Often "crisis" is mistaken for "criminal." Our prisons and streets are full of people suffering from serious mental illness. The effects of the illnesses cause them to become incarcerated, keep them on the streets, or both. We not only exist to help those in need in tangible ways, but we also exist to educate and break stigmas around the impacts of mental illness.
Get Involved
We focus on one life at a time. But, the bottom line is we cannot do it alone. There are too many lives in crisis. When we partner with organizations, businesses, and individuals, we become stronger, have a bigger reach, and ultimately, impact more lives and evoke more change. There are many ways to get involved with One Starfish Foundation. Please consider helping our cause and helping us fulfill our mission.
It is incredibly expensive for people to be incarcerated... Roughly $38,000 per year on average. Not only is psychiatric treatment far less expensive, it is also preventative. It helps to restore mentally ill individuals and keep them out of prisons and off the street.
Not only can mental illness lead to homelessness and incarceration, often those things turn into a death sentence. Nearly 25% of people shot and killed by police have a mental health condition and suicide is the leading cause of death for those in local jail cells.
25% of people experiencing homelessness also suffer from a serious mental illness. In our communities, mental illness is a root cause for keeping prisons full, people on the streets, and even adding stress to our hospital emergency departments.
Approximately 1.7 million children in the United States have a parent that is incarcerated. The overall U.S. prison population is made up of 93.5% men and 6.5% women. The data shows that mental illness and incarceration are heavily impacting families, the communities and future generations.
We believe in being "boots on the ground." We are on the streets, in the shelters, and amongst the people who need us. We put together outreach teams to pass out food, supplies and make relationships.
We host events to serve those in need in big ways with a large team of volunteers. We also host events to connect with businesses and organizations that want to help our cause.
We connect with employers who want to provide those in need with jobs and ultimately help give them a sense of purpose and direction.
The employers we connect with allow us to place the people we serve in a job. This is key in getting someone's life back on track and providing purpose.
In addition to job placement, we work to help those we serve to get them off the streets and secure affordable housing.
Our outreach teams provide food, beverages, hygiene items, blankets, sleeping bags, and more to those who need them.
We collect donations and use them within our organization to ultimately serve those in need in the most effective ways we can.
When it comes to incarceration and homelessness, there are a lot of assumptions. We work to break stigmas and spark reform.
We are based in the Grand Rapids, MI area. We believe our efforts can change lives and impact the community alike.
