Cornerstone Foundation Board Chair and CEO is Rev. Jonathan Badgett, Ph.D. An ordained pastor of over 20 years, Dr. Badgett is an author, public speaker, and pastoral counselor. At present, he also serves as the CEO of multiple non-profit entities whose work complements that of the Cornerstone Foundation.

Foundation Board CFO
Gene Gobbel serves as the CFO of the Cornerstone Foundation. An accountant by training, Gene is also CFO/Controller of a multi- million dollar corporation with holdings and operations throughout the southeastern United States.

Foundation Board Secretary
Carol Gallups is our Board Secretary. Carol recently retired from a long career in ministry to direct her energy and expertise in this new direction. As the wife of a pastor, Carol’s experiences serving the hurting and broken have uniquely prepared her for the work we do.

Board Member At-Large
Eric L. Johnson, Ph.D., is the Founder and Board Chair of the Christian Psychology Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. Recently retired from his academic post at Houston Christian University, Dr. Johnson has published numerous books on Christian Psychology. He is widely recognized as an authority in Christ-Centered Therapy.

Welcome to the Cornerstone Foundation website! 
We’re just getting started, so check back often for updates on all we’re up to. We have big plans and want you to stay informed at every step of the way.

As with anything else in life, we cannot build up until we’ve laid a strong, reliable foundation. When you see a concrete rectangle, plumbing hooks poking through, sitting in the middle of a patch of dirt, you probably don’t stop to wonder for long. You know it’s not the end, but the beginning. You expect something more is on its way. Eventually there will be people living on that concrete slab, inside walls and under a roof that haven’t yet been built.

We at the Cornerstone Foundation are all about building lives on a strong, reliable foundation. And we won’t be working alone. Through our partnerships and caregiver networks, we will Mend, Strengthen, and Build the lives of human beings created in God’s image and for his glory.

You can join us now by praying and giving to this important work! Use our CONTACT page if you’d like more information.