Emma Payne · 22 September 2025
When I first chose text messaging as the vehicle I'd use to build a global grief support platform, I thought it would be my MVP - something I could fund off the side of my desk while keeping my tech job. Text, I thought, was affordable, scalable, and nearly ubiquitous.
Flash forward 10 years and I believe my decision to build a text messaging platform was the best decision I could possibly have made. I've learned a lot about the technology, psychology, neuroscience, and impact of text as a mental health intervention. Other technologies come and go, but everyone still loves text messages. Here's why.Read more
Emma Payne · 17 September 2025
Among the million things I (embarrassingly) didn't know in 2016 when I started working on Help Texts (we were called Grief Coach back then), is that there's an incredible field of study called Thanatology, and that the world is full of (IMO undervalued) Thanatologists who make the end of life experience better. Much better.Read more
Melissa Lunardini · 9 September 2025
After the complex logistics of organ, tissue, or eye donation, donor families begin their grief journey, often with limited ongoing support. As donation leaders face increasing pressure to provide comprehensive aftercare while managing tight budgets and staff resources, Help Texts offers a proven solution that transforms your aftercare program's reach, effectiveness, and cost efficiency.Read more
Emma Payne · 8 September 2025
Grieving people are everywhere. Support isn’t. It’s time for that to change.
We’re asking healthcare systems, policymakers, and funders to stop treating grief like a footnote. Unlike with other public health issues, such as obesity, we know the exact moment when someone becomes bereaved. We know when a death is registered, when a funeral home files paperwork, when Social Security or the IRS reaches out. Vital Records Offices, coroners, and medical examiners all play a role after someone dies. But where’s the grief support?Read more
Rah Adams · 31 August 2025
When someone dies of an overdose, grief is often met with silence or stigma. On Overdose Awareness Day, let us remember that addiction is a disease, not an identity, and every life lost deserves compassion.Read more
Emma Payne · 21 August 2025
Two weeks ago I had the honor of traveling to Sacramento, to speak with 400 family members whose loved ones died last year. In their deep grief they decided that their loved ones would become tissue and organ donors.Read more
Rah Adams · 8 August 2025
When someone you love is grieving, it can feel impossible to know what to say. You don't want to say the wrong thing. You don't want to upset them. So you say nothing… or you wait too long… or you send something that doesn't quite feel right.Read more
Emma Payne · 29 July 2025
Since our launch in 2018, Help Texts has been breaking down the barriers to grief support.Read more
Melissa Lunardini · 28 July 2025
As someone who had been providing direct care for many years at that point, I was really skeptical. You might say that my protective "mama bear" came out, and I immediately scoffed at the idea that people could feel supported by simple text messages, especially considering my years of sitting with people in their darkest moments.Read more
Melissa Lunardini · 18 June 2025
For the millions of intended parents pursuing fertility treatment, the journey toward parenthood often involves hope and anticipation but also profound loss and grief. While fertility clinics excel at providing medical interventions to help families conceive, many fall short in addressing the emotional aftermath when treatments don't succeed or pregnancies end in loss.
Fertility clinics that recognize the inherent risk of disappointment and bereavement, and make it a priority to support their patients’ complete well-being with ongoing support, build trust with families, and optimize treatment outcomes, too. Read more