Hopebound Mental Health

August is Black Philanthropy Month, and it exists because of a hard, well-documented pattern: Black-led nonprofits raise less money than comparable organizations, even when their outcomes are just as strong. Hopebound sits right at that intersection. We're a Black-led nonprofit providing free and low-cost therapy to young people ages 10–24, and at the same time, we're training the next generation of clinicians who look like the communities they serve.

Here's the gap we're working against. Only 4% of psychologists in the U.S. are Black. Youth of color and youth from low-income families run into far more roadblocks finding a therapist who understands them, and when they do find one, the average wait across the country is three to six months. At Hopebound, it's under two weeks. That's not a coincidence. That's the model doing what it was built to do.

This week, we're asking our community to help fund 150 therapy sessions for young people in Georgia, and as we grow, Florida — $67 at a time. $10,000 gets us there. Every gift, at every size, moves one more young person closer to a therapist who actually sees them.

This isn't a new idea we're testing out. Since 2020, Hopebound has served more than 350 young people and trained 22 clinicians, 9 of whom are now fully licensed mental health professionals. More than three-quarters of our clinician pipeline identifies as BIPOC. We're proof the model works. What we need now is direct investment to keep it going.

"It's affirming how important it is for children to have healthy adults in their lives who truly see them. Every Monday at 7 p.m., she gets seen." — a Hopebound caregiver

Give what you can, any day this week. $67 funds one session. $335 funds five. Whatever the number, it gets a young person one step closer to being seen.