Project HEAL assists in accessing inpatient, residential, intensive outpatient, and outpatient treatment for applicants suffering from an eating disorder who want to recover but cannot afford treatment. Applicants are asked to indicate their desired level of treatment, preferences for place of treatment, and why, directly on the application. Project HEAL does not assist past treatment stays, or education scholarships.
Project HEAL’s primary criteria for selecting recipients is motivation. We assist applicants who want to recover from their eating disorders, and are ready to do the hard work required. Because of the online format of this application, we rely heavily on the amount of effort that you put into your application, and on how compelling a case you make to us about desire to recover and willingness to work hard, to assess motivation. Additionally, we prioritize applicants who are likely to do well in treatment based upon research regarding the predictors of sustained recovery from eating disorders such as shorter length of illness, fewer past treatment stays, fewer co-morbid conditions, and well thought out supports and motivators for after treatment (school, career, family support, future plans, etc). If you have had the illness for a longer time and multiple stays in treatment, you may still apply, but will need to strongly articulate why you want to get better now, why this time is different, and how you plan to tackle future challenges. Finally, financial need is taken into account. In the event that the clinical advisory board receives multiple applications from equally appropriate candidates for treatment assistance, a lottery system will be used.
