THE H COLLECTIVE BUILDING
THE SUPPORT WE WISHED EXISTED.
THE H COLLECTIVE DIDN’T START WITH STRATEGY, SPREADSHEETS, OR A FORMAL MISSION.
It began with lived experience. With two women, Marti Hines and Chelsea Hettrick, who found themselves navigating the isolating world of Multiple Sclerosis without the kind of support that truly understood them.
In 2018, Marti and Chelsea both learned they were living with MS, just months apart. Navigating the disease side by side, they began to see how isolating and relentless life with MS could be, not just physically, but emotionally and logistically. Through their shared experience, they recognized a deeper need for support, community, and care that spoke to the full reality of the illness.
So, they built their own support system, starting small, with a brunch. What began as a single fundraiser soon became an annual event, growing into a sanctuary of connection, joy, and purpose. It was during those gatherings surrounded by friends, caregivers, and fellow MS warriors that the vision for The H Collective came to life.
The Mission
THE H COLLECTIVE IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION CREATED BY AND FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.
ITS MISSION IS SIMPLE BUT URGENT:
TO CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN DIAGNOSIS AND DIGNITY.
Rooted in the MS community, The H Collective builds support for women navigating chronic illness that is too often misunderstood, undertreated, and isolating.Through direct financial aid, culturally aware education, and community-centered experiences, the organization creates spaces where women are seen, heard, and truly supported.
Current Work
THE H COLLECTIVE’S CORE PROGRAMS REFLECT THE NEEDS OF ITS COMMUNITY THAT ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED OR DISMISSED.
DIRECT FINANCIAL AID:
Helping cover medical costs, transportation, mobility aids, and other essential needs that aren’t always supported by insurance.
From healing retreats to intimate gatherings, every event is designed to offer rest, connection, and belonging.
COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES:
Hosting workshops, sharing resources, and producing content that speaks directly to the lived experience of chronic illness.
EDUCATION THAT RESONATES:
THE INITIATIVE
The H Collective is the foundation. What we're building next is the infrastructure.
H House is a physical space and program where that support comes to life through care navigation, education, and community. It's where the mission becomes a place you can walk into.
Haven Health is the revenue-generating business that provides similar services to paying clients, funding H House and making free access possible for those who need it most.
Together, they form a model designed to sustain itself and grow.
The Knowledge Corner Project
ONE OF THE H COLLECTIVE’S MOST AMBITIOUS INITIATIVES IS ALREADY UNDERWAY:
The Knowledge Corner Project, a transitional housing model for people with MS who are navigating incarceration, homelessness, or health-related displacement.
Phase One involves renovating a pilot home in Hazel Crest, Illinois: a space grounded in dignity, recovery, and structure. This home will be shaped by The Knowledge Corner curriculum, created by Marty Hines, and designed to offer more than shelter. It will provide a stable and supportive environment that respects each resident’s unique journey.
The long-term vision is to grow this model nationally, offering transitional homes and wraparound services for MS warriors who need more than medical care; they need a place to rebuild.
A Space That’s Still Missing, Until Now
Marti and Chelsea didn’t see an organization doing this work the way it needed to be done. Not just raising awareness, but taking action. Not just talking about chronic illness, but listening to the people who live with it every day.
That’s what makes The H Collective different. It’s not a top-down nonprofit. It’s peer-led, grounded in experience, and growing from a place of empathy and purpose.
The goal? To become a national model for what holistic, human-centered MS support can look like while never losing the intimacy and heart that started it all.
How to Support
The H Collective is powered by community. Your donation helps provide direct support to MS warriors who need it most, fund joyful and restorative experiences, and build long-term programs that offer lasting impact.
Every dollar makes a difference.
Every act of care moves the mission forward.