We’re Not Gonna Lie…

10/23/2024

Starting anything new is incredibly tough. That is no less true when you’re trying to help others or yourself. To sustain our efforts we’ve been incredibly thankful for what have been a single friendly donor who allowed us to offer free services for a year. We appreciate every ounce of support from clients who have felt our impact and were able to contribute to the next person’s care..

That said, we’ve both needed day jobs and are trying to fit in the very few hours left a week ways in which we can continue. We were naive about how easy we thought it would be to get grants given our skillset, availability, and exceptionally low budgets. We had no idea that amount of people who offer dozens of opinions, but haven’t been super keen to tangibly contribute to growth. Nevertheless, we do not despair.

A Better Way will not go away. We will iterate on themes and find niches and continue pursuing a route towards ongoing sustainable genuine and practical help for those who need it. All bizarrely greedy monopolies or exercisers of power be damned. If we’re practicing what we preach, that is indefinite resilience and creative exploration for ways of meeting goals. We’ve operated under $10,000 to $15,000 in debt for the last 4 years. We’re not going to stop showing up when and where we’re needed just because we can’t get the fancy wording well-enough for those with the money bags.

In our mission statement I use the word “holistic.” The ways in which you can meaningfully impact someone’s life are legion. You need the out-patient conversation? We got you. I’ll never forget cleaning a home of a client with a severe back problem, consulting about DCS related issues, and getting into a fairly heated exchange with her housing management. We’ve felt, and continue to feel, first hand how quickly a system will float you out to sea.

We’re going to continue setting a different example.

Time to Get to Work!

WE GOT OUR FIRST DONOR!

If you need assistance, we got you. It’s FREE!

If you check out the services tab and see pricing, that’s now “suggested” if you can afford it to keep as much access available for those who can’t, but it’s free across the board regardless.

In the coming days/weeks I’ll be creating updated digital forms and demographic data collecting things, but in the meantime whether you reach out to me directly or sign up through the website, it all filters through the same apparatus.

See you soon!

We’re Official! Nonprofit Status Achieved!

I’m so excited to announce we can now operate even more directly in service to our values. If you thought care was too expensive or the hassles and confusions of insurance kept you away, that’s what we’re looking to change. Through donations and grants we hope to provide flatly accessible, consistent, high-quality service that is otherwise hard to find. This mission keeps trucking along as we seek to partner with local businesses and facilitate mutual goals with different grant opportunities.

This is direct-to-service funds. There is not a single dollar that does not go towards someone’s care. We dare to dream big and believe we’ll reach a place where anyone that needs the care will have it.

Community Partners and Nonprofit INC

We’re pending nonprofit status!

This means we’re looking for sponsors, partners, and anyone else who wishes to bring affordable and accessible counseling services to southwestern Indiana and beyond. Wondering who called you out of nowhere to talk about what we’re building? You found him.

A Better Way is also applying for grants who stipulate community partners that believe in the mission, values, and accountable effect we aim to have. To talk about all of this and more we’ll be looking for said partners in the coming weeks. Anyone who donates, be it in service to their business or in the name of someone they care about, will be represented on our site if they so choose.

If you found us organically and wish to learn more or contribute, don’t hesitate to reach out! nick@abetterwaybloomington.com or 219-613-8620.

11/10/2023 Good News Everyone!

We’ve partnered with Roadways to Recovery who prescribe Suboxone and other harm-reduction medication needs!

This means if you are transferring from somewhere else, you don’t need to worry about your medication getting interrupted. Roadways is remote just like A Better Way.

All you have to do is schedule your counseling appointment with us, then head over to their sign-up page to get the medication ball rolling!

1. First! Click here to sign up for counseling!

2. Schedule for Medication

Special Discount! If you’re transferring from Groups, I’ll create a customized $20 individual session and work around your schedule.

10/17/2023 Calling, and more Calling

Roadwaystorecovery.com is the only place that has told me explicitly they do fully remote prescribing, mouth swab drug screens.

We’re hunting for telehealth providers of Suboxone or other MAT options. I’ve got a spreadsheet and everything going through the providers listed here: https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/find-treatment/treatment-practitioner-locator?field_bup_state_value=18

Until we can find an MD of our own, the ones in yellow seem to have the most promise. The blue have in-person requirements that vary from person to person. White haven’t responded back yet. Red doesn’t provide telehealth Suboxone or harm-reduction meds in spite of appearing on the website. They also often have disconnected or only fax machine numbers they’ve provided.

There’s 889 listings, and only so many hours in a day…and in quantifiable chunks of patience. We knew it would be an uphill battle finding providers, but fundamentally believe in making counseling more accessible. If you have one or are already working another program, we’ll work to fit your schedule and budget.

10/10/2023 What’s Happening?

We’re working! We swear!

A few things are happening at once. After a disappointing year waiting on our first insurance empaneling company, we’ve found a new one. We hope this means we’ll be able to process even out-of-network claims and take us away from cash or card only. It’s in motion.

Updates to the website could be happening daily. This blog tab and post are an example. We want to include windows so you can answer writing prompts and begin your counseling journey that way. We want to build social and activity groups and calendars. It’s all a learning curve handled entirely by Nick. If in doubt, you can always text or email and questions can be answered that way.

The desire is that groups are built around who shows up first and consistently. Right now there’s limited availability so that conversation can take place. If you want consistent affordable counseling, and maybe for a brief time individual sessions for $5 until this thing gets cooking, show up, let me know your schedule and budget, and we’ll make something work.