YOUTH MIND BUILDERS Crowdfunding

1.0 EXECUTVE SUMMARY

Youth Mind Builders (YMB) is a fast-growing family and youth support initiative in Ohio. We focus on improving the mental health of people living with mental disorders (and other behavioral conditions) and upgrading the quality of life of needy youths and families through education, advocacy, and a variety of helpful programs. We are writing to request $320,000 as support for establishing a mental care center and trade school. The care center and trade school will provide adequate support for Ohioans living with mental health cases and those living below the poverty line.

The idea of the YMB care center and trade school was initiated in April 2021 to help families and youths access cheap and true mental (and other behavioral conditions) health services and lift indigent families and youths above the poverty line by equipping them with relevant entrepreneurial skills. Since its inception, strategic plans have been executed, including leasing a 15,500ft building where we intend to render the care center and trade school services. Still, we lack the resources to purchase the required supplies and equipment and pay the employed personnel. The project strives to better the mental and financial life of Ohioan youths and families by 65.4%.

In less than two years of creating the Youth Mind Builders, approximately 45.3% of the beneficiaries of our programs have reported positive changes to their mental health, while about 53.2% can attest to an improved quality of life. With approximately 500,000 Ohioans not treating their mental cases in 2021 due to the cost of treatment and 14.9% of the population still living below the poverty line, the YMB project will reduce the affected population by 10% before 2030.

As the size of the mental health issues and needy families continue to grow, please, consider assisting us so we may fully execute the care center and trade school to help reduce the numbers.

2.0 STATEMENT OF NEED

According to the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) 2021 report, approximately 600,000 adults in Ohio have a mental illness, while about 150,000 Ohioans aged 12-17 have depression. Of the affected population, 45.5% did not receive mental health care in 2021 because of cost. Two million three hundred eighty-five thousand one hundred forty-four people in Ohio live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals. “Ohioans are over 3x more likely to be forced out-of-network for mental health care than for primary health care—making it tough to find care and less affordable due to higher out-of-pocket costs.” (NAMI).

Owing to the lack of sufficient and affordable mental health care in Ohio, 75.4% of people living with a mental illness are on the brink of having their mental health worsened—which will likely reduce the average societal quality of life by 3.5% before 2026.1,683,890 of 11,289,161 residents of Ohio reported income levels below the poverty line in the last year, with the poverty rate in Ohio between 13.1% and 14.9%, which is likely to increase

in the subsequent years due to the massive loss of jobs recorded during the pandemic. Our mental care center and trade school have been designed with a strategic approach to help Ohioans living with mental health cases access genuine consultations, assessments, and treatments at cheap cost and to equip about 55.5% of the youths and adults with no jobs with entrepreneurial skills that will lift and keep them above the poverty line.

The Youth Mind Builders foundation has thoroughly examined the issues faced by youths and is responding by providing educational and enrichment opportunities for knowledge to impact individuals. The foundation is coming up with the best possible way to assist youth with mental disorders and provide an avenue for them to regain their right state of mind. We are on a bold ambition to impact young lives by unlocking youth work as a catalyst for change. We will work in partnership to build a cross-sector movement, creating a society that understands, champions, and delivers practical youth work for all. With your help, our project will help reduce the population of Ohioans with mental health cases by 55.5% and complement the government’s effort to reduce the poverty rate in Ohio.

3.0 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the YMB mental health care and trade school project is to improve the overall quality of life of Ohioan youths and families using responsive actions. The goal is be achieved through the following objectives;

To have the population of Ohioans living with mental illness (and other behavioral conditions) reduced by 15% in 5 years.

To lift and keep 55.5% of the Ohioan youths above the poverty line by 2030-by equipping them with useful skills.

To ensure that 33% of the indigent families in Ohio have full access to true mental health care services by 2030.

To have the poverty rate in Ohio reduced by 5% by 2030.

To get the awareness that behavioral and mental health is a massive problem for youths.

The end goal is to allow youths to utilize the creativeness of their minds and apply it to a trade that will enhance their future. With their trade in the works, the goal is to lead them towards entrepreneurship.

To lead them to a debt-free future by starting them on the road to entrepreneurship early in life.

Teach them financial literacy lets them know the works of their hands and brilliant. Minds can lead them to a brighter future with minimal cash flow issues.

Instill hope and a future by guiding people to recognize their self-worth through positive influences;

Build a supportive solid volunteer base.

Oversee a team of counselors and volunteers who are passionate and equipped to

Participate in growth and development process;

Partner with the community by involving them through projects, volunteer opportunities, raising

awareness, and financial support.

Create micro-businesses for individuals to provide productive activities that will build a life for them and contributes to their financial, emotional, mental, and health well-being.

Create a platform that will ensure sustainable growth of youths and families we are Helping.

Maintain proper business operations and strategies to ascertain the organization's continuous growth.

To help secure blessing for others and always touch on the aspects of life; health, Finance, investing, and mindset.

4.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The YMB mental health care center and trade school project is designed to address the rising population of youths and families living with mental health disorders (and other behavioral conditions) and the increasing poverty rate in Ohio. About 10% of the Ohio population lives with mental health issues, with about 6,4% not able to access good marital health care services due to its cost. Approximately 15% of the Ohio population is living below the poverty line, and the rate, according to studies by financial experts, might rise in the coming years. Our project is designed to address the cost gap between needy families and good mental health care services and provide youths and families with skills that will give them a good quality of life.

The project focuses on having the population of Ohioans living with mental illness (and other behavioral conditions) reduced by 15% in 5 years .and on upgrading the quality of life of 55.5% of the Ohioan youths above the poverty line 2030-using relevant entrepreneurial skills.

The objectives of the project are to be achieved by;

We are employing an adequate amount of licensed mental health care personnel to assess and treat people with mental health issues and other behavioral conditions.

Organizing periodic consultation programs where people can have their mental health well-evaluated.

Organizing door-to-door awareness programs to sensitize families and youths on the importance of giving their mental health the attention it deserves.

Constituting a follow-up team that will closely monitor the progress of our patients and beneficiaries,

Employing trade experts to help train families and youths in different entrepreneurial skills through our trade school initiative.

We are setting up a relevant and viable syllabus for the trade classes and a flexible timetable for our students.

We are helping top students of our trade school with 50% of the capital required to set up a trade with their acquired skills.

The project promises to realize its objectives within the specified time frame with appropriate evaluation and sustainability plans. Our targeted locations are Columbus, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio, Whitehall, Ohio & Reynoldsburg, Ohio

5.0 EVALUATION

We plan to measure our impact and success rate in the following ways:

The number of mentally disordered youths we can successfully support.

Tracking the progress of the youths undergoing our program. 

Following the result of our program in the community 

Measuring the impact of our services in the targeted demographic

Our foundation will be accountable to our sponsors by sending project updates/reports semi-annually. All assisting organizations will be listed on our website and acknowledged accordingly. Standardized survey assessments will be conducted before and during the program to determine how effective our programs are and how they successfully affect the children and parents who went through them. Additionally, feedback will be sought from the recipients of the programs and the general public to assess how best we can be improved for the nearest future.  

On a quarterly basis, the project facilitators will employ the service of licensed mental health care agencies to examine the beneficiaries of our health care services and our compliance with the right mental health care guidelines. Our care center and trade school will have a follow-up team constituted of volunteers that will help to closely monitor the beneficiaries of the project and fetch feedbacks from them on a monthly basis, while the reports collected will be used periodically to revise our strategies. Comparisons of data will be done at intervals to access our growth in achieving our objectives and appropriate revisions will be carried out to keep our project goal realistic.

6.0 BUDGET

Based on our analysis of needs and the nature of our proposed plan , the total funds required are estimated at $320,000

PERSONNEL

INFRASTRUCTURES

7.0 SUSTAINABILITY

Youth Mind Builders (YMB) is led by a board of dedicated volunteers who have the expertise and passion required to launch a successful expansion of the organization’s primary initiatives including the YMB mental health care center and trade school. Our board and core group of volunteers is committed to ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of this initiative by growing current revenue streams and developing new ones by applying for more grants from foundation, goodwill investors and donors. Our local community demonstrates their ongoing commitment to our mission in a variety of ways. For example, on average local businesses, churches and individuals provide in support our mission/this program.

8.0 FOUNDATION TEAM MEMBERS