Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has.
— MARGARET MEAD
our history
They were concerned about the significant increase in mental health issues in general, growing violence in the Kansas City metro, the large swath of the city with very limited non-acute mental health services, and the ever-escalating cost of counseling.
At the time, Village Church had a counselor on staff one day a week. Clients paid based on their financial means. The demand for services exceeded the capacity of the program. For the next four years, the Alice and Al met with local mental health experts and visited eight mental health centers nationwide. All of the centers were members of the Solihten Institute. Solihten Institute is an interfaith counseling network of more than 40 Centers in 200 offices that provide 600,000+ clinical hours every year. They recruit, accredit, connect, educate, and advance counseling centers that practice one of the most effective paths to healing: spiritually integrated therapy.
In January 2021, the initiative received its 501c3 status and became the Kansas Missouri Mental Health Collaborative. A board of six members from diverse professional backgrounds was convened. KMMHC became a member of the Solihten Institute, which provides management consultation, a path to accreditation, a peer network of support, education, and training, as well as human resources expertise. Fundraising has continued raising over $500,000 to launch the nonprofit.
In the Spring of 2023, KMMHC adopted the name Prairie Sky Counseling Center.
Prairie Sky’s founders, Alice Carrott and Al Eidson, started this journey in 2014, after the murders at the Jewish Community Center and Village Shalom in Kansas City. Their hearts were broken and they asked themselves, what could they do? They knew that there would be a huge need for counseling for people to move forward with their lives. They talked with the pastor for Care and Counseling at Village Presbyterian Church about enlarging the “one day a week” counseling footprint at Village. Thus, began their research of counseling centers in faith communities to increase access for high-quality and affordable counseling.