Soul Liberation Fund supports individuals impacted by addiction by reducing financial and logistical barriers to accessing facilitated state-legal plant medicine services.

Who is eligible for the Soul Liberation Fund?

We support Portland Metro residents, 21 and older, who carry lived experience of addiction, housing insecurity, mental health challenges, and/or trauma, who work directly with populations currently facing those same struggles, and who face financial barriers to accessing facilitated, state regulated psilocybin sessions.

In addition to the primary criteria the the fund prioritizes applicants that come from communities who may not typically have access to this form of healthcare, which we define broadly (i.e. age, race, ethnicity, cultural barriers, occupation, physical and/or cognitive ability, gender, sexual orientation, etc.).

To summarize, applicants to our fund will qualify for financial support if they meet the following criteria:

- 21 years or older
- Live in the Portland Metro area
- Identify as being addiction-impacted
- Have financial need
- May not otherwise have access to this form of healthcare

We support Portland Metro residents, 21 and older, who carry lived experience of addiction, housing insecurity, mental health challenges, and/or trauma, who work directly with populations currently facing those same struggles, and who face financial barriers to accessing facilitated, state regulated psilocybin sessions. We give preference to applicants who have completed Oregon Health Authority certified Peer Support Specialist or Peer Wellness Specialist trainings.

If you are someone who has done the hard work of building stability in your own life and now shows up for others navigating similar challenges as a peer specialist, outreach worker, counselor, or in another frontline role, this fund was built with you in mind.

If you have questions about whether you qualify, please feel free to email us at sarah@sherieckert.org

While research reveals a strong safety profile, psilocybin is not for everyone. Some conditions may be disqualifying. You may not be eligible to receive psilocybin therapy, depending in part on the Psilocybin Facilitator or Psilocybin Service Center, if you have a history of certain conditions.

Please be aware that the following conditions or situations may be contraindications to receiving psilocybin services:

• Mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, major depressive disorder with psychotic features, psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, mania, delusional disorder, any dissociative disorder, substance-induced psychosis, or severe paranoia

• Current drug or alcohol withdrawal symptoms or active/severe drug or alcohol misuse

• Cardiovascular conditions such as: poorly controlled high blood pressure, prolonged QTc interval, congestive heart failure, history of cardiac arrest, history of ventricular arrhythmia (V. Fib/V.Tach), presence of AICD (Automatic Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator), coronary artery disease, angina, tachycardia, arrhythmia (e.g. atrial fibrillation), Wolff-Parkinson White Syndrome, heart valve disease, artificial heart valve, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiomyopathy, aortic disease, aneurysms

• Gastrointestinal conditions such as: moderate to severe liver impairment, gastric outlet obstruction

• Dialysis or severe kidney disease

• Neurologic conditions such as dementia, cognitive impairment, seizure disorders, epilepsy, history of stroke or transient ischemic attack, cerebral aneurysm

• Taking medications such as Lithium, two or more medications affecting your serotonin system (e.g.drug classes such as SSRI, SNRI, SPARI, TCA, and MAO inhibitors), Angle-closure glaucoma

• Pregnancy

• Tuberculosis, COVID and other highly contagious diseases

• 1st degree relative (parent, sibling, child) with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or any psychotic or dissociative disorder

If you are living with any of the above conditions or situations, and you are unable to resolve the condition or situation before receiving psilocybin therapy, we recommend that you do not apply for a grant, as there is a high probability that you will not be deemed eligible to receive psilocybin services from a Psilocybin Facilitator or from a Psilocybin Service Center.

Disclaimers:

Please note, legally someone cannot receive psilocybin if they meet any of the following criteria at the time of:

1. If you have been diagnosed with active psychosis

2. If you take lithium or have taken lithium within the past 30 days

3. If you have ideation of harm to yourself or others

We are not making any sort of decision or confirmation that someone should receive psilocybin services. We are determining if an applicant is a good fit to receive a grant from us, so that they have the ability to pursue a licensed facilitator where both the client and facilitator will make the decision whether or not to work together.

In 2020, voters in Oregon passed Ballot Measure 109, also known as the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, allowing the "manufacture, delivery, and administration" of psilocybin within licensed service centers, supervised by licensed facilitators. In 2022, Colorado became the second state to establish a legal regulated access program for psilocybin and other related psychoactive plants. While psilocybin is legal for use within the Oregon and Colorado state regulated models, it remains a federally illegal schedule 1 drug within the Controlled Substances Act.

The Soul Liberation Fund is a new initiative from the Sheri Eckert Foundation, (SEF), in partnership with Sarah Honeycutt, a Oregon licensed facilitator and integration coach with an initial gift from a generous private Portland resident.

SEF is committed to creating a future where Oregon and Colorado’s evolving psychedelic ecosystem is accessible to participants from diverse backgrounds, financial means, and geographies around the state and country. Learn more about SEF here.

Our Board of Directors is David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nathan Howard.

Our team consists of Nathan Howard, Executive Director and Lorena Dame, Director of Operations and Development. We also work with an organization called Magical Teams to support our application process.

Please head to the State of Oregon's official website for Oregon Psilocybin Services, which contains many resources about Oregon’s Psilocybin Services model. It also contains sample forms to better understand information you may cover with a licensed facilitator in a preparation session:

- Informed Consent

- Client Bill of Rights

Read the OPS Fact Sheet for information about psilocybin services in Oregon.

To learn more about psilocybin, please review the Scientific Literature Review or Cultural and Anthropological Information on the OPS website.

Another comprehensive guide is the Healing Advocacy Fund: Oregon Psilocybin Services Client Guide.

Here is sample of an Intake and screening forms you would complete with a facilitator:

OPS Client Intake and Screening w/Facilitators

Final grant amounts will vary but we anticipate that the average grant size will total $500- $2,300.

The grant is to support the cost of facilitation, it does not cover the cost of plant medicine. The cost of psilocybin medicine ranges from potentially being donated to costing around $150. The Soul Liberation Fund grants do not cover any costs related to travel, food, lodging.

The actual funds will be directed to the facilitator and/or service center, which must be licensed by Oregon Health Authority (OHA). Once you and a facilitator have agreed to work with each other, we will direct the funds to the facilitator.

Grant recipients will have the ability to be referred to Sarah Honeycutt or one of our 'Recommended Facilitators'.

Our goal is to award initial grants in Spring of 2026. We will communicate with all applicants over email.

Grants are awarded through a competitive application process due to the fact that the number of applicants to the Soul Liberation Fund may exceed the amount of funds we can distribute.

Selection criteria is primarily based on the applicant's financial need, whether they belong to an underserved population (e.g. geography, race, ethnicity, cultural barriers, occupation, physical and/or cognitive ability, age, gender, etc.), and a demonstrated understanding and readiness to receive psilocybin therapy. Each of these three categories are detailed in the application process.

The fund is currently designed to support groups of 3 individuals undergoing one day of psilocybin facilitation.

We believe the cohort model will foster peer support amongst the group, as well as the opportunity for ongoing community following the psilocybin services. Through receiving psilocybin therapy in a group model, our goal is to help increase the quality of care while also bringing down overall costs for grant recipients.

*If there is any reason why an applicant would prefer not to participate in this cohort model and would require individual care, there will be a chance to indicate so within the application and such a request will be considered on an as needed basis.

Why group over one-on-one?

In very recent history, group work has become less common, in part due to a western approach to medicine that is driven by the FDA's approach to drug development. For this reason, most people in the United States are less accustomed to group work and less likely to be comfortable with it.

However, psychedelics - especially psilocybin - have a long and successful history of being used in group settings. This includes not just in a clinical context but also in Indigenous cultures going back thousands of years.

Not only does group work save time and money, but studies show that when people feel part of a community, it improves their psychological well-being and connectedness.

We believe this is one of the reasons why people who begin with a preference for individual over group end up strongly preferring group after they experience it. And we know from research and firsthand experience that individuals rarely heal or thrive in isolation.

To learn more about group psychedelic therapy, consider tapping the above hyperlinks or see the below information and videos:

• Research: National Library of Medicine - combining psychedelic substances and group psychotherapy may prove beneficial for increasing group connectedness and interpersonal learning, potentially enhancing prosocial behavior with direct opportunities to practice newly acquired knowledge about previously maladaptive behavior patterns.

Any information you share with us is strictly confidential, and will not be shared with any person, for any reason, without your written (or electronic) permission.

Submission of this information is voluntary and refusal to provide it will not subject you to any adverse treatment.

The Sheri Eckert Foundation will only use, process, and store your personal information for the purpose of reviewing, managing, and executing the Psilocybin Access Fund program. Your information may be used, processed, and stored on IT platforms and accessed by Sheri Eckert Foundation employees and contractors for this purpose.

All workstations and Typeform devices are fully encrypted to guarantee the confidentiality of the information they contain. Typeform's data protection standards are HIPAA compliant.

We do not share, sell, or lease your personal information to third parties for other purposes, unless required by law. (At the time of this update, we have never received a legal request for personal information.)

All workstations and Typeform devices are fully encrypted to guarantee the confidentiality of the information they contain. Typeform's data protection standards are HIPAA compliant.