Welcome to Hope Xchange - Where Healing Starts with Hope

Our most vulnerable and high risk in the bipolar community, particularly our LGBTQIA and youth, are dying by suicide ​in not just staggering but heartbreaking numbers. We are dedicated to changing this.

Hope Xchange's early intervention, compassion-driven suicide prevention and management programs reach those who are struggling with a mental illness wherever and whenever they need us most. We connect in a nonjudgemental and caring manner, strengthening and empowering by renewing life purpose and restoring hope as this is how we've discovered you can save and improve lives. 

While highly functioning, members of our key executive staff and our mentoring team have been diagnosed with a mental illness, so we truly get it.  
We believe each and every one of us deserves someone who cares and no one should ever feel like they have to go through life alone. Hope Xchange brings back love, laughter and light into the lives of those struggling to not only hold onto hope, but to life itself. ​​

Message from Kerry Martin, CEO & Founder

Challenges We Must Conquer with Urgency and Compassion

Our programs target those disproportionately affected by suicide in the bipolar community, particularly our youth and LGBTQIA populations. The latest statistics on suicide and attempts speak to the urgency of the truly staggering and heartbreaking problem we're facing.

Youth

Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 24 (Trevor Project).

LGBTQIA YOuth

Suicide is the leading cause of death for LGBT youth, with this group making up 30% of all youth suicide (Suicide Prevention Resource Center). According to the Trevor Project, LGBT youth are 4 times more likely to commit suicide than those of the same age range that identify as straight.

Transgender youth

50% of people who identify as transgender have had suicidal thoughts at some point, with 25% of those who identify as transgender actually acting on these thoughts (Trevor Project).

bipolar disorder

It is currently estimated that 4 to 6% of the population has some form of bipolar disorder, with bipolar disorder affecting 5.7 million adults, 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older, every year.  According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 83% of these cases are considered “severe” and 51% are not receiving healthcare treatment. 

The risk of suicide of those living with bipolar disorder is 20 to 30 times greater than that associated with the general population, is significantly higher than other depressive disorders, with 80% suffering from suicidal ideation.

Of those with bipolar disorder, 50% attempt suicide at some point in their lives, with 11% to 20% succeeding. Over a five-year period, 28% of people with bipolar will attempt suicide. 

Not surprisingly, given these statistics, those with bipolar disorder are admitted to an ER or inpatient hospital an average of five times a year. 

​The treatment of bipolar disorder is not only challenging but among the most costly of all mental health conditions, costing the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $30 billion in direct expenditures and $120 billion in indirect costs annually. 

​It is also considered among the ten most disabling medical conditions worldwide and is the sixth leading cause of disability (World Health Organization).

We Can Not Do This Alone. Each and Every One of Us is Needed for Suicide Prevention and Mental Wellness.

We know how to save and improve lives. We do it every day by mentoring and advocating. However, with your help, we can accomplish so much more, particularly if we can intervene even earlier.

Not only is early intervention absolutely critical, collaborative bridges with schools, hospitals, criminal justice and social service systems, and other nonprofits must be built on a foundation of caring and compassion, so that we can extend the delivery of mental wellness services into our communities. This effort is now getting underway via our new initiative, the Hope Xchange Timebank, a Currency of Hope and Wellness.

But we can not do this alone. We need your generous help. Please consider making a donation today.

“I believe that if we can get to our children early enough, we can prevent them from even thinking about suicide in the first place - just take that option off the table. The first 60 months of life are absolutely critical to their view of whether or not children feel loved and their perception of value, importance, and worth in this world.”
~ Kerry Martin, CEO and Founder

Enter our #130ReasonsWhyNot Contest to Win and Prevent Suicide

In response to the Netflix series "13 Reasons Why," a fictional drama about a 17-year-old who leaves behind audio recordings explaining why she committed suicide, we launched a daily social media campaign, #130ReasonsWhyNot, to share 130 reasons why not. The driving force was our concern for teens across the country struggling after watching and the real potential for copy-cat suicides (which unfortunately did occur). 

​While we have hundreds of more reasons we could share, we wanted to ask YOU for your reason! By entering our contest you can win fun prizes if your reason is chosen to be one of our last five. As an added benefit, you can lift someone up who may be struggling and perhaps even save a life.

Click here for all the contest details and to learn more about our fun prizes. Together, let's lift up those who may be struggling and give them a reason to not only hold onto hope, but to life itself. Contest ends August 15!

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With gratitude and blessings from our family to yours.