Community member Lynn Kaufman and her family recently made a significant gift to Camber Mental Health Kansas City.
The $1 million donation will be used to improve access to residential mental health treatment for youth in crisis and strengthen the therapeutic environment at the organization’s Kansas City, Kansas, location.
Camber Mental Health Kansas City, part of KVC Health Systems and formerly known as the Kaw Valley Center (KVC), is a youth residential mental health treatment campus in Wyandotte County. The Kaufmans’ gift will support enhancements to Camber Mental Health Kansas City’s environment and therapeutic programming, including art, music, equine-assisted therapy, horticulture, recreation and education and helping ensure youth in crisis have access to safe, trauma-informed care.
Camber Mental Health recently hosted an art dedication ceremony to honor Kaufman, a licensed clinical social worker and child therapist, and her service to children and families for more than 25 years.
“I was moved by KVC’s philosophy of treating children,” Kaufman told The Chronicle. “I saw genuineness, compassion and a commitment to seeing every child as a whole human being. After a whole career there, I still see the same qualities in the organization… Through my work, again and again, I saw that it was possible for children and families to find new strength and healing.”
Throughout her 25-year career at Camber Mental Health, Kaufman supported thousands of children and families navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation. She blended clinical expertise with a relational approach grounded in empathy and emotional healing.
“Lynn’s work is defined by loving kindness in action,” said Jason Hooper, president and CEO of KVC Health Systems. “She has consistently shown up for children in their most difficult moments with patience, presence and deep compassion. That approach has shaped how so many of us think about care.”
A centerpiece of the art dedication ceremony was the unveiling of an original glass sculpture inspired by the “Grump Meter,” the emotional regulation tool Kaufman co-created with her daughter Janet. The tool helps children identify and express emotional intensity in simple, developmentally appropriate ways, giving language to feelings that can otherwise feel overwhelming or unmanageable.
The installation, created by Kansas City artist Stew Langer, transforms the concept of the Grump Meter into artwork that reflects emotional awareness, regulation and growth.
“Developing the Grump Meter to facilitate the emotional development of children and their families became my passion,” Kaufman said. “Making and sharing Grump Meters, parents and children worked together to improve individual and family relationships for the safety and well-being of all. The process is always creative and involves art.”
Kaufman said her work with Camber Mental Health/KVC aligns with her Jewish values.
“Judaism has been central to our family’s life, and our tradition’s values of repairing the world and repairing ourselves within have always been important to me,” she said. “Kaw Valley Center is not a Jewish institution, and for the 25 years that I spent there, I may have been the only Jewish employee. However, I experienced great mutuality of my values and KVC’s. We learned from each other.”