Provider Directory FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Why bother making a directory?

The idea of a directory started with two major questions… Since taking over HelpingFamiliesHelp.com in 2019, hands down the most common question I receive from families is “How do I find a provider in my area?”

And since being introduced to the CRAFT community in 2016, one of the most common questions I hear from CRAFT-based providers is “This approach is life changing… how is that more people don’t know about it?”

I think both questions are connected. Families don’t know how to find us… and even as providers, it’s hard to find others who are doing this work. I’m hoping this directory will be a part of changing that. By connecting with one another, pointing towards each other, encouraging each other, and lifting each other up, we can not only help more families find us and continue to spread the word about CRAFT-based approaches, but also help ourselves with increased momentum, community, and support. Just as we encourage families to connect with others in their work, we can do the same to support our own well-being and resilience… and to greater amplify the work of CRAFT-based approaches.

What’s up with directory fee pricing system?

The annual directory fee pricing system serves two values-based goals.

The first is that I want this directory to be accessible to people across the globe who come from a wide range of economic ability. If you are providing CRAFT-based services to your community, I didn’t want the access to money to be what gets in the way of you being a part of this directory. As mentioned above, I think greater connection is a key to greater resilience…which means making this as accessible as possible for all of us.

The second is that I want this directory to be sustainable for me…and to have it at least support itself which includes paying for the time that I, and my virtual assistant, put into it. And, someday, if it actually offered a little bit of profit….that would be cool too!

So my choices are:

I could price low and have the door open to as many providers as possible…but not be sustainable for myself over time.
I could price higher, and be more likely to reach sustainability for me…but lose members of our provider community.
I could come up with some kind of sliding-scale structure that takes into account the variables of income and world currency exchange rates and circumstance while keeping in mind the larger influences of the generational effects of social injustice on different groups of people.
Or…I could trust you.

I choose option 4.

But why is the range so huge? How do I choose what to give? If I could simply pay $10 a year…why on earth would I choose to pay more?

The range is wide as I don’t know anyone’s circumstance, and I don’t want to make joining this directory a hardship for anyone who is providing CRAFT-based services. I also don’t want to turn away financial support from anyone who is in a position to, and willing to, offer it. So the range is wide to capture both experiences. As we know… One size doesn’t fit all. :)

I am trusting you to meet me at your individual balance point of being both sustainable for you while also economically just for your circumstances. I’m hoping that by doing it this way, we can together support the possibility of every provider being listed while also having the directory being financially sustainable over time.

And if it turns out that you estimated wrong and you want to adjust (either up or down), simply let me know and we can figure it out.

What am I actually paying for?

Helping Families Help (HFH) currently costs about $500 USD out of pocket to maintain, annually, with hosting and domain and Google Workspace just as it is. After the directory hits 25 entries it will add an additional $120 USD a year in fees. If we all rock this and get past 100 entries, it jumps to $240… for a total of $640 in fees. There’s also an insurance rider that I carry…just in case. These are just the annual fees and do not include the start-up costs or any of the time that has been put into the HFH site or the creation of the directory, either for me or my virtual assistants.

You are helping to pay for the financial costs of maintaining the site and for the time that I put into creating and maintaining the directory. If this ends up making a profit over time, you will also be supporting me making a greater investment of time and resources into the HFH website itself… which will likely bring more traffic…which means more families looking at your directory entry and the entries of your colleagues. (As a clinician in a solo private practice, I will need to see fewer clients to be able to invest even more of my time into the HFH website… so your support really matters.)

With your payments you are helping support one small answer to both of the questions posed at the top of the page: let’s give families a way to find us easily AND create more connection between us so that we can keep pointing at each other, lifting each other up, and amplifying CRAFT-based work in our communities.