“I may listen to Pop music but that doesn't mean I can't be a good person still.'" --Hiking1950
I get asked this question from time to time: “What led you to create the Tapir Signal?” Here is my story.
About four months ago, I came across a post on /r/exmormon by a 25-year-old woman stating that she was trying to leave the church. She lived in Utah and didn’t have any money or a job, was depressed, and needed help. So I decided to create a list of a few volunteers from /r/exmormon who would be willing to help out in such situations. I planned to present the list to FearlessFixxer after his MormonLeaks website debut. Out of nowhere, around twenty people volunteered to help out any way they could.
So I created a post on behalf of the young woman who had sought help on /r/exmormon. In it I tagged all the volunteers and asked if we could help her out. Within an hour, several people had reached out to the user and had given her food and money. It was amazing to see.
I then came up with the idea of forming an informal public volunteer list that we could use to tag people when others need help. I asked for volunteers and the list just exploded. Every time I posted about this list, more and more people volunteered to help out in any way they could. The list took a completely new direction. Instead of a few people I could send to FearlessFixxer to help run the Underground Handcart Company (UHC), I ended up with around sixty people from all over the place volunteering food, shelter, money, a phone to text in an emergency, emotional support, etc.
A young couple was looking for a temporary place to stay until they could find permanent housing. Their parents said refused them shelter because they weren’t married. So I sent out an “Exmormon Bat Signal” to the volunteers and within a couple of hours, we had a hotel owner in the same town as the couple who helped them out with the temporary housing. Once again, it was amazing to see such a quick and generous gesture from a random stranger.
Since we joke about tapirs a lot on /r/exmormon a couple of people had jokingly posted a tapir-like bat signal graphic. Both of them were very cool, so I changed the “Exmormon Bat Signal” to the “Official Tapir Signal.” We link to this graphic every time we post and ask for help.
Shortly after that, /u/hasbrochem reached out to me and offered to help out. He’s very good with computers and programming (Editors Note: he's mediocre at best), so he created a Reddit bot that messages all of the volunteers when we post a Tapir Signal. The bot lets them know of the situation and points them to the person that needs support. /u/t_the_initial also reached out to me personally around the same time and offered to help take on the task of contacting people needing help, following up with them, vetting people who could potentially help out, etc. /u/hasbrochem and /u/t_the_initial will share their stories in future posts.
I continue to be involved with the Tapir Signal crew because I have seen how many times it has helped people out in a short amount of time. I’ve personally been told that people who have reached out in response to the Tapir Signal have saved several people’s lives. We have found temporary housing for people (also see here and here). We have provided a few days’ food for someone who couldn’t afford it. We have helped find jobs for people. We have even helped someone move from state to state. All of these things were accomplished through our volunteer network. That is why I do it: to give back to the exMormon community and help out the only way I know how… anonymously, online!
If you are in need of help, you can reach us here.
If you are feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or 1-800-784-2433.
If you are LGBT+ and need to talk, please contact the LGBT National Hotline at 1-888-843-4564 or find them online here.
Know you are safe and among friends and we will do whatever we can to help.
Lastly, if you would like to be involved or volunteer, you can reach out to us here.
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