Bill Cubin, a partner at CPA Consulting Group, LLP believes in human beings taking care of each other, especially when it comes to children.
For more than a year, Cubin has served on the Board of Directors for St. Joseph’s Children’s Home, in Torrington, Wyoming.
St. Joseph’s, per their website, is a “private, non-profit psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth ages six through seventeen that has been providing quality services to youth and families since 1930.”
St. Joseph’s is a place for children living with mental health issues and it offers social skills training, psychotherapy,educational services, chemical dependency services, and more. It has over 120 staff members and it’s also a fully accredited K-12 school system.
It’s a place for kiddos who may not have anywhere else to go, and it’s an organization that Cubin believes is vital to the state of Wyoming.
“I grew up in Wyoming and I heard of St. Joseph’s Children’s Home a long time ago,” Cubin stated. “I had never really been aware of it or known anyone that had stayed there. I know that it used to be an orphanage, but I didn’t really know much about it until a few years ago.”
But then, Cubin’s work with CPA Consulting Group brought the non-profit to his attention. And he immediately took notice.
“We get appeals every year from St. Joseph’s Children’s Home,” Cubin stated. “It’s to kind of raise money and read up on what they’re doing. And then, one of my friends and clients asked if I would be interested in serving on the board of directors. They had an opening and thought that I would be a good fit, bringing some skills that would help them.”
So, Cubin took a little bit of time to think about it, but the decision was an easy one. He wanted to share his knowledge, his experience, his skills and, most importantly, his heart, with St. Joseph’s.
“I’ve learned so much more about this organization since then and all of the work that they do is critical,” Cubin shared. “This work is critical; critical for the state of Wyoming and critical for our most vulnerable population – kids who have been severely neglected, severely abused, and who have had really severe problems.”
Those problems present themselves in a variety of ways for these kiddos. But they are all the result of one thing – trauma.
“Saint Joseph’s Children’s Home recognizes the impact that trauma has on many of the children and families that we serve,” the website states. “Identifying and addressing the issues of trauma is a treatment priority. Prior to and upon admission, residents are screened for past and current trauma. Once identified, the trauma and its effects are incorporated into the individual treatment plan”
St. Joe’s, as it’s sometimes called, trains its staff in the effects of trauma, and it provides trauma-based treatments to its residents, including trauma-focused-cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and equine-assisted therapy. That’s horses.
Of course, to provide those services, St. Joseph’s relies on funding from state and federal grants. As a non-profit organization, it also receives funding from various businesses and individuals but, as most non-profits can attest, it’s never enough.
“One of the biggest challenges that St. Joseph’s faces is funding,” Cubin said. “The funding they receive is primarily from Wyoming Medicaid, the Wyoming Department of Education and School Districts, and some private insurance companies. There are also grants, but they have an annual budget of $9.5 million. St. Joseph’s is licensed for 62 beds. I’d like to see the people of Wyoming get together and provide enough funding, through their annual charitable giving, to fill every one of those beds because there are far, far more kids in this state who need those services.”
Wyoming is full of hurting children. Wyoming is one of, if not the, leading state for suicide and young people are among those who feel as though there’s no way out. St. Joseph’s exists to show those hurting kiddos that there is a way out, and that they don’t have to find it alone.
“I just think about my own kids,” Cubin reflected. “If they didn’t have us, where would they be? What kind of life would they face? Children are our most vulnerable citizens. They’re vulnerable to exploitation, vulnerable to food security issues, vulnerable to housing security. So if I can do something to help lift a kid up, to help a kid out and let them live their life, then I’d feel very good about that.”
Cubin is not the only person from CPA Consulting Group that volunteers his time, energy, and money to help better his community – far from it. Almost everybody who works for the company tries to give what they have, when they have it. It’s something of an unwritten understanding between the partners and employees. Nobody is forced to volunteer, but most people do it simply because that’s where their hearts lead them.
Cubin hopes that that heart of giving that permeates throughout his company expands outside of it as well. He thinks it does. He thinks, and is correct in thinking, that Casper is an incredible community who always takes care of its own. And he just wants the town to know about St. Joseph’s and what they do, every day, for Wyoming kiddos.
“There’s two things people can do,” Cubin said. “The first thing is to educate themselves about St.Joseph’s Children’s Home. Get on the website and read up on it. And then, yes, donate some money. They need to raise about a million dollars more a year than what they get, and that would go a long way.”
There was something about this cause (though it’s certainly not the only one) that tugged at Bill Cubin’s heartstrings when he first heard about it. He doesn’t know why. We never really do know why when it comes to matters of the heart. All he knows is that he has the means to help, and so how could he not?
“These kids are the most vulnerable among us,” he said. “They’ve suffered the worst. And we can provide some relief in their lives and maybe help them be able to live the life that they were meant to live. Obviously not everyone has a happy ending, but it’s important that we do what we can, and put our skills and our knowledge and connections to use, in order to help other people.”
To find out more about St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, visit their website or call 307-532-8405.