A Family’s Quiet Fight — And a Call for Help

This story is tender, painful, and real. We’re reaching out with open hearts to ask for help.

If you or someone you love has faced mental illness, you may understand the heartbreak, the helplessness, and the fierce hope that carries families through. Right now, our young adult child is in residential treatment for a serious mental health condition — Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). It’s one of the most complex and misunderstood diagnoses, and unlike many others, there is no medication that can “fix” it. Healing comes slowly, through intensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which helps rewire the brain with new coping skills and emotional regulation strategies.

This journey began just five months ago, when their mental health rapidly declined after a series of crushing events that happened in our young adult’s life. Looking back, there were small signs, but many environmental, genetic, and family and community dynamics contributed to the diagnosis, and things quickly spiraled. Since then, there have been multiple failed treatments and the painful reality of co-occurring substance abuse. But finally, there is hope: a nationally respected evidence-based treatment center in Atlanta accepted our young adult child for care. It’s the right place. Progress is beginning. And for a time, insurance covered the cost.

With insurance no longer covering the cost of housing, food, transportation, and out-of-pocket doctor's costs already billed and not covered, we’re at a crossroads — either end care too soon and risk undoing the fragile progress made or appeal to our community and ask for help so they can continue.

The cost of care is $3000 per month and full treatment can take up to another 4 months. We are doing everything we can, but we cannot sustain this alone. We are graciously asking our community — friends, family, and kind strangers — to help bridge the gap so our child can continue the care they desperately need. Despite the growing crisis, funding for mental illness is scarce, and many institutions have shut down simply because the system fails to acknowledge how urgent the need truly is.

As high as the cost is, our goal is $12,000. Every dollar will go directly to housing, gas/transportation, and prior hospitalization/lab costs not covered under the plan. If more is raised than needed, unused funds will be returned or paid forward to another family in crisis.

No one is ever prepared to face the reality of serious mental illness — especially when the illness is invisible, stigmatized, and so hard to treat. But there is hope. There is healing. And there is power in community.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. And thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for helping give our young adult child a chance at a future filled with stability, self-worth, and peace. Hopefully, in turn, they can give back.

Borderline Personality Disorder: Mayo Clinic’s overview of BPD offers a compassionate, medically grounded explanation of symptoms, causes, and treatment options.

‍♀️ Dialectical Behavior Therapy DBT Cleveland Clin