Mentally ill Jeff needs to see family

Wendy Benedetti is a " retired" elementary school teacher who requests your help. She contracted M.E and received no  disability income. She needs $3,000 to visit her son, Jeff, who is a sick inmate in Boulder, Colorado. He was recently relocated from the jail to a mental hospital and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 3. Jeff was arrested because of offenses that arose out of his paranoid schizophrenia. Unfortunately, Jeff suffered 18 weeks in solitary confinement while incarcerated in Kansas. That, of course, worsened his condition. Jeff has been imprisoned for 14 months awaiting trial, and this is the second time Jeff was remanded to a mental hospital from correctional facilities since the ordeal began. 

Jeff was not always mentally ill, and hearing her 36-year-old son ramble about people being after him and confiding that the jail employees are really avatars was shocking and heartbreaking for Wendy. Throughout his arrest, Jeff has had no visitors other than his rare visits from his court-appointed attorney. Wendy spent her life teaching and loving our children. Please help her to visit her son.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. Any amount would be helpful and very much appreciated. If we can get $10 from 300 people we can reach our goal.  Learn more about Jeff and the circumstances that led to his arrest at an article called "Schizophrenia in Solitary Confinement: Jeff Benedetti." A brief excerpt is below. 

Jeff A. Benedetti is my son, writes Wendy Benedetti. He is now 36 years old. Jeff's father and I did not know Jeff had mental illness until recently. While growing up, Jeff was a bright student and played many sports. He made varsity soccer during his high school freshman year and was devoted to serving God.

After Jeff graduated from high school in 1995, he attended the School of Ministry for a year at Calvary Chapel Church, Applegate Christian Fellowship. Jeff loves the Lord and people. He moved one hour north to help with a Godly mission. There, Jeff worked for Campus Life and was assistant soccer coach for a high school team. Jeff also made numerous missionary trips to Mexico to spread the gospel of Christ.

When Jeff was about 25, he moved to Southern California, where my parents lived. He started doing some odd things, like living on the street, etc. His dad and I just thought Jeff was doing what young people sometimes do, but we sure did wonder about his behavior. He kept moving around and didn't always keep contact with us. He moved from one shelter to another. Now I can look back and see it was mental illness slowly creeping in on Jeff, but we didn't know it at the time. Here is what happened . . .