Help Us Build Save Tomorrow Project: A Place to Start

Hi, my name is Diego James, and I'm the founder of Save Tomorrow Project here in Tucson, Arizona.

I started this project because of the fentanyl crisis and the number of lives we're losing. But as I started looking more closely at the problem, I realized something bigger.

Sometimes the help already exists. People just can't reach it.

There are organizations in our community doing incredible work. There are food programs, shelters, healthcare providers, behavioral-health services, substance-use programs, employment resources, transportation assistance, and people willing to help.

But imagine trying to navigate all of that when your phone is dead. When you don't have transportation. When you're missing an ID. When you don't know which organization to call. Or when you've already been sent from place to place so many times that you're ready to give up.

That's the gap Save Tomorrow Project is being built to fill.

We're creating a place to start.

Our approach is simple:

Listen. Identify. Assist. Connect. Follow through.

We listen to what someone actually needs. We identify what's standing in their way. We help with that first barrier when we can. We connect them with the organization that's equipped to help. And when appropriate, we follow through to find out whether that connection actually worked.

We're not trying to replace the organizations already serving Tucson.

We're trying to build bridges to them.

We're also building and maintaining a community Resource Bank, so people can find accurate information about housing, food, healthcare, mental health, substance-use support, overdose prevention, transportation, benefits, employment, legal assistance, disability resources, pet and service-animal resources, and other essential services.

And fentanyl education and overdose prevention remain at the heart of this work. We want people to understand the risks, recognize an overdose, know about naloxone, and know where to turn for help.

But building this takes more than an idea.

That's why we're asking for your help.

The money raised through this campaign will help us build the infrastructure needed to turn Save Tomorrow Project into a dependable community resource.

It will help support things like outreach and educational materials, printing, technology, resource verification, volunteer training and screening, safety supplies, transportation, community events, insurance, nonprofit and administrative expenses, and the basic operating costs required to get this work into the community.

We're starting carefully because we don't want to make promises we can't keep.

Our philosophy is:

Start. Measure. Grow.

Start with what we can do responsibly. Measure whether it's actually helping. Learn where the gaps are. Then grow based on what the community tells us it needs.

And our long-term vision is bigger.

We want to establish a physical Save Tomorrow community resource center where someone can walk through the door without already knowing which agency they need.

A welcoming place where people can find information, connect with resources, charge a phone, attend education or training, speak with someone privately, meet community partners, and simply have somewhere to begin.

But we have to build that future one responsible step at a time.

Whether you donate five dollars, fifty dollars, share this fundraiser, volunteer, connect us with another organization, or simply tell somebody about what we're building, you become part of Save Tomorrow Project.

Because saving tomorrow doesn't always require doing something enormous.

Sometimes it starts with helping one person get through the next door.

Save a mother. Save a brother. Save a stranger. Save each other.

Save tomorrow, starting with today.

Thank you for believing that everybody deserves a place to start.

http://savetomorrowproject.org