My name is Chelsea, and I’m trying to help my younger brother get back to the life he worked so hard to build.
For over two years, he was doing everything right. He was sober, stable, and committed to change.
He completed a treatment program.
He worked multiple jobs (3).
He showed up for his son. (He had consistent visitation and involvement)
He wasn’t just surviving, he was rebuilding his life and doing an amazing job.
And then everything fell apart, fast.
He lost his insurance coverage due to changes in policy, which meant losing access to his mental health care and medication for bipolar disorder.
Without that support, things started to unravel.
Then, just weeks later, something unimaginable happened.
He went to mom’s house to have dinner with her and instead, he arrived to find fire trucks and her home in flames.
He tried to get inside.
He burned his hands trying to force the front door open to reach her.
Firefighters had to physically stop him.
He was able to speak to her while she was being loaded onto a stretcher.
She was airlifted to a burn center… and three days later, she passed away.
That moment changed everything.
Grief, shock, and the loss of his support system—combined with being off his medication—became too much to carry alone.
During that time, he relapsed.
This isn’t an excuse. It’s the reality of what happens when someone with a serious mental health condition loses access to care during a traumatic loss.
Right now, he’s sitting in jail but what he actually needs is dual-diagnosis treatment.
We are working to get him into a structured program where he can stabilize, get back on medication, and rebuild again—but time and resources are standing in the way.
We are asking for help to:
- Secure proper treatment placement working to get him health insurance again, because the cost of treatment is $15k
- Assist with legal support (most needed now) total costs $7,500
- Get him the care he needs to recover safely and sustainably.
We have seen who he is when he has support. We know what he’s capable of. He’s proven it.
He is not a lost cause, he is someone who had a setback during an impossible moment.
If you feel led to help, even a small amount makes a difference.
If you can’t donate, sharing this could change everything. Thank you for taking the time to read his story.
