About Blame Bates
She saw exactly where the system dropped people. So she quit and caught them.
Blame Bates is a Fargo-based 501(c)(3) doing care coordination, peer support, advocacy and street outreach for adults working through mental health and substance use.
Ashley Bates, founder and care coordinator, at the 2026 Paint the Night Away gala.
Who is Bates?
Ashley Bates
For nearly eight years Ashley was a Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy. She started and ran the CSU program inside the jail, which is where this entire organization began as an idea.
From that side of the door she got to watch the whole loop: who walked out and made it, who walked out and came back, and the specific, boring, fixable barrier that decided which. No ride to intake. An expired ID. A landlord who needed one phone call from someone with a title.
She left in 2023 to do the work without the badge, spent time at another organization, and left that one too when the ethics didn’t match. Her clients followed her, because the thing she has is the thing you cannot transfer between agencies: they trust her.
She started Blame Bates with half of her own retirement and worked four jobs to cover her bills while the state contract slipped from July to September. No donor money has ever paid her way. That is deliberate, and she will tell you about it.
She is from the East Coast. She will tell you when you’re doing great and she will tell you when you’re being stupid, and clients consistently say the second one is why they stayed.
“They never had someone care enough to tell them they’re being stupid — and then care enough to say, okay, let’s move on to the next thing.”
Ashley Bates
What we stand on
Written down, so you can hold us to it.
Mission
To empower individuals affected by mental health and substance disorders by creating supportive environments that foster recovery, promote resilience, and restore hope.
Vision
A community free from stigma, where recovery is celebrated, prevention is prioritized, and every person is treated with dignity and respect.
Values
Every individual has the right to dignity, healing and hope. Grounded in compassion, respect and accountability, we honor each person's journey without judgment.
Blame Bates?
Why are we blaming you?
Ashley’s card. Clients hand it to whoever is at the door, so the refusal comes from us instead of from them.
Because early recovery asks people to enforce boundaries they aren’t strong enough to enforce yet — and a boundary you can’t hold is worse than no boundary at all.
The name started with a housing agreement: no visitors for six months without approval. The client couldn’t say it in his own voice, so Ashley told him to use hers. Hand them my card. Tell them Bates will lose it. And tell them that if they ever want the same help you got, they can call me too.
It turns a refusal into a referral. The person at the door doesn’t leave rejected — they leave with a phone number.
People have wanted to blame Bates for plenty over the years anyway. She figures it may as well be useful. Blame her for the boundary; take the credit for the recovery.
Governance & recognition
Where the money goes, and who's watching.
We are a young organization and we publish what we have. As filings come due, they land here.
Platinum — Best Nonprofit
Community Votes Fargo
Nonprofit of the Year nominee
FMWF Chamber of Commerce — nominated three months into operating
Blue Cross Blue Shield of ND
Awarded funding after a review of our work and this website
- Status
- 501(c)(3) public charity
- EIN
- 39-2567297
- Primary service area
- Cass County, North Dakota
- Client cost
- $0 — always
Our first full fiscal year closes in 2026, and our Form 990 and annual report will be posted on this page as soon as they are filed. Until then, ask us anything — info@blamebates.com.