Meet Sierra Smith of Open Paths Counseling Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sierra Smith.

Hi Sierra, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Northern California, spending my early years in the East Bay, then Petaluma before venturing Cal State Northridge to study theater. I graduated shortly after the 1994 earthquake, an experience I will never forget. I headed to Rutgers University, where I completed two years of a three year MFA program in acting, before heading to Chicago to pursue a career in theater.

My time in Chicago was formative. I spent years waiting tables while working in Chicago theaters. It was during this time that I began volunteering for animal shelters, a decision that proved to be pivotal for the rest of my career. While volunteering, I started to learn about the illegal underground world of dog fighting, and decided to make a documentary to expose its harms. The film, “Out of the Pit: Dog Fighting in Chicago” opened up a number of opportunities, including a position with The Anti-Cruelty Society (ACS), a large humane society that serves Chicago.

I worked in humane education, community outreach, and advocated for the passage and implementation of humane laws during my time with ACS. It was here that I also learned to become a professional dog trainer, setting me up for my future position as an animal shelter trainer with spcaLA. I returned to Los Angeles in 2005, and worked as an animal shelter trainer, and then assistant manager for spcaLA. It became apparent that I needed more education so I returned to graduate school to earn my masters in organizational management at Antioch University Los Angeles, where I was later employed.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, being a professional shelter dog trainer created a wonderful foundation for leading Open Paths Counseling Center, a dynamic, growing community counseling center based in Inglewood and serving historically marginalized communities throughout Los Angeles county. My husband, a high school math teacher, and I live in Inglewood, where I also work. We have two wonderful teens and two scrappy shelter pups. One of the greatest privileges of my career has been to grow Open Paths Counseling Center into the thriving community-based agency and clinical training center that it is today, and to be in service to our vibrant communities, particularly those that have historically experienced disinvestment.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Leading a nonprofit organization is never a smooth road, however the past decade has been particularly fraught. I started on June 1, 2016, right as we were recovering from the 2008 recession. The past five years has been a continual drumbeat of challenges, all of which have impacted our clients, therapists and staff. Yet our commitment to caring for our clients and communities drives us to rise and meet each new challenge.

COVID-19 meant we had to pivot at an exceptional speed in order to maintain continuity of care for our clients. Within two weeks, we shifted from being a completely brick and mortar counseling center, only offering in-person serves, to working completely online, providing only Telehealth. Our ‘Healers,’ as I call our team, exceeded expectations in meeting the moment, even though we were all experiencing this collective trauma together, while supporting others through it.

Just as we started settling into our new reality, the world woke up to the reality of police violence towards communities of color, and specifically Black people, with the murder of George Floyd, compounded by a rapidly rising increase in racial violence towards members of AAPI communities. As a BIPOC-led organization that is primarily BIPOC staffed, the pain we were collectively feeling was acute – yet our job was to support others through this moment. Amidst it all, we lost our beloved program directors to liver cancer during the summer of 2020, almost a year after the sudden passing of our board chair in October of 2019.

Even still, our team continually showed up to work, prioritize the mental health care of our clients, despite the ever changing landscape we were, and continue to be, living in. Now, in the aftermath of historically devastating fires, increased ICE raids, protections being rolled back for LGBTQ+ individuals, and ongoing financial uncertainty, our services are needed more than ever, and we will – yet again – be here for those who need us.

As you know, we’re big fans of Open Paths Counseling Center. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Open Paths Counseling Center was founded in 1975 with the belief that the emotional health and well-being of people living in Los Angeles’ underserved, under-resourced and marginalized communities are vitally important. Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1979, Open Paths served West Los Angeles for decades. In 2016, new leadership shifted the direction of Open Paths, moving the agency deeper into our priority communities in Inglewood, South Los Angeles and the Southbay, communities that have historically been “therapy deserts.” We shifted to actively recruiting pre-licensed psychotherapists who come from — or are culturally aligned with — the communities we serve and training them through a culturally-affirmative lens. This model works to reduce stigma, and invite clients to bring their whole selves into the therapeutic process.

Over the years, we have become a preeminent community counseling center and clinical training agency, serving clients at the lowest end of the economic spectrum. Over half of our clients earn under $25,000 annually, and struggle to make ends meet. 78% earn annual household incomes of under $50,000. Living in poverty is often correlated with higher levels of chronic stress, depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns. For those who cannot access care through insurance or private practices, we are their safety net. We exist to make sure they don’t have to choose between their mental health and utilities, medicine, rent, or other necessities of life. Open Paths Counseling Center currently serves between 750 – 800 clients annually. We partner with multiple social service, education and arts focused nonprofit organizations, serving as their behavioral health arm. We also partner Lennox and Los Angeles Unified School Districts, co-locating therapists at all six Lennox schools (five elementary and one middle school) and three Title I LAUSD schools, one elementary and two high schools.

Any big plans?
So much has changed so fast during the past five years, it is difficult to plan too far in advance. Funding sources are more precarious than ever, and the need for mental health care continues to far outpace our (or any organization’s) ability meet it. Even still, we are excited to continue growing our services. Just this year we are launching a clinical training program for doctoral level therapists to earn their clinical hours while providing services to our priority communities.

We recently launched a therapy group specifically to support transgender and non-binary Angelenos called “Existence is Resistance” which we hope to grow during the next year. With so many of our clients experiencing rollbacks in their civil rights, we are doing everything we an to meet their mental and emotional health needs. We are also continuing to provide free mental health care for financially disadvantaged Angelenos who were impacted by the Eaton and Palisades fires. Our fire-impacted clients include those who worked in the Palisades, and found themselves unemployed in the aftermath of the fires, as well as homeowners in the Eaton fires who lost their primary asset, their home, as well as their communities.

We have also been considering ways to ensure permanency in our priority communities. As an organization whose operating budget is about 25% earned income and 75% contributed income from donors and foundations, we are always sensitive to rising costs, particularly as commercial real estate in Inglewood and South Los Angeles continues to increase. Our dream is to have a permanent location within our priority communities so that we can ensure our ability to serve them for decades to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://openpaths.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/openpathsla/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OpenPathsLA