Where It Started

Cleveland's a city that doesn't quit. You see it everywhere — in the murals, the small businesses opening on corners that were empty for years, the people who stayed when everyone else left. But there's something we don't talk about enough: all that resilience takes a toll. Mental health in this city is real, and for a lot of people, it's also lonely. You could be struggling and have no one to talk to without feeling like a burden. Therapy's expensive. Community support? Even harder to find if you don't already know where to look.

After the pandemic, a handful of us started meeting up — not because we had a plan, but because we were tired of figuring it out alone. We were artists who burned out, teachers who didn't feel supported, people just trying to stay afloat. We kept ending up in the same conversations: How do you keep going when everything feels heavy? How do you ask for help when you're not sure help exists?

We decided to build something that actually answered those questions.

What We Do

"It's Okay to Think" started in early 2025 with a few conversations in coffee shops. We didn't have funding, a website, or a strategy. We just had people who needed to talk and a space where they could.

That's all it was supposed to be. But it grew.

Now we host weekly gatherings across Cleveland — open mics, backyard hangouts, festivals, "Think Nights" where we mix music, art, and actual honest conversation. We don't do wellness workshops that feel like corporate retreats. We do events where people show up, share what's real, and leave feeling like they're not the only one who feels this way.

Parents come. Students come. People who work two jobs and still find time to care about their community — they come. Over a thousand people have walked through our events so far.

The Problem

Here's the thing: we're running on fumes.

We've kept this going with volunteers, a few small donations, and the help of partners like Microverse Connects and the Coffee Club network. Every event we've hosted, we've stretched every dollar. We pay what we can to local artists, keep mental health resources available, and try to make sure no one gets left out because they can't contribute financially.

But we can't keep doing this with nothing behind us. Our events cost money. Facilitators deserve to be paid. We want to expand, but we can't safely host bigger gatherings without real resources.

So we're being direct: we need $53,000 to keep this going and grow into neighborhoods that still don't have access to any of this.

Where Your Money Goes

- Expanding to three more Cleveland neighborhoods

- Keeping "It's Okay to Party" running — our biggest event, which now pulls 100+ people plus families every time

- Paying community facilitators who hold these spaces

- Building partnerships with schools, artists, and wellness orgs

- Training more volunteers to lead their own circles

Why This Matters

We've shown this works. A thousand people have already found something here. By next year, we're aiming to reach another thousand. But the math is simple: without funding, the spaces close. The conversations stop. The people who showed up because they needed to be somewhere — they go back to figuring it out alone.

We started this because we believed healing doesn't have to be expensive or private. It can be community-built. It can be messy, loud, and real.

But belief alone doesn't pay for a venue.

If you've ever been the person sitting in the back of a room feeling like no one else gets it — you know what it costs to not have that space. Help us make sure more Clevelanders never have to.

Help us reach $53,000.

Because in Cleveland, thinking out loud shouldn't be a luxury. It should be the norm.

Keep It’s Okay Going

A fundraiser to sustain two core programs