Help Anna Get an Office!

Hello dear friends and community members:

 Tl;dr: I need money to get into my very own office for my practice instead of subletting-- saving me money and allowing me to continue to help people who can't otherwise afford my services. Thanks so much for supporting me on this next step of my career!

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I'm doing something I never thought I'd do in asking for help in this fundraiser. I am pretty fiercely independent, and sometimes we all need a little something from our community. 

I am asking for funds to help me secure a full time office for my private practice. I'm currently paying nearly $1000/month for 3.5 days of office time/space, subletting from other therapists. This move would allow me to have a full time, 7 days/week office space for $1150/month. You can see how this would really benefit me and my business!

I wouldn't normally ask for this, but several people have reminded me that I do a lot for community, and it's ok to ask for something back. Here's a list of a few things I do to help community regularly, without return payment:

1) Provide connections/referrals for community members to mental health professionals/services. It's a tough system to navigate, and I offer my time and energy to help folks navigate it, when they ask.

2) Volunteer on the board of Bay Area Open Minds. I help to build community for and educate mental health professionals to be gender and sexuality affirming by organizing trainings and social events. 

3) Volunteer to provide crisis mental health services at Burning Man with the Emergency Services Department CIT-SAT team. This means that I take about two weeks of vacation per year to respond to sexual assault and domestic violence calls on playa.

4) Crisis intervention and community education for various communities/community members, as the need arises.

5) Keep 1/3 of my private practice at a reduced rate-- meaning I see clients for as low as $30/session to keep therapy accessible for everyone, when the going rate is $150-225 in San Francisco.

Having my own office space would give me more resources to be able to see clients, meaning that I can see more folks, meaning that I can see more at a reduced rate. I would have the freedom and flexibility to start a group for survivors of trauma and abuse again, meaning that I could utilize my time wisely to help more people, as well. 

This would mean a lot to me. I'm the only person I know who has made it this far in the therapist education, licensure, and business building process without a family member supporting them, at least part of the time. This would help me get my career off the ground a little easier, since it's not a loan to pay back. This would also mean a lot to community members and clients who can continue or start to receive support from me with expanded office hours.

Here's how the money would be used:

Security Deposit: $1150
First Month Rent: $1150
Furnishing Office: $1200
Total: $3500

Once I get into the office and setup, I know I can afford to stay there, as I've been paying nearly this much each month already-- it's simply the setup costs that are out of reach at this moment. 

Thanks for reading this far, and thanks for donating or passing along the link to folks who can. I am so grateful that I have community that I can ask for support. It's such a blessing and an honor to serve my community.