2022 Impact Report

Sharing Hope

Social media continues to create new opportunities to share the message of hope and carry out the mission of TWLOHA. Over the course of 2022, we shared more than 5,000 posts across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Each one of those posts was an opportunity to connect someone to a lived mental health experience, a message of encouragement, or a critical moment to deliver resources when it was needed the most.

TWLOHA BLUE

Our TWLOHA Blue Crew gets its namesake from the color of the stitches on the first TWLOHA T-shirt. Blue Crew members support our mission with a monthly donation that allows our team to be present in places and spaces across the country to start more in-person conversations about mental health. Whether it’s a $1 or $100 monthly donation, each recurring gift makes it possible for hope to go just a little bit further.

“I have struggled with mental health for years, much of it when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I want to do what I can to support those who bring support to people struggling with their own mental health.”

Kaitlin, Joined October 2022

“I've believed in your mission for as long as I can remember and your words have helped me find comfort in difficult times. I know you've helped so many people and I am happy to help keep this going.”

Jenna, Joined February 2022

Sharing Stories

Our Blog + Podcast + App

As an organization built on storytelling, we utilize our blog and podcast to share stories of lived experiences that help others know they’re not alone. In 2022, we shared blogs and podcast episodes touching on mental health topics like addiction, Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and suicide prevention. Our intention is to always make sure we’re talking about the things that feel hard to talk about. This is how we continue to unravel and challenge stigma and to share hope. Through the words we share, we create the world we aspire to exist in.

Launched in March 2021, The Hopeful is TWLOHA’s app designed as a daily-use self-care app featuring encouragement, journaling, and mood tracking. The first full year of The Hopeful saw thousands of downloads. Through unique journaling prompts, recording your emotions, and encouraging quotes, The Hopeful invites users to honestly reflect on how they’re feeling and provides a way to record themes and moods throughout the week, month, and year.

Our Merch

What started 16 years ago as a post on Myspace and a box of T-shirts is now a global movement still sharing hope and helping people get connected to the professional care they need and deserve. Every time you wear TWLOHA, you further our mission and deepen the impact within your community.

Often, we hear the question, “Why T-shirts?” In the beginning, before TWLOHA was even a non-profit, there was only one shirt, and it served the purpose of helping to pay for one person’s treatment. In early 2006, there was no plan to start an organization or create a movement. But as TWLOHA began to grow, we continued to use merchandise as a way to fund this work.

When you wear TWLOHA, you’re joining a movement of people who believe—without a shadow of a doubt—that hope is real. But the shirts, hoodies, bracelets, and hats aren’t only about long-term financial support for the organization. Every piece of merchandise has a much bigger purpose. They’re a conversation starter. They’re something that ties supporters together as a community. They spread the TWLOHA message to someone who might not have found us otherwise. While we will never know the number of people who see a shirt “in the wild” and later search, “What is TWLOHA?”—we do know that each conversation that is sparked because of a shirt or sticker or keychain helps break down the stigma surrounding mental health.

However you support TWLOHA, we thank you for caring about our mission and caring for your communities so deeply. We are so glad you are a part of our story still going.