Help Bring Desiree Home: Support Mental Health, Not Jail

Desiree is not a criminal. She is a 37-year-old woman with the mind of a child. She doesn’t understand the world the way we do—she doesn’t even fully know she’s a grown woman. She is scared, confused, and vulnerable, like a little kid trapped in an adult body.

Years ago, someone put something in her drink, and she was never the same again. Since then, her memory and thinking have been damaged. She talks to herself, she likes to clean, she holds on to her cups, and she doesn’t want people touching her. That’s just who she is now. She doesn’t have the ability to protect herself or to understand what’s happening when people confront her.

Recently, Desiree was at a store to get a soda water. She had her own prescription bottle with her, with no name on it. A security guard grabbed her, and she panicked. She doesn’t like to be touched—it frightens her—and she reacted out of fear. Now they’re trying to charge her with a felony, which is unfair. She didn’t mean harm to anyone.

The truth is, jail is the worst place for someone like Desiree. She doesn’t know how to defend herself. She has been targeted before, beaten, and mistreated in jail because people don’t understand her. She came home terrified last time, and putting her back there is dangerous.

Desiree needs care, not punishment. She needs to be home with her family and the people who look after her, not locked in a cell where she will only suffer more.

This fundraiser is to raise money for her legal fees and bond so we can get her out of jail and bring her home safely. Every dollar helps us move closer to getting her the help she really needs. Please support Desiree—help us show that people with mental health struggles deserve compassion, not incarceration.