Greene County, NY – July 7, 2026 – This year, Northern Catskills Mutual Aid took a remarkable step to help their community by launching their "Relieve Greene County Medical Debt” campaign, asking community members to support one another by lifting the burden of medical debt from their neighbors. Partnering with national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, the group aims to raise $10,000 for those in need in Greene County and neighboring communities. This $10,000 will eliminate nearly $1,000,000 in qualifying medical debt in Greene County.
To donate to Northern Catskills Mutual Aid medical debt campaign or learn more, visit https://unduemedicaldebt.org/campaign/relieve-greene-county-medical-debt/ or call NCMA at (518) 261-2473 to find out more. They are looking for ways to collaborate with community members and organizations to reach their goal. Recently, they hosted a benefit concert at Avalon Lounge in Catskill, NY, raffling off prizes graciously donated by local businesses like The Community Theater, Citiot, The Little Art Shop, and Loomie’s in Catskill, The Tasting Lab in Greenville, and more.
“This is the first initiative that I’ve been involved in as part of NCMA, and it’s been great being able to collaborate with the local community and business owners eager to support the cause,” said Amanda Rivera, one of the organizers. “Medical debt is a heavy burden that any one of us can easily fall under, and I’m grateful we can come together to support our neighbors in this way.”
Nationally, more than 100 million people are burdened by medical debt to the tune of $220 billion.
“Medical debt punishes people not for poor choices, but for getting sick—and it traps families in a cycle of stress, delayed care, and financial insecurity,”says Northern Catskills Mutual aid on their campaign site. "We know that our neighbors in Greene County are weighed down by unaffordable medical debt.”
Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcies in the US. People with medical debt are also three times more likely to experience mental health burdens like anxiety or depression and significantly more likely to skip or delay mental healthcare.
Undue Medical Debt is a national nonprofit that acquires medical debt belonging to those least able to pay in large, bundled portfolios for pennies on the dollar, while also shining a light on the broken system that creates medical debt. On average, one dollar donated to Undue erases $100 of medical debt.
When NCMA meets their fundraising goal, there will be a follow up announcement when debt relief letters are being sent to community members.
To learn more or to donate, visit the Relieve Greene County Medical Debt campaign page.
About Northern Catskills Mutual Aid
We are a group of community-minded friends looking to make a positive impact in the lives of our neighbors. We live, work, and play in Greene County and the Great Northern Catskills.
For more information, visit www.northerncatskillsmutualaid.com or call (518) 261-2473. You can also find us on Instagram @northercatskillsmutualaid and Facebook.
About Undue Medical Debt
Undue Medical Debt is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 by former debt collectors. To date Undue has acquired — and abolished — over $40 billion of burdensome medical debt, helping over 27 million families and addressing a major social determinant of health. Undue purchases debts for a fraction of their face value in bundled portfolios and partners with individuals, faith-based organizations, local and state governments, foundations and corporations to empower donors by converting every dollar contributed into $100 of medical debt relief on average.
Undue partners with hospitals, health systems and physician groups to acquire medical debt for abolishment. Undue rose to national prominence on an episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver in which Undue facilitated the abolishment of $15M in medical debt. To learn more, visit: UndueMedicalDebt.org
