Hello John,

Thanks for being open to listen! Nice to meet you. I love Discord and thank you for that. I’ve worked very hard to keep us afloat.

My personal journey is complicated. If you’re really interested, I wrote a blog: https://excessivelyme.com/. Basically, I’m diagnosed with several mental illnesses that have made my life tumultuous since I was about 14 years old. Numerous hospitalizations, suicide attempts, ECT, you name it.

The reason I started The Haven was because I believe in improving access to mental healthcare for those who have limited options. All I’ve ever wanted to do was help people. I’ve always said to myself that if my story could improve the life of one person, then everything would be worth it. Watching so many people help each other is more than I could ever have asked for.

Since we are a peer support server, everyone has a mental illness, which brings a sense of camaraderie to the community and support is offered by people who know what your struggles are like. Being validated and understood is essential to combatting the damage that stigma has caused.

The goal for The Haven is to turn into a non-profit organization that through grants and fundraising can offer financial aid to people who cannot access private mental healthcare in a timely and efficient manner.

In terms of collaboration, I’d like the Haven to grow, perhaps into a 3rd server that is open to people even if they don’t have mental illness. I would need more staff but I could find them. A short term collaboration would likely be something as simple as linking to our website on your site, and vice versa (both in our Discords and on our website and forum). Cross-platform events would be exciting as well.

In 2-3 years I’d like to be on a more stable platform, I’d like to be a functioning non-profit, and having a burgeoning community of like-minded individuals.

In terms of resources, I am really just trying to get the word out. Eventually I’ll need to fundraise, which I’m doing slowly but not making a lot of headway.

I hope that helps! If you have more questions, please let me know!

Best,
Jess