Every Purchase Fuels Change
Where shopping meets advocacy. Every collectible tells a story of change.
The Vision Behind Collect;bles for Change™
Tippecanoe County is facing a severe housing crisis, with over 191K+ residents. The cost of living continues to rise, yet our wages do not. This causes our families to live in homes containing health hazards such as mold, with abusive slumlords who raise rents and then evict. Other families live in unsafe neighborhoods, due to not having any other options. In either situation, parents are faced with the stress of making sacrifices elsewhere to make ends meet - like essential healthcare, prescriptions, groceries, transportation, and utilities. For some, this can lead to homelessness.
Despite four attempts in the 2025 Indiana legislative session to criminalize homelessness, the root causes remain unaddressed. On July 24, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order titled "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets" (https://www.whitehouse.gov/.../ending-crime-and-disorder.../). This order addressed the legality of homelessness saying, "The overwhelming majority of these individuals (the homeless) are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both."
If this is true, statistics show that unresolved adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are the leading risk factor and a major contributing cause for many drug addiction and mental health disorders, with studies showing a strong association between higher numbers of ACEs and increased odds of substance use and other health problems.
If we do not help our kids when they are young, they have a greater chance of growing up to be "dysfunctional adults," and the cycle just repeats itself. If you have a child under 18 who needs mental health services, they can talk to a professional every other week - or once a week - if they are lucky. We do not have a single substance abuse service here. If you have Medicaid, it will be a YEAR wait before your child can even get that. Tippecanoe County is getting ready to build its 3rd and 4th full-service hospitals w/ERs and we are home to Purdue University, yet we do not have a single resource beyond what is mentioned above for our adolescents. We should have intensive outpatient programs and an inpatient facility for BOTH mental health and substance abuse SPECIFICALLY for our youth that ACCEPT MEDICAID. Right now, the closest is over an hour away and that is unacceptable.
So who am I? I am a mom who has been told "no" and "we don't have that here" too many times for where I live. I have been asked, “yeah, but what are you going to do about it?”
Collect;bles for Change is a social benefit retail boutique located within Lafayette, Indiana. We do multiple pop up events and have an e-commerce store. Our mission is twofold: to offer affordable shopping and to serve as a platform to actively advocate for mental health and substance abuse resources for youth in Tippecanoe County. We offer Shop Pay Installments so people are able to "Buy now, pay later" on purchases totally more than $35. We offer a full array of items, from Collector's Rarities, to homemade crafts, and even furniture! Some items are local pickup only due to this.
Therefore, we will contribute a minimum of 10% of our profits every quarter to ACTIVE ADVOCACY. What do I mean by that? I don't simply mean writing a check and donating money. All of our major mental health associations need money. I am talking about getting up on a stage with a microphone making sure AS MANY people as possible in this area know about this horrible problem.
To be honest, I loathe politics. I really do. All too often I feel that politicians vote based off of what their "party" wants, not what their constituents want. What I DO like about the political system? When there is a problem SO BIG that a large chunk of those 191 THOUSAND of us Tippecanoe County residents are making enough noise that we want our money HERE, specifically for our KIDS and their MENTAL HEALTH. Guess what makes us forget about politics and "which side we are on"? Thinking about our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and wanting help for THEM.
THAT is who I am and THAT is the vision behind Collect;bles for Change.