Katherine Olives
City College is one of the most diverse campuses in the nation. Likewise, our zahntrepreneurs are especially unique because of their diverse experiences. One such entrepreneur is Aashna Shah, founder of Gleam. Since struggling with depression in high school, Shah channeled her energy into a mission to help others live with mental illnesses. Recently, Shah was awarded with a prestigious grant for Gleam from Education for Fair Consideration (E4FC)s Fund for Undocumented Social Entrepreneurs.
According to Shah, Undocumented, or €˜DACAmented, students are not often eligible for a lot of opportunities despite how qualified they are. Its amazing that E4FC is taking on this problem and supporting entrepreneurs.
E4FC's Fund for Undocumented Social Entrepreneurs received 169 proposals from 222 undocumented young people, living in 26 different states and hailing from 32 countries of origin. Shah believes this incredible response shows how much undocumented entrepreneurs have to offer to the communities that often exclude them. E4FC selected five winning projects, and over the next year, FUSE will disburse $250,000 in grants and provide these entrepreneurs the mentorship, coaching, and support they need for their projects to succeed. Gleam, an online platform helping mental health professionals optimize the treatment they provide, will receive $50,000.
Gleam not only allows therapists the ability to monitor patient progress, but it gives patients a secure digital platform to practice their therapeutic exercises, allowing them to stay connected to the recovery process at all times. Its main goal is to improve mental health care in lower income communities by making it more readily available. For Shah, The most exciting thing about Gleam is the opportunity to create change and help a population that so often gets overlooked.
The FUSE Grant will help Gleam reach those who cant afford proper mental health care at clinics and shelters. With the money, theyll be able to make their platform more robust with new features, and meet mental health professionals at conferences across the country.
You can help Shah & Gleam help those who need it most, and improve the quality of life for so many by sharing their platform at gleamtherapy.com.