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Ride Don’t Hide is EFR’s annual, casual bike ride fundraiser to normalize seeking support for mental illness, because stigma causes many people to hide the issues they struggle with each day. Every dollar raised directly supports our mental health services, providing affordable access to those in need.
When you join the ride, you’re supporting our mission to end the stigma and raising funds to ensure cost is never a barrier to mental health care in our community!
Cyclists of all skill levels are welcome! You can choose from three routes along the Great Western Trail. The roundtrip distances are 8 miles, 15 miles, or 32 miles. Check out the routes here.
Throughout the ongoing political turmoil, pandemic, and world unrest, more and more Iowans are grappling with new or worsened mental health conditions.
Iowa adults are struggling.
Iowa youth are struggling.
The impact? Without care, individuals are at a greater risk of suicide, substance abuse, homelessness, and incarceration.
The demand for counseling services is greater than ever right now. Making it OK not to be OK and making services available to all regardless of ability to pay is key to addressing these issues.
Tammy Hoyman, Chief Executive Officer
We know mental health care changes lives. Everyone has unique circumstances, and we believe finances should never interfere with health care. That’s why we offer counseling services on a sliding-fee scale, meaning we adjust fees based on income to address income inequality and increase access to care.
Your support makes our nonprofit work possible. Your gift, no matter the amount, helps ensure we can continue providing a lifeline to low-income families needing mental health services. By donating, you’re helping us change lives like Derek’s, Anna’s, and Zoe’s.
Click each picture to read their stories!
Maddox, an elementary-aged student, struggled with anger outbursts, physical aggression, and difficulties with problem-solving. After spending years off-and-on in therapy seeking treatment with various providers only to remark that “none seemed to want to listen,” Maddox’s parents sought SAP services through their district.
After her father’s death, Anna wrestled with grief, anxiety, and a storm of intense emotions that left her struggling to stay anchored. Recognizing she could not weather this loss alone, she sought support through EFR’s outpatient counseling.
Zoe, an elementary-aged student, was placed with foster parents during an active DHS case. Witnessing traumatic events and being separated from her biological parents fractured her sense of security and stability. After struggling to help Zoe through emotional outbursts, defiance, and trust issues, her foster parents sought outpatient counseling with EFR.
All donations are tax deductible as prescribed by law. Employee & Family Resources is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Note: If you donate a gift of $100 or more, you will be listed in EFR’s annual report!
After overcoming her own addiction to alcohol, Employee & Family Resources (EFR) founder Dorothea Tone dedicated herself to liberating others from the grip of alcoholism. Mrs. Tone enlisted the help of her best friend Anna Meredith, who gave time and money and secured the support of Des Moines’ philanthropic leaders to form the Iowa chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism (NCA) in 1964.
In 1975, the organization responded to the needs of employers struggling with the impact of alcoholism in the workplace by establishing Iowa’s first Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and the nation’s first public-private employee assistance partnership with county and local school districts. With the development of these services came the organization’s expansion into mental health and family counseling.
Over the years, our mission has expanded to address community needs and trends by incorporating mental health care, substance abuse assessment and referral services, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), public health and prevention education, Student Assistance Program (SAP), and broad-based student and family services.
What started as a local resource for alcohol education and advocacy services grew to encompass substance abuse and mental health programs serving thousands of individuals, families, and businesses across the US, thanks to Dorothea and Anna’s tireless efforts and unshakeable conviction to help others over half a century ago.
At EFR, we know mental healthcare changes lives – we see it firsthand each day. However, cost and stigma prevent many people from reaching out for support. Ride Don’t Hide was born from our conviction to address the stigma surrounding mental illness and eliminate financial barriers to care.
An annual, casual bike ride fundraiser, Ride Don’t Hide aims to normalize seeking support for mental illness, recognizing that stigma causes many individuals to hide the issues they struggle with each day. All profits directly support EFR’s mental health counseling, allowing us to provide this service on a sliding fee scale to address income inequality.
Where it started
The first Ride Don’t Hide event kicked off in 2018 with 200 registrations and 75 cyclists weathering the rain during our in-person ride! Since then, we have continued to reimagine the event to best serve the driving force behind our mission; our fellow mental health advocates. This meant moving to a more easily accessible starting location and piloting a virtual event when we could not meet safely in person due to the pandemic.
Since then, we’ve raised over $150,000 for our counseling services while raising awareness about mental health in our community! As we look forward to the future of Ride Don’t Hide and its place in the mental health movement, we are grateful for the generosity of our donors and sponsors. Because of their support, we can continue our critical work: providing a lifeline to Iowans needing mental health care.
Tammy’s leadership brings strategic direction to EFR. Overseeing all organizational operations, she works every day to balance margin and mission. This has been the driving factor behind her work setting and achieving goals while working with the board of directors and EFR colleagues.
Tammy came to EFR in 1996, fresh out of graduate school. She started her career as an EAP/SAP counselor and received many fulfilling opportunities leading to the professional growth that prepared her for the role as CEO of EFR starting in 2009.
She values communication and considers it her strongest skill. When she’s not working you can find her enjoying the great outdoors on two wheels.
Julie’s attention to detail and financial prowess place EFR in a position to continue the noble work of serving those affected by mental health or substance abuse. She checks all accounting records for accuracy to ensure that EFR is able to help many people for years to come.
Julie started as an accounting clerk. This role provided many opportunities to learn and grow in the financial arena. She came to EFR with a goal of becoming “one of the people that helps the people who help the people”, and now as CFO, she delivers meticulous accounting and an unmatched level of professionalism.
Julie is a hard worker dedicated to furthering EFR’s mission, but when she’s not at work, she can be found relishing life’s simple pleasures.
Louise’s commitment to employee retention has strengthened EFR’s staff. She takes pride in her ability to simplify topics that can often intimidate employees, and she considers employee interactions to be a high point of her job. In her role, Louise also provides workplace training on a variety of HR topics to our EAP clients.
Louise began her career in Washington DC working as an HR Recruiter for the American Bankers Association. She moved back to Des Moines and worked in various HR roles throughout the city. During that time, she educated many leaders and employees about the benefits of EFR’s Employee Assistance Program. Having preached the importance on an EAP for so many years, her transition to EFR’s HR Director came naturally, and she now enjoys promoting EFR’s life changing services and providing community outreach to decrease the stigma associated with mental health services.
Louise is adaptable and resilient when it comes to dealing with change. The community engagement side of her position has been a welcome challenge where she’s been able to apply creative problem solving techniques she’s developed during her career. Above all, Louise takes on each daily challenge with a thankful heart.
Ketsie’s sales and marketing savvy puts EFR in a position to continue to grow its life-saving services. She works every day to further develop our branches of revenue so that EFR can serve a larger population. As the Business Development Director, she tackles problem solving by thinking outside the box and implementing innovative marketing campaigns and sales strategies.
Ketsie has always had a propensity for sales and training. She’s been able to apply her prior experience working in the health insurance and employee benefits industries to her current role with EFR. She’s enjoyed the challenge of learning a new industry and finds it rewarding to see the important work EFR does in helping people navigate life’s challenges.
Ketsie also cites relationship building as a skill she possesses, which she exemplifies by driving EFR’s solid retention rate. When she’s not juggling her many responsibilities at EFR, Ketsie can be found soaking up the sun in her happy place.
Josh’s vast knowledge of all things Information Technology keeps EFR’s network healthy, and puts EFR in a position to grow our mental health and substance abuse services. Behind any well-run company or organization there’s an IT person that trains users, troubleshoots issues, and implements security measures, and for EFR that person is Josh!
Josh began his career 13 years ago as a tech support rep for Mediacom where he honed his customer service skills and developed an understanding of the user’s perspective. He went on to hold various other roles with a couple different companies, which kept him on his toes. He was always learning something new and retaining it for future use. Josh believes each job was a valuable learning experience and has contributed to making him the competent IT support person he is today.
Josh works hard every day to make sure EFR’s user base is comfortable coming to IT with any issue. In order to make that possible, Josh finds patience to be one of the most important skills he possesses. His extensive IT knowledge comes into play when dealing with tricky issues – he always strives to reach a resolution quickly and efficiently. When he’s not juggling IT tickets at work, Josh records his surroundings using his love of photography.
Tina’s oversight and support of EFR’s program managers ensures efficiency and effectiveness at every level. She makes sure her team has the tools needed to perform their jobs.
Tina spent 10 years of her career working at another agency, where she discovered her passion for working with children and families. She did direct care in the YESS shelter and other outpatient therapy, but aimed to do more through a supervisory position. She began that journey supervising young clinicians and providing oversight to programs designed to help others. Tina discovered her love for developing staff and programs to meet the needs of communities, which is why she came to EFR to continue this work.
Tina connects well with others and is a good listener. She considers herself to be level-headed and rational which has allowed her to manage others reactions and emotions well. In addition to these strong leadership qualities, Tina is also open-minded, coachable, and teachable, but she also possesses qualities of a great teacher and motivator.
Chelsey’s role is to ensure the delivery of quality clinical services through management of clinical compliance, quality assurance, and training and orientation for all clinical staff. She also manages the substance abuse program. Chelsey sought out her career at EFR because of their strong mission and a belief in the importance of behavioral health services.
Chelsey has spent most of her career working as a substance abuse therapist in multiple treatment environments before moving into case management and eventually into the supervisory role. Aside from her extensive substance abuse experience, Chelsey has worked as a counselor in EFR’s clinical call center where she provided telephone assistance, consultation, and resource services to employers, employees, and their families.
Chelsey takes pride in being empathetic, perceptive, and efficient to the needs of others and her duties. She has a strong belief in practicing what she teaches in her own self-care.
Prevalence of Mental Illness in Iowa
One in four adults in Iowa will experience a mental health issue in a given year
One in five children in Iowa will experience a diagnosable mental health issue in a given year
Access to Care:
Of adults in Iowa who did not receive needed mental health care, 29.3% did not because of cost
Iowans are over 2x more likely to be forced out-of-network for mental health care than for primary health care — making it more difficult to find care and less affordable due to higher out-of-pocket costs
“With a growing demand for mental health services, a shortage of mental health providers, and an increase in out-of-network participation, the system is built such that only people with higher incomes can afford to receive care.”
Connect with us
Interested in learning more about Ride Don’t Hide or scheduling an interview? Reach out to marcom@efr.org!
505 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600 Des Moines, IA 50309
6th floor of the Insurance Exchange Building in downtown Des Moines
800-327-4692
Counseling Services
1001 Office Park Rd, Suite 205
West Des Moines, IA 50265
2nd floor of the building
515-471-2357
The Healing Space
1001 Office Park Rd, Suite 209
West Des Moines, IA 50265
2nd floor of the building
515-471-2357
Monday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Tuesday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Wednesday 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM Thursday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Friday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Derek’s career dissatisfaction is what led him to access EAP services. He contemplated seeking employment out of state but recognized this would mean uprooting his entire family. Such a significant decision felt paralyzing. With career discontent and family considerations weighing heavy on his mind, Derek reached out to an EAP counselor to help him make sense of his emotions.
With the help of his counselor, Derek dug into the root of his job dissatisfaction. He uncovered what held him back from communicating his needs to his supervisor, with whom he shared a lot of trust. After using two of his six sessions, Derek dropped off without scheduling any additional appointments. Such an outcome isn’t unusual with EAP services – we don’t always know how things end up for the people we work alongside. But after a few months, Derek’s counselor received an unexpected message in her inbox. With his permission, the email stated in part:
I know it has been a while since we last visited, but I wanted to follow up and say a big thank you for listening as I processed some issues with my work life. You helped me clarify and address some really important points of stress in my job, and our conversations also helped me reinforce a set of boundaries and expectations in my work setting. As a result, I did make the decision to pursue other opportunities, but with patience and intentionality.
I suspect you may not hear from all of your clients about how you made a positive and lasting difference through your work. But please know I thought of our conversations often, and they guided me as I worked through some very significant discernment in my life. I am grateful for you!
Such updates are rare yet welcomed. They reinforce the essential role of our EAP; to listen and guide clients as they work on their timeline to make, sometimes significant, change.
Outpatient Counseling
After her father’s death, Anna wrestled with grief, anxiety, and a storm of intense emotions that left her struggling to stay anchored. Recognizing she could not weather this loss alone, she sought support through EFR’s outpatient counseling. With the help of her therapist, Anna uncovered the guilt and sorrow underlying her initial grief. Together they practiced methods to effectively combat the daily anxiety that frequented her life since her father’s passing.
Rather than suppressing or allowing intense emotions to consume her, Anna developed the skills to regulate them. She established stronger connections with her loved ones and learned how to communicate her needs in a way that allowed them to support her. With a healthy foundation of emotional regulation established, Anna is transitioning to less frequent sessions with her therapist. She continues to hone her abilities and takes steps each day to grow through her grief.
Outpatient Counseling
Zoe, an elementary-aged student, was placed with foster parents during an active DHS case. Witnessing traumatic events and being separated from her biological parents fractured her sense of security and stability. After struggling to help Zoe through emotional outbursts, defiance, and trust issues, her foster parents sought outpatient counseling with EFR.
Together they worked with a therapist using Parent-Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT). This intervention strengthens parent-child relationships and teaches caregivers constructive behavior management skills. Soon Zoe’s foster parents adopted her, officially welcoming her into their family.
Today, Zoe and her parents have successfully graduated from PCIT. Zoe navigates big emotions with more skill and continues to work with her therapist. Her parents learned the tools necessary to create structure and stability while working through misbehaviors. With the support of her new family, Zoe is developing close relationships built on love and trust.
Student Assistance Program (SAP) & Outpatient Counseling
Maddox*, an elementary-aged student, struggled with anger outbursts, physical aggression, and difficulties with problem-solving. After spending years off-and-on in therapy seeking treatment with various providers only to remark that “none seemed to want to listen,” Maddox’s parents sought SAP services through their district.
Today, Maddox is completing his SAP sessions and moving towards outpatient counseling. He has reduced his anger outbursts and has learned skills to help him successfully navigate challenging days.
