Not Your Fault, Not Your Bill

A proposed project to raise and disperse small funds to people in need of mental health assistance anywhere in the world.

If you think you need help, then by all means, get help because you deserve help. But how do you do this when “help” is so expensive?

I know that for some people, getting out of bed is the hardest thing to do despite it being the most basic thing anyone has to do first thing in the day. And so you’re trapped in an endless paradox wherein you can’t get therapy because you don’t have money, and you don’t have money because you can’t keep a stable job since you can’t even get out of bed most days, but you can’t get out of bed unless you get therapy---which you can’t afford because you don’t have money because you don’t have a job. See what a sticky wicket that is?

(Yes. This photo is here to get attention.)

I’m thinking of making a project that would basically raise funds to help anyone in the world with mental health bills, or even just something to help them get back on their feet. If a small amount can at least provide a week’s worth of groceries, that’s still something for someone in a bad situation. This is not to encourage dependence from people, but sort of just a little push--a little bit of a leg-up, if you will.

I’m not sure if this is an entirely good idea, however. And there are lots of details that need to be figured out. I listed some of them below.

1. What do we require of applicants? How do we verify beneficiaries? The process should be quick and easy. I understand this is a very sensitive topic, and while it doesn’t seem comforting for people to be sending over medical and financial documents online, I don’t see any other way. On the other hand, we can’t just take everybody’s word for it. Some people will take advantage if they can. We need these funds to go to people who really need them. Should they just assume the risk of sending confidential information over the internet?
   Also, how do we know they are serious with trying to get better? It would be horrible to know that we just funded someone’s recreational drugs or alcohol. I am well aware that such a system could be prone to abuse/misuse.
   We could, of course, just leave it to trust, the same way potential donors will be entrusting their funds to the project. But what mechanisms can be used to avoid scams?

2. I’ve never run a fundraiser before so I’m absolutely sure I cannot do this on my own and would need help from people online. And if the project ever pushes through, I believe they should be compensated because, while this project is a non-profit venture—a charity even, we cannot expect everyone else to work for free.

3. Indiegogo or are there better venues?

4. Are there any legalities to watch out for? I know some other organizations do this regularly without any problems, but I’d rather be sure.

5. Do any of you know of similar platforms? And how are they doing?

6. Overall, is this a good idea?

If you have any input on this, feel free to leave a comment. You can also shoot me a PM on Rocket chat. Thanks for reading. :)