We need your help to provide no-cost mental health care!
Dear Bridgercare advocate,
Long before the pandemic, mental health was falling behind in Montana.
For years, our state has consistently ranked at the bottom for mental health resources with the fourth-highest suicide rates in the country.
Now, we are reckoning with a global pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 has caused so much loss. The loss of jobs, loss of health insurance, loss of security, even the loss of life.
The loss of precious moments spent with loved ones, and loss of time to care for ourselves.
In the midst of this unprecedented time, Bridgercare is hiring a counselor to provide no-cost mental health care. Will you help our community gain a resource that is so urgently needed? You can ensure that every patient who walks through our doors has compassionate, affordable, and excellent care.
Can you make a gift of $25, $100, or $250 by December 31st to ensure that whole-person healthcare is accessible to all Bridgercare patients?
YOU can make sure that patients aren’t forced to make another sacrifice to take care of their well-being. Or worse yet, not be able to care for their health at all.
I’d like to introduce you to Eleanor*, a Bridgercare patient who wants you to know what your gift means to Bridgercare:
*Name changed for patient privacy
“Bridgercare always takes time to ask about how I’m doing– something that other doctors have never done. Your gift ensures that the pandemic never interferes with compassionate care. When I go into Bridgercare for my annual exam or birth control or testing, they go beyond sexual and reproductive health. My provider at Bridgercare truly cares about my mental health.
I had seasonal depression a while back and my Bridgercare provider helped me manage my mental health in a way that was right for me. But if I had urgently needed a counselor, it could have been a much larger struggle. I’ve never had to find a counselor on my own, and I’m not sure how I would do it. What if I couldn’t afford it? What if I couldn’t find the right person? I know I would have needed help and Bridgercare has always been there for me.”
You can make sure patients like Eleanor have access to both reproductive healthcare services AND a counselor, all right here in the clinic.
Will you make a gift by December 31 to ensure access to care?
This needs to happen now. Bridgercare has been witnessing the impact of COVID19 and more of our patients in crisis. Heartbreakingly, we are seeing more patients actively considering suicide.“Whole-person healthcare is what Bridgercare does best. They helped me get a flu shot, STI tests, birth control, and a physical exam in the same visit. Rather than sending me all over town, they took care of me right in the clinic. Mental health counseling will make their care even better and could make all the difference for someone.” – Eleanor
Not only are patients dealing with stress created by the pandemic, but they are also facing the fear of restrictions on reproductive healthcare or insurance. During this election, Bridgercare saw increased requests for long-term birth control, including a 30% increase in IUDs (a birth control method that lasts 5 years).
Our patients are feeling the threats to their care during a time already overwhelmed by stress.
We are depending on you. You understand that this affects all of us. Together, we can rise up.
You ensure Bridgercare is ready to tackle whatever 2021 throws our way!
Here is what your gift to Bridgercare can accomplish:
$25 – covers expenses for me to testify during the legislative session to protect healthcare for all Montanans
$60 - pays for a no-cost mental health session with our counselor
$140 - provides a lesson on consent to high school juniors... which might be the ONLY time they get this information before they graduate
$270 - pays for an annual wellness exam and cancer screenings for a patient who has lost their job due to the pandemic
$500 - helps a survivor of domestic violence access free healthcare services
$1,200 - covers the cost of an IUD (99.9% effective birth control) for one newly uninsured patient
One thing we know for certain about our Bridgercare family is that you are always here to help one another. Our patients give us a reason to fight for a more equitable future, and you give us hope that it is possible!
If you believe in this vision for the future, you have the power to make it happen. Our patients need you. Please make a gift today.
In solidarity,
Stephanie McDowell
Executive Director
P.S. Remember, you ensure Eleanor’s story has a happy ending. Every dollar you give by December 31st will support someone like Eleanor to take control of their health and achieve their full potential, regardless of income or insurance. You are a champion for every patient.