Affording medications can be life or death.

Across our state, people are struggling with job loss, barriers to getting on AHCCCS/Medicaid, rising costs of living and rising costs of health insurance premiums.

People are being forced to make choices.

Do I pay for groceries this month, or my antidepressant?

Do I pay for my car payment, or my psychiatric visit?

Let's be honest.

More often than not, mental health will come last.

And when we put aside our mental health, we put all of our progress at risk. Whether you've spent weeks, months, years or decades in healing, the repercussions of relapse are high. Not being able to afford your stimulant when you have ADHD might mean you end up in a car accident because of inattention. It may mean you lose your job because you are tardy again after doing so well for the last year. When you have depression or anxiety, it might mean you lose the ability to work at all once you stop treatment.

Therapy and medication are genuinely important pieces of functioning for so many Americans. 1 in 4 Americans have a mental health disorder. About 1 in 5 actually receive mental health treatment, and about 16% of Americans take psychiatric medications.

No one is above the risk of losing their health insurance or their job. And it is not a fair choice to then decide if you need to wean off of your psychiatric medication because you can no longer afford it. Or even worse, no longer being able to afford your child's medication.

Medication can very well be the difference between choosing life and choosing to no longer be alive.

Around 290,000 Arizona adults have serious thoughts of committing suicide every year.

79,000 Arizona adolescents have serious thoughts of suicide each year.

In 2019, around 350,000 Arizonans reported needing mental health care, but not being able to access it. Cost was a main culprit.

And to think that billionaires are just sitting in their wealth.

We have spent years offering pro-bono and sliding scale slots, but we are just one practice. And this is an entire system that is broken. I can offer free visits until my eyes bleed out, but I can't cover the costs of medications or therapy. I can't ensure that someone's health insurance even covers their mental health care. So what can I do? What can we do?

I launched Paperflower Foundation to bridge the cost of therapy, medications, psychiatric evaluations, psychiatric visits, IOP, sensory gear, and other necessary mental health care across our state.

If our government cannot be relied upon to support people in accessing care, then we will need to do it ourselves.

While I plan to donate a portion of Paperflower's revenue annually to the Foundation, I still need support. I need practices to partner with. I need people to step up and give as little as $5 or $10 to cover a copay or deductible. I need places to drop brochures. I need support in making fundraisers and events.

Together, we can raise enough funds to kickstart this into action. To actually give support. I am taking no salary from this. All proceeds are going directly into helping people with costs. 100% of donations. Full transparency.

Please consider sponsoring a copay or therapy visit today. If you have the means, the universe will give tenfold back to you someday.

Let's show Arizona what it looks like when our community shows up.

Sponsor a patient by clicking here.

Learn more about Paperflower Foundation and how to get involved by clicking here.

Buy Paperflower Shirts here. New merch is launching March 1, 2026.

Buy a CEU as a clinician here -- all proceeds go to Paperflower Foundation.