New Pullman organization created as a tribute to woman’s late brother
CLARIFICATION: The Wounded Phoenix Foundation, through Pullman’s Kure & Co., won't host a needle exchange program. Those seeking more information about needle exchange programs can contact Whitman County Public Health at (509) 397-6280 or (509) 332-6752.
A Pullman business owner opened her nonprofit as a way to spread awareness of addiction, but didn’t anticipate the “productive healing process” that would come with it.
Ruthanna Willey is too humble to call herself a successful businesswoman, but hinted at her successes as a small-town entrepreneur. Owner of two businesses and counting, Willey is the founder of Monroe Men, now known as Kure & Co., Rockstar Body Bar and a new nonprofit. She recently opened The Wounded Phoenix Foundation with the goal of bringing awareness to overdose prevention, in honor of her brother, Christian Kure, who died last year.
The nonprofit is family operated, as Willey’s other siblings, Jesse and Daniel Kure, serve as board members at the foundation. Willey said her family has always been extremely close-knit, and losing one of their own was something they had never felt before. Opening the foundation was a way for her family to bond with a shared objective to help other people.
“It was like opening a whole universe, and it’s really a good thing for us to be able to focus on,” Willey said. “Obviously, we’re going to be on this journey forever and nothing is going to fix the loss we’ve felt. We’re missing a piece of us, but to be able to come together on this and find ways to help people is an effort well spent.”
Willey said she had dealt with loss before, but when her brother died, she experienced grief she had never felt before. Starting the nonprofit was something Willey had always thought about doing; she has always been passionate about addiction awareness. Ultimately, she founded The Wounded Phoenix Foundation in loving memory of Christian.
The foundation was set to open its doors in August on the anniversary of her brother’s death. Willey said starting a nonprofit can be a complex process, and excessive paperwork stalled the opening. Instead, Willey was able to make the foundation official Dec. 9, on her brother’s birthday.
“We had everything all lined up, but long story short, we had to delay the opening,” Willey said. “But it ended up working out. It was a super cool way to honor him on his birthday and celebrate him, because we try to find things each year we can do to keep his memory alive.”
The Wounded Phoenix Foundation is located in Kure & Co. and is open with the shop’s business hours 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Willey said this is just the beginning and the foundation is getting started on ways to provide resources to the community.
Currently, Willey and her team are communicating with the health department to find out what the community needs. She would eventually like to provide Narcan and make the medication easily accessible. She’d also like to provide an anonymous space for people who struggle with addiction.
“This is a nonjudgmental space. Addiction can be so stigmatized, but ultimately it is a disease people struggle with,” Willey said. “I want to provide resources to people I know would have helped my brother.”
More information about The Wounded Phoenix Foundation can be found at its website: woundedphoenix.org.
Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.
