Go Fund Me

I don't post on this section of the forum, so forgive me if this has been mentioned....

But I read the struggle for everyone who has mental health issues...particularly those who are working toward leaving their current living situation in order to work toward healing.

There are many people here who I have come to care about and wish I could offer some small assistance to.

I see someone here has a Go Fund Me account for a friend of theirs (sorry I don't know who it is) so that they can take that first big step to get some independence.

I have kids and know the cost (not just per month rent) of starting out. Basic food, a dish or two, a chair....those cost. Not to mention security deposits and first and last months rent.... I can't imagine what it is like trying to do it on any kind of government assistance...it must be insanely frustrating.

I am not wealthy, but if I had a few dollars to put toward a fund for those on Psych Central, I would....

Stupid idea? Input, please. And my deepest apologies if this is looked on as an insult to anyone. Let me know and I'll remove/have this removed.

????

Perhaps I need to clarify a little (I seem to have terrible communication skills)

Would it be a good idea to have a section of the forum linking to go fund me accounts (or some other legit thing that's similar)

We are all anonymous anyway. I am not asking anyone to ask me (or anyone else) for a handout. That would be dehumanizing and I think we all have enough problems with self-esteem here on PC...

I truly believe that people will pay it forward when they are able to.

Perhaps we are all managing just fine....idk.

Anyway I'll request this be removed tomorrow in case anyone has a comment.

Psych central already does this. Not thru go fund me, but thru this site. People can and do ask doc john for help sometimes and they run drives.

I remember a fund raising drive about 15 months ago or so. I think there is a separate charitable arm of PC. I don't know much about it, but it gives up to $500 to a member who shows a need for it. I believe a member is entitle to this gift only once, but as I said, I'm not sure. DocJohn would be the one to explain how it works. I believe the requesting member must provide receipts, etc. and that they write a little something up about their financial problems that is used for the fund raiser, and a link to how to give.

I understand that charity is successfully well funded and has tax-exempt status as a non-profit charitable organization so your donation would be tax deductible (if you itemize deductions instead of taking the standard deduction).

Hope that helps.

here is where members can donate to the community fund and information about it....

from frequently asked questions pages.....

How can I donate to the community fund drive?
The community fund drive is now housed within our 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Psych Central Community Connection. You can learn more about the nonprofit, how to donate, or how to request funds from the community fund drive at that website.

the link to the psych central community connection is...
Psych Central Community Connection

Thanks everyone for the information.

It's not quite what I was thinking of though and I know there is something directly tied to PC but it seems complex for everyone.

do you mean something where individual members set up their own find raising program here on psych central.. if so Im guessing thats probably not allowed.. for one thing how would one verify the member asking for donations was for real and not scamming members out of their money. granted a majority of go fund me accounts are for real but there have been plenty in the news about people starting bogus go fund me's and other fund raising sites, website pages that turned out to be scams.

with donations to the psych central fund rules apply and Im guessing doc john has a process of verifying the member really needs the money for what they say they need it for before he turns over the money to that member in financial problems.

Thanks amandalouise...yes there are scams everywhere. But there are a lot of people on here "know" each other.
And no, not directly a fund raising program on PC...I know that wouldn't be allowed. Just a link.

This already seems to be a stupid idea...

no not a stupid idea just that since psych central already has a funding program that any psych central members can donate or apply for if in need of financial help, it may sound a bit "fishy" or scammish to some that a member wants to have a less restricted way of donating / applying to psych central members in need.

speaking for me I would not go to a site outside of psych central for donating to psych central members. I would use what psych central has set up already.

but in the event that you want to try and set something up....not sure but I think personal links to ones own personal blogs and such are allowed in the signature line space. you might check with a moderator or the owner of the site to make sure it wont violate any legalities and such to have a link to your own fund raising for psych central members page elsewhere and link to it.

Thank you again. No it is not for me, I am not struggling. And I don't know enough to start a fund, nor would I need to since PC has one.