Electrolysis Support Fund Instruction Packet

This Instruction Packet will walk you through every question in our application form.

The goal of this packet is to give you the opportunity to carefully think about these questions and your responses ahead of time, so you can submit a high-quality application.

Last updated: January 2025

© 2016–2025 Point of Pride. All rights reserved.

Section 1: General Information

We will communicate with you via email regarding the status of your application. We ask for your phone number as a back-up means of communication. Point of Pride is committed to protecting your privacy. Read our Privacy Policy

• Your Name
• Your Email
• Your Phone Number
• Your City/State
• Your Pronouns
• Your Age

• If you are under the age of 18, we require consent from a parent or legal guardian (who will be required as your support person) and hair removal providers. There is no upper limit for age.

Support Person

Some folks need added support with their application due to language barriers, disability, inconsistent access to Internet or other factors. Both you and your support person will be included on all emails regarding your application. If you are under the age of 18, you will be required to list your parent or legal guardian as a support person.  

• Support Person’s Name
• Relationship to Support Person (Check all that apply: Legal guardian to an applicant under the age of 18, translation support, emotional support, technological/Internet support, accessibility support, or other)
• At least one of the following:

• Support Person’s Email
• Support Person’s Phone Number

The optional demographic info collected in this section helps us identify additional grant and partnership opportunities, and better serve our applicants and community in the future. Your responses will not affect your eligibility for this (or any other) Point of Pride program. It is for statistical use only, and you may decline providing some or all of this information.

• Your gender identity
• Your age
• Your ethnicity origin
• Your veteran/military status
• Do you have any long-standing illness, disability or infirmity? (Long-standing means anything that has troubled you over a period of time or that is likely to affect you over a period of time.)        

• If yes: Have you applied for, or do you currently receive, government disability benefits (SSI/SSDI or your country's equivalent?)

• Are you the primary caretaker for another individual?
• Are you currently, or have you ever experienced any of the following:

• homelessness or housing insecurity?
• discrimination by your healthcare provider?
• discrimination by an employer?
• incarceration?        

• Your student status

Section 2: Your Hair Removal Needs

In this section, we’ll ask you to share what kind of hair removal you’re seeking, and whether or not you’ve previously received hair removal services in the past. This helps us to better understand you as an applicant and your medical transition as a whole, but will not change your likelihood to receive funding.

• What hair removal services are you considering?
• Where do you need hair removal services?
• What is your available budget or current savings for hair removal? (Please note that you are not required to have any savings or budget available.)
• Have you received a quote for services to meet your hair removal goal?

• If yes…

• When?
• How much?

• Have you previously or are you currently receiving electrolysis or laser hair removal treatments?

• If yes, please explain what types of services you received, when you received them, how many treatments in total, etc. Please be as specific as you can.

• Which of these best describes your hair type?
• Do you need hair removal to be done in a specific time frame (as in for a surgery deadline?)

• If yes or unsure, please explain what procedure you're pursuing, when that procedure is scheduled or estimated to take place, etc. Please be as specific as you can.
  

Section 3: Your Financial Need

In the last section of the application, you will complete one short answer response. The prompt is highlighted below. Please read the explanation and examples so you understand what our reviewers are looking for.

To ensure a fair and unbiased review, applications are reviewed anonymously. In your written response, please do not include your name or other personally identifying information, such as your full name, links to a personal website or GoFundMe page, links to social media pages, or anything else that could be used to determine who you are. If you’d like to learn more about our process of evaluation applications, you can find additional information on our page detailing our commitment to Transparency.

Note: This is not an English test. We will NOT consider grammar/spelling or writing ability when reviewing your responses. Above all, please give us detailed, thorough responses so we understand your unique situation. This helps us understand the challenges and/or barriers to care you’ve faced when we are reviewing your application.

1. In 800 characters or less, please describe your current financial need and what receiving free or discounted hair removal services would mean for you.
   (800 character limit)
   We ask this question to understand the expenses and circumstances that have created your financial need, as well as what the impact of receiving those services would mean for you. Examples of what you can discuss here are:

• your financial need, such as

1. your employment situation, or if you’re unemployed/underemployed
2. your housing situation, or if you’re living with housing insecurity/homelessness
3. if you are the main financial provider for others, and what that looks like
4. if you have other medical or financial concerns/debt outside of your transition
5. if you are a student
6. if you’ve experienced unique or extreme circumstances in your life that have impacted your existing savings or ability to save in the future

• your lived experiences, such as

1. experiencing discrimination or gatekeeping by a healthcare provider, or discrimination by an employer
2. how you are currently dealing with hair removal (frequent shaving, waxing, etc.) and what the “cost” of those methods is (monetary costs, skin irritation, skin conditions, pain, etc.)

• what you hope life might be like after receiving hair removal services, such as

1. obtaining a surgery for which hair removal is a prerequisite step
2. opportunities for employment and/or increased safety