About the project
You may submit as little or as much info as you like when you tell your story. Although it's most helpful if you completely fill out your story you may use an abstract or non-identifiable photo and provide no personally recognizable information. Whatever you do please be honest.
It will exist as just that, a collection that demonstrates the size and diversity of the problem of uninsurance as well as send a message to those in a position to make changes for how we pay for health care in the U.S. We will not use this site as a means for generating a list for solicitation.
We are completely independent with no corporate or institutional backing. This allows the website to remain as unbiased and free of hidden agendas as possible.
The best way to help is to contribute your story if you are uninsured, or encourage someone to submit. If you've already done that, we are always looking for pertinent information to share to the uninsured community whether it is ways to get help or aid the advocacy effort. Please contact us if you are interested in discussing specific ways you can play a role.
About the site
On each story page, there is a link to report inappropriate content. Please click that link on any story you think is objectionable or against the site's terms of use. We'll review the page and remove it if necessary.
You should have received an email after you first signed up for theRealUninsured.org. In that email there is a link that you MUST click in order for your story to be listed on the website. Please verify that you have done that. If so and your story is still missing, please contact us and be sure to include your username.
Hopefully you are leaving theRealUninsured.org because you've acquired health insurance, but if for any reason you would like to delete your account that is no problem. Simply select the 'Your Account' link in the menu at left. On that page, select the 'Edit' tab. At the bottom of the form, press the DELETE button and confirm your choice to delete. You will no longer be a member of this site and your story will be removed.
If you discover a problem or are having a hard time using the website, please let us know. We are continually making improvements and would like to fix any bugs or usability concerns quickly.
In order to get this site up and running quickly, we had to keep the features fairly light. We would love to expand it as time allows. Some ideas include journals for each user to chronicle their life without insurance, forums and user registration for people who have insurance but would like to be a member of this community. We've set up a poll where you can vote for what feature you would most like to see or feel free to contact us and share your ideas.
theRealUninsured.org is built using the open-source content management system Drupal. It is hosted on a MediaTemple Dedicated Virtual server.
Every new site subscriber is issued a number, starting at 1. This shows how many people have signed up to contribute to the project. Occasionally new members will not respond to the validation email or choose to delete their accounts. The stories total on the home page shows the actual number of stories available for viewing on the site which will be different than the number of subscribers.
theRealUninsured.org utilizes the open-source content management system Drupal, allowing users to sign up and share their stories. The interface has been customized to make it easier to use and suit the objectives of the site. If you would like to talk further about how this is done or are interested in receiving a site recipe, please contact us. If you think the technology might be useful we're happy to help any way we can.
