The Mental Health Warrior Scholarship is run by Letters to Strangers, a youth-run nonprofit founded in 2013 by Diana Chao that describes itself as the largest global youth-run organisation working to destigmatise mental illness. One winner each year receives US$3,000 to spend on professional mental health care.
The award turns on need rather than achievement. Applicants must be adults who have real difficulty reaching or paying for professional mental health services, and the single winner is drawn at random from everyone found eligible — there is no judging panel.
The money is paid to the health providers the winner chooses, or reimbursed against costs the organisation approves, and it can be drawn down over as long as five years. Applications for 2026 closed on 31 March 2026 and the next cycle has not been posted.
Benefits & funding
- One grand prize of US$3,000, usable only on professional health services, prescriptions and other healthcare-related expenses.
- Paid directly to health providers the winner selects, or reimbursed by check once the organisation approves proof of the cost.
- Costs are eligible from six months before the public announcement of the win to five years after it.
- The prize can be taken in one go or in installments; anything unused after five years is forfeited, and the award is non-transferable.
- Every applicant, winner or not, receives the organisation’s mental wellbeing materials.
Eligibility
- At least 18 at the time of entry, or the legal age of majority in your state of residence if that is higher.
- Demonstrable difficulty due to finances, location or other restrictive means in accessing or using professional mental health services; this is verified if you are selected.
- Open to any person meeting those criteria — no nationality, residency, school enrolment or degree requirement. Entrants in 2026 came from 88 countries and territories.
- Additional consideration goes to applicants aged 13 to 26 and to members of Letters to Strangers chapters, and the draw gives extra weight to underrepresented demographics; the 18-year floor still applies to this award. These are preferences, not requirements.
- Employees, officers, directors and agents of the organisation, their immediate families and people living at the same address cannot win. Void where prohibited by law.
- One entry per person, and the entry must be your own work.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Age requirement
≥ 18 yrs
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Application process
- 1Wait for the competition period to open; the 2026 round ran from 1 February to 31 March.
- 2Open the scholarships page and start the Warrior Scholarship entry form, hosted on Google Forms.
- 3Submit one entry by 11:59 pm Pacific Time on the closing date; a mailed entry to the organisation’s Claremont, California address is also accepted.
- 4Winners are notified roughly four to five weeks after the competition period ends and must accept within 48 hours of notification.
- 5If selected, evidence the difficulty accessing care that you described, so the organisation can verify it.
- 6Submit healthcare costs for approval, then receive payment to your provider or reimbursement by check.
Program timeline
Competition period opens
Feb 1, 2026
Entry deadline, 11:59 pm Pacific Time
Mar 31, 2026
Winners notified, four to five weeks after the deadline
2026-05 (approx.)
2026
The 2026 Warrior Scholarship winner is announced publicly
Next competition period opens; the organisation has not confirmed a date
2027-02 (expected)