Helping Minds Global

A non governmental organization aimed at alleviating the mental health of youths from depression and anxiety, through the provision of free therapy, public enlightenment and optimal skill acquisition.

The Helping Minds Global solution is set to significantly reduce depression and anxiety and it's impact on society, thereby substantially eradicating it.

With every passing year in the last decade, systems and global problems seem to have an overwhelming effect on the minds of concerned individuals, producing an even more astounding outcome on young individuals, especially students. This overwhelming effect skyrocketed soon after the upsurge of the COVID pandemic and it's ripple consequence on the global economy and relatively minor socio economic spheres.

 In all this, the sustainability adaptation rate of people's livelihood has declined by 60% especially in rural and suburban communities like Cross River State, Nigeria and similar places in the world; causing inhabitants of such communities to exhibit a great decline in right attitudes to work and life in general. Experts reports from the WHO and local health organizations show that the rate of depression and anxiety in the past decade have increased significantly in the past 3 years, having a direct impact on their wellbeing and livelihood to a great extent.

Reports from the database of the Nigerian Television Authority show a heightened 500% increase of suicidal attempts (76% being youths between the ages of 16-28) in capital cities of Nigeria. 

Studies indicate over 9 million inhabitants of the country suffered from depression in 2019 (according to the World Health Organization) of which is estimated to have octupled by May 2022, making at least 52 million people currently suffering from depression in Nigeria, 60% of which are women. 

Research in Nigeria show the number of psychiatrists to be about 300 doctors, taking care of more than 200 million people in the country, accounting to a ratio of 1:666,000 when comparing the numbers of doctors to possible patients. 

Seeing the need for evaluation of mental health, it has been noticed (as with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board of Nigeria) that the leading cause of mass decline in students' attitude to learning on secondary and tertiary levels of academic education lies principally on one mental health cause or another, especially depression and anxiety and the unavailability of capable professionals to aid control the problem, causing a chain of negative events on a communal and individual level.

Many members of affected societies have adapted unhealthily to believe they do not get affected by mental health deterioration, most people see cases like depression and anxiety as "myths that do not affect certain ethnicity", causing a cycle of depression and denial because of the lack of education and healthcare to these communities. Adaptations like these cause many to suck up their problems and remain in silent pain until "fate takes over". 

There is believed to be many more unnoticed cases owing to the rapid decline in mental healthcare in the country and neighboring nations, steadily rising even uptil now.  A sad lifestyle for many, yet even sadder as it has become the normalcy for many regions of the world, just like the ones in West Africa.

Upon private and public analysis, counseling and according to world standard neurologist, Professor Philip Ephraim; “we have noticed the ineffectiveness of mobile applications user interface and AI to solely aid the eradication of depression among youths. The profound barrier here is the persistent distrust of the young ones on the reliability of such methods and the inability of any artificial intelligence to fully compute accurately the most human character; emotions”. On this note, the organization has initiated public user efficient systems to provide employment and learning opportunities and optional professional therapy sessions by the organization, implementing solutions to these problems in line with depression amongst the youths of Nigeria and other communities alike; 

• A website created and designed by the Helping Minds Organization serves as a database (the initiative’s sole pivot) for input of public user information as well as a support system in identifying depressed people accurately, through survey questions arranged by professional psychiatrists and psychologists. This website serves many other purposes such as education on depression to the public, enrolment schemes for skill acquisition to possibly depressed/anxious candidates, user counselling sessions and pairing of users with our professionally skilled volunteer system, psychologists and psychiatrists of/with the Helping Minds Organization.

• Further empowerment of young minds through the administration of micro institutional skill academies and workshops to teach and give our target audience opportunities to learn technologically inclined skills and put such skills into active use through the establishment of workshops as an avenue to engage in corresponding businesses as technology is one of the leading systems in the world today.

After conducting an international survey in 2022 and seeing the great need for mental heal management among the young people of various communities, we have observed the immense gap between psychologists and depressed youths cause a chain of events at global scale (already elaborated on previously). It has been observably noted how young people (especially students) keep getting deprived, missing out of mental health care due to the lack of awareness of the importance of mental health, under-availability of interpersonal relationships to foster optional mental health care in the absence of psychiatric professionals and developmental amenities as this increases it's rug pulling effect on the minds of people. On these said notes, the Helping Minds Global community works with the public to deliver a user-friendly medium, fully capable of aiding the society alleviate mental health depression and anxiety from amongst its youths. 

Through our network of operations such as the ones listed below, Helping Minds Global ensures the effective operation of its agenda:

1. Creation of mental health awareness: This is done online across all social media platforms and through our partnerships and websites. It is also done offline through outreaches to local institutions and gatherings actively participating/involving the youths. 
2. Involvement of the public in alleviating depression: Through our volunteer system, public volunteers are certifiably trained on depression and anxiety management to foster the development of our online community of users volunteering to the organization in aiding combat depression through social friendly chat sessions with affected candidates (of depression/anxiety).
3. Active involvement of local and international entrepreneurs with counselled youths needing vocational skill training in different fields of work especially technologically inclined. This training shall be given to selected youths, as this significantly settles the basic and essential needs of the targeted public in finance settlement.
4. Recruitment of professional psychiatrists and psychologists to ensure the delivery of first class mental health services and aid in the alleviation of underemployment in affected societies.

Our foundational team –as listed on this application– is made of two founding members of the organization (Favour Louis and Grace Edet) and it's team lead, Divine Edet. The two members mentioned above are people who have had their own share of devotion to humanitarian initiatives and development.

 Favour Louis Peter is a board member of the directors of the Treasures in Earthen Vessels organization (a faith based foundation centered on building the morality of young teens as it also performs obligations to equip children with the right mental training and mentorship to impact the society at large). As a board member of the Treasures in Earthen Vessels Organization, Favour has led numerous speech campaigns and outreaches to the less fortunate teens in prisons and other inhibitory environments, striving with her team in making an impact starting from the city of Calabar, Nigeria. Being a passion driven humanitarian, she is currently set on pursuing her career as a medical doctor treating children in the pediatric field. 

Assisting in driving forward the goal of the Helping Minds Global is Grace Edet, a member of the "Value for teens" entrepreneurship organization in Nigeria (an organization focused on providing teenagers with the right awareness, skills and opportunities for businesses as well as entrepreneurship in the society at large). Grace Edet has handled numerous projects in the past 3 years including the establishment of an community centered on the engagement of youths to distract them from the harsh realities of the society, giving them a comfortable online environment for entertainment as well as advocation of child rights in the online space. Been involved in active care for teenagers across social media platforms, helping depressed and troubled minds bounce back from a deteriorated state of mind, she has spent a substantial amount of time interacting with numerous youths affected by abuse and social discrimination.

The Team's lead, Divine Edet is a medical student currently in his later academic years as he pursues the lasting purpose to aid humanity serve one another. He has been involved in the co presentation of various public seminars in the city of Calabar as most of them have been about the eradication of depression amongst humanity in its entirety. Divine has also led an online community presence with over 8000 participants in Nigeria and neighboring countries, in the eradication of depression, anxiety and social misconducts directed towards the youths. Founded in 2019, he had successfully helped thousands of youths overcome their anxiety and discrimination attacks by society through the "Krazy" community in Cross River State, Nigeria.

With each team member having at least 3 years of experience in aiding the management of societal crises affecting the youths, the team (with two members medically inclined professionally) have come together to eradicate the underlying problem we all noticed become more prominent during the year of the pandemic; depression and anxiety.

Prior to and in line with the MIT Solv[ED] workshops, we have carried out mass public and internal research with centeredness on public user experience effectiveness as this increases the appropriate solution match to the problem our society is currently facing. 

In a bid to promote the aforementioned effectiveness, we have gotten great results from research with local innovators (psychiatrists and doctors) who previously pitched a similar solution but faced too many barriers to continue their research development. The reason for such partnership and coexistence is to promote a unified approach as well as precautionary measure towards the design of the appropriate solution for our societies.

We have also worked with some non governmental organizations in conducting further user research to engage the public to test the potency of the Helping Minds Global design solution. 

In our research conducted with multiple professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, medical consultants and neurologists), experts (teachers, counsellors and parents) and individuals (selected youths living in affected communities); we had noticed subtle as well as profound information which helped us buttress and further aid in the modification of our design solution to fit the needs of the society. Hence the detailed structure of the solution of the Helping Minds Global organization.

Of notable mention is the addition of our work with MIT solv[ED] innovator; Opeyemi Etiwe, on reaching conclusive results to the modification of the organization's approach for further effectiveness.

Over the past years, we have seen a significant "gap" between psychiatrists and mentally challenged patients especially in instances of depression and anxiety. This gap has caused alot of problems amongst which are the unawareness and lack of right attitude towards caring for their mental health. Although there have been organizations sparsely established in various parts of the world in an effort to close this gap, it's effect on this divide has been almost insignificant as the uproar of mental health depression seems still prevalent among numerous communities and societies throughout the globe – a subtle yet profound cause for concern.

 Through the Helping Minds Global solution and it's public volunteer system, there is a significant approach to bridging this gap earlier mentioned (as an integral part of the organization's approach centers upon the public cooperation and aid).

 With regular campaigns and outreaches as well as seminars and online engagements of the target population, we are proud to say our prospects have been looking better than initially expected as there has been a mass spread of information and a large turnout of users which have been aided back to their feet by our volunteer system of more than 150 volunteers in each community, together with our trained set of psychiatrists and psychologists. 

With our entrepreneurship program, our applicants get involved in a free user-friendly technology skill acquisition training. This in turn aids the scalability of the solution as we work with local and national entrepreneurs who help in dissemination of the organization's solution to broadcasters and national broadcasting cooperations, thereby increasing it's spread to other nearby and outer civilizations as well. 

Together with public reliability and cooperation, such great heights are attainable in the world through our solution as such a networking chain with this approach has not been used yet proves to be greatly effective in world systems especially those affected by the said problem.

With our network of systems made of professional psychiatrists and psychologists, public volunteers, entrepreneurs and our "after effect" solving neighboring issues around the targeted problem (depression and anxiety amongst youths), our goals are simple; 

We plan to provide a significant decrease and possible elimination of the depressive mental health impact around the world (providing a better socio economic environment on the population) as well it's surrounding problems such as low financial sustainability of the target users due to their lack of appropriate skill sets to foster their economic and social needs. 

Achieving this will be through consistency in the effectiveness of our entrepreneurship programs and skill acquisition workshops as users get to learn and utilize gained skills to improve their sustainability.

There is beauty and effectiveness in the simplicity of technology and this is the pivot powering our solution as all basic activities is being powered by our use of the internet and modern technology in reaching out to the public. 

As affected users fill our forms offline/online through our website, we reach out to them through our anonymous volunteer system via email of which afterwards we provide a friendly walkthrough with such individuals by our volunteers as we refer them to our psychologists if need be (or local psychologists outside the organization for the convenience of respective users), while we analyze offers to be made to fit each individuals skill requirement based on our organized system of entrepreneurship development programmes. All this shall be done through the use of the internet, involving our website, user emails and custom specific application softwares to ensure precautionary mood tracking procedures. Our volunteer system, entrepreneurship development database and network as well as our skill acquisition training all make foundational use of our website and emails to establish it's work.

We also make use of computers and mobile devices in our skill development education as the majority of our skill education are all technologically inclined and require the use of mobile phones and computers to make practice more efficient both by the organization and the public users. 

Other aspects of technology are kept in place in the acquisition of more specialized skills, our system dwells and grows from the reliability of technology as it's core, which in turn promotes it's high effectiveness.

Our solution currently serves about 1,200 youths according to our database (adults are excluded in this number) in the city of Calabar as we are certain to increase our reach to an estimated 10,000 youths this year and alot more if given the sustainability utilities needed. 

With members of the public actively and passionately involved in rendering services offered by the organization, we are currently faced with two barriers; financial capacity as we require more initial capital to provide stipends to workers as well as provide necessary equipments and utilities to our users seeking vocational technological skill training; and the need for more psychiatrists and psychologists as there is a low number of them in these parts of the world. Although the requirement of more psychiatrists is a barrier, our system is designed to function (although not as effective) with the number of psychiatrists available to us, hence a certain hindrance but not a full-on impediment.

The Helping Minds Global currently partners with three organizations within and outside it's local vicinity of organization; The WiDE project, Hopealive Network and the In-Sync network. These organizations aid the Helping Minds Global organization in disseminating it's reach as well as catalyzing the enlightenment of public users regarding the effective care of their mental health and the availability of youthful innovators such as the above mentioned organizations and it's call for volunteers. They also aid in the management of cooperate affairs and event planning as a team with HMG in creating an impactful outreach to the public. The In-Sync network aids the rapid development and effectiveness of the organization as it's application software provides a substantial amount of ease to the HMG team of professionals in user therapy and interaction.

Our system is a network of services designed to impact the youths as our target audience, mentally, financially and morally through technological assists and approach in innovative patterns throughout the globe. 

Over our research with various social groups and on a more personal level with individuals, we have realized the pressing need for mental health care of members of the population in both urban and rural areas. Upon our findings, we noticed underlying problems such as financial instability, academic difficulties, social/inter personal relationship crises and afew other distortions which act constantly as a threat to the normal mental wellbeing of these individuals. A network of problems requiring a network of solutions, hence our system of solutions to alleviate the difficulties on the minds of our audience in order to make solving the central problem (depression and anxiety) even easier and more effective.

 Our business model, being a service based enterprise, is based on the following key components:

1. Fundraising: We rely on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations to support our programs and services. We also apply for grants from government and private organizations to supplement our funding. Our main source of revenue is our market space, of which more will be expounded on in later texts.

2. Mental Health Therapy: We provide free, evidence-based mental health therapy to individuals who are struggling with depression and anxiety. Our therapy services are delivered by trained and licensed professionals and our expertly trained and screened volunteer system. Although the free mental health therapy is only available to people of young ages (14-27),  our volunteer system is available to people of all ages.

3. Technological Skill Acquisition: We aim to empower individuals with the technological skills they need to improve their employability and overall well-being. We provide training and resources on various technology-related topics such as coding, block chain education, data analysis and digital marketing to individuals and communities.

4. Enlightenment Campaigns: We conduct awareness campaigns to educate the public about depression and anxiety, and to reduce the stigma associated with these conditions. We also provide information about available resources and support services.

5. Research and Advocacy: We conduct research to better understand depression and anxiety and make better our programs and services. We also advocate for policies and systems that promote mental health and support those who are struggling.

Overall, our business model is focused on providing comprehensive and accessible mental health and technological support to individuals and communities worldwide, especially in rural areas, while also working to change the larger systems and structures that contribute to mental health disparities.

As a non governmental organization, it is important we have a steady means of funding to ensure we continue to pursue our objectives in rendering services to the society. 

To achieve this goal, we have implemented several strategies:

1. Marketplace: We have created a marketplace where we sell products and services that align with our mission and values. This provides a steady stream of revenue and also promotes our mission to the community. The Marketplace consist of consumable products like books and clothing, and an avenue for internal (and external) entrepreneurs to market their products in alignment with our services, whilst earning passive commission (fees) from this relationship.
2.  Grants and Donations: We actively seek out grants and donations from foundations, corporations, and individuals. This funding allows us to continue our programs and services.
3. Fundraiser Events: We hold regular fundraising events such as charity auctions, galas, seminars and community events to raise money and awareness for our cause.
4. Membership Fees: We offer membership options for those who want to support our mission on an ongoing basis while receiving perks of having a premium insight and partnership with the organisation. These membership fees provide a steady source of income.
5. Employment Commission: We also generate revenue through commissions earned by public users who having undergone our skill set program decide to work with us on a contract based employment, providing an easy employment opportunity for them, a means of sustainence and an excellent addition to their job profile while we get percentage commission from off of their work with us, especially staff in the digital marketing sector. 

By implementing these strategies, Helping Minds Global is able to achieve financial sustainability and continue our mission for the betterment of our community.