LC VALLEY — From September 2024 through January 2025, Obsidian Mental Health, right here in Lewiston, was fighting every day to keep its doors open.
Founders Zachary and his wife Christine gave up almost everything in an effort to do so.
Finally, at the witching hour, one man stepped in to help, earning this week’s community hero.
For two years as a foundation, and one as an official nonprofit, Walk This Way Media’s sole mission was to garner attention while helping those in need through various media platforms.
When the face of Walk This Way media, David Walk, heard about what was happening with Obsidian Mental Health, he jumped at the opportunity to help.
“We really strongly believed in what they were doing, and so that’s kind of how we got connected,” Walk said. “As I said, we tried to do a couple of interviews to show people how important obsidian health is with the mental health situations here in the valley.”
Obsidian Mental Health serves around 200 people with holistic and individualized plans, promoting physical and mental health wellness.
They call the variety of treatments for clients “endless.”
“We do mental health treatments for ADHD, depression, anxiety, severe mental illness like bipolar or schizophrenia as well,” Christine said.
Zach and Christine’s journey came with its fair share of bumps and bruises.
“The contracting and credentialing process is lengthy and expensive,” Zach said.
As a result, they had to sell most of their personal property to fund the business, but this only lasted so long.
“When that ran out, we were left with a decision just to have her go travel nursing, or I guess, just throw a Hail Mary out there to see if anybody could come and help, and that’s when David came in,” Zach said.
Although the interview posted online between Walk and Zach did gain a little traction, the outreach still fell short, and time was ticking.
After two interviews and not much traction, options were running out. So, Walk decided to take matters into his own hands.
“It got to the point where we thought it was not going to work, and then I made a personal decision to loan them the money,” Walk said.
While taking a loan out on his own home to help two people keep their business alive was a huge risk, Walk felt it was worth taking, saying the effect of their business was worth much more than any dollar spent.
“Mental health is a real thing, and these people need to be treated as such,” Walk said. “If there’s nowhere for them to go, where are they going to go? They are going to go in the streets, and how are they going to medicate themselves if there is no place for them to get medication? They’re going to use street drugs, which we all know is not good, so I knew in my heart it needed to be saved and done.”
As of this month, Obsidian Mental Health is officially debt-free and thriving in the LC Valley, thanks to good deeds and even better faith.
Showing that even strangers can come together and make positive change happen.
So if you have someone you would like to nominate for a community hero, make sure to send us an email to news@klewtv.com.