⚠️ Trigger Warning: Suicide, mental health challenges, incarceration.

Please take care of yourself as you read.

I never imagined sharing something so raw and personal with the world.

This is about my son, Jaiden... about seeing beyond his struggles, beyond the systems that failed him, and choosing a different path.

A path rooted in compassion, understanding, and truly seeing him as a whole human being.

Thank you for being here to witness this.

Imagine watching your child hold a loaded gun to their head... and the moment that changes everything.

Imagine receiving a video from your child.

Watching them load a gun, hold it to their head, say they're ready to end their life, and then they pull the trigger.

By the grace of God, the gun doesn’t go off.

But everything changes in that instant.

In the days that followed, everything unraveled.

My son, Jaiden, was taken into custody, held in a hospital, handcuffed at both wrists and ankles for a week, then transferred to jail where he now waits... facing the possibility of years behind bars.

Jaiden has spent so much of his life inside systems meant to help: mental health services, interventions, the justice system itself.

Systems that were supposed to bring safety, healing, and understanding... yet they didn’t.

As his mother, there were times I didn’t see what he needed. Times I couldn’t give him what he deserved.

I can’t change that now.

But I can choose what I do next.

I choose to stand here, to speak, to advocate for a different outcome.

To get him what he should have had all along: real support, real understanding, real care.

Why this matters?...

Jaiden doesn’t need more punishment.

He needs treatment.

There is a chance to show the courts... through clear, evidence-based evaluation that what he truly needs is care, not incarceration.

To advocate for this, I'm arranging the most comprehensive mental health evaluation possible:

a full, integrative assessment at AMEN Clinics.

This isn’t a surface-level test.

It’s one of the most thorough, science-based evaluations available.

What this assessment includes

✅ Advanced brain imaging (SPECT scans) — to see areas of strength and concern

✅ Neuropsychological testing — measuring cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning

✅ Extensive lab work — to assess health markers that affect mental health

✅ In-depth clinical history review

✅ One-on-one psychiatric evaluation — to explore diagnoses and build a personalized plan

✅ Integrative medicine evaluation — to look at physical factors affecting mental health

✅ Follow-up support — sessions with a brain health coach and ongoing medical review

This evaluation is designed to see Jaiden as a whole person — mind, body, and brain — and create a treatment plan that truly fits him.

Total cost: $10,400 CAD

Every dollar contributed goes directly to this assessment.

This is the sole purpose of this fundraiser.

How you can walk this path with us:

Contribute here on GoFundMe

E-transfer to avoid fees: [email redacted]

Share Jaiden’s story so others might see him through the eyes of compassion

Even sharing matters.

It helps others see Jaiden’s humanity — and reminds us all that change is possible.

From my heart, thank you.

For listening.

For witnessing.

For believing there is another way.

With deep gratitude,

Melanie McLeish