History


UMTR2ME-You Matter To Me 

UMTR2ME founder and CEO, Jimm Greer, has always had a passion for wanting to help those who struggle with mental illness and suicide.  Growing up as a young child Jimm struggled to understand his immense feelings of depression, isolation and failure at home and in school.  During his senior year of high school Jimm came to the conclusion that there was no reason to continue living in his pain and attempted to take his life by suicide.

10 years after his attempt Jimm was hospitalized for a major depressive episode and clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  It was during his hospitalization that Jimm determined to have a new outlook on his life and began his journey to achieve a positive and healthy mental wellness that continues to this very day.

Through many years of support, medication, counseling, and his faith, Jimm was finally able to find hope in the midst’s of his perceived hopelessness.  Equipped a better understanding of his mental health challenges, he set out to help others find that same hope he had found.  Jimm has never been ashamed nor embarrassed to share with others his mental health challenges and his attempt at suicide.  He has shared his personal story with audiences of all sizes and ages including students, military service, and community members.  Jimm’s passion for helping others came to life in August of 2012 when he launched the nonprofit initiative simply called, UMTR2ME.

UMTR2ME, which simply stands for the phrase, “You Matter to Me,” is a life changing and life-saving nonprofit organization that offers hope, support and encouragement to individuals who struggle with depression, mental health challenges, and suicide in addition to supporting family and friends, and we do that in a variety ways.

One of the primary ways we do that is through our silicone bracelet campaign.  These bracelets aren’t meant to be worn because they’re fun, cool or trendy. Rather, they’re meant to be worn as a beacon of hope, support, and encouragement, as well as serving as a resource, to all those who wear one.

On the one side of the bracelet you’ll find the simple yet powerful message, “You Matter To Me” and it’s our hope that when someone finds themselves in a dark or hopeless place, they can look at the bracelet on their wrist as a reminder they matter and they can reach out for help when they need to.  On the other side of the bracelet is the UMTR2ME website where individuals can find many local, national and international resources that are available to assist with whatever struggles they might be going through.

Struggles like addiction, depression, self-injury, mental illness and many others.  Our website also has a continually expanding list of local and national counselors and therapist that we’ve established referral relationships with.

Another way that UMTR2ME offers hope, support and encouragement is through several of our core programs which offer real personal connections; programs like Connecting with Coffee, Text2Talk, A Day at the Zoo, our 1-on-1 Mentor Sessions and our newest Impact Ambassador Program.  We’re also currently researching the possibility of piloting San Diego’s very first suicide attempters support group.

UMTR2ME also has a growing presence on most major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.  We believe that social media can be an invaluable resource where individuals can find real community from peers who offer their own words of hope, support, and encouragement.

Although UMTR2ME is a small grass roots organization, which offers the unique quality of a personal experience for individuals who struggle with many of life’s challenges, we also have a global presence that has been recognized in over 75 different countries and languages.  As a matter of fact, there are a “You Matter To Me” bracelets on the wrists of individuals in countries like Canada, Mexico and as far away as the UK, India, and Italy.

You might be wondering what makes our organization so unique and different from other large national organizations that also do great work within the space of mental illness and suicide prevention?  There are two words that best describe our unique difference and they are personal connection.  UMTR2ME doesn’t put our primary focus on quantity but rather quality.  We do everything we possibly can to ensure that anyone and everyone who reaches out to our organization receives the same level of personal connection as if they lived right in our very own community.

For those who actually live in San Diego that personal connection is simple to achieve through real in-person interaction.  But what about those who reach out to us from other countries?  How is a personal connection established with someone who lives across the globe?  In addition to personally responding to all emails and messages that are received on our social media platforms and through our website, we also conduct 1-on-1 mentor sessions via Zoom.

We believe we can help anyone find hope in the midst of their own perceived hopelessness by offering a personal level of hope, support, and encouragement to anyone struggling with any challenge leading them to consider suicide. We want to take full advantage of every opportunity we have to tell someone they matter to us today, because we may not have a chance to tell them tomorrow.

 

Meet Jimm