My name is Ruqayyah and I'm writing this on behalf of my younger brother, Noah, 22 year old who was recently imprisoned and neglected while having a mental health crisis.

Noah, our siblings and I grew up in a household deeply affected by our mother's addiction to drugs and emotional instability. Throughout our childhood she would often disappear for days at a time to use drugs, leaving us alone without food, clean clothes, or basic necessities. There were times we woke up with the lights shut off for days and had to go to school wearing the same dirty clothes because no one was there to care for us. We lived in shelters, motels, and unstable housing, and as minors we were sometimes left alone in motel

rooms while our mother went out to use drugs for days. The trauma and instability we experienced growing up has had lasting effects on all of us,

but especially on Noah— who is the youngest.

When Noah was around 14 years old, he

bravely told our mother, my siblings, and me that he was having harmful thoughts and needed help.

Instead of getting him professional support, nothing was done. He was never taken to a therapist, psychiatrist, or any mental health professional who could help him process what he was going through. As time passed and his mental health struggles worsened, Noah began trying to cope on his own, including self-medicating with marijuana. This was during a time when our family had already been evicted from our home in Paterson, New Jersey due to my mother's inability to keep up with bills because of her addiction.

While we were living in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, Noah spent time with boys he believed were

friends. At one point they gave him a cookie that was allegedly laced with a chemical substance that seemed to drastically change his behavior and mental state. After that, his mental health

declined even further. He began showing signs of paranoia, sometimes talking to himself and believing that people around him were trying to poison or harm him. Despite these clear warning signs, Noah never received the mental health

care he needed. Instead of being guided toward treatment, situations often escalated until the police became involved.

In 2025, my mother called the police on Noah during an episode where he believed his phone had been hacked. Later in 2025, she encouraged my stepfather, Justin Steele to physically fight him.

My stepfather assaulted Noah first, and when Noah defended himself, the police were called

again and a restraining order was filed against him. This restraining order left Noah homeless.

My sister temporarily gave him a place to stay, but Noah' felt like a burden because she has

children and her own responsibilities. My sister and I encouraged him to seek shelter services so he could start getting mental health support and rebuild his life.

About a month later, while homeless, Noah returned to our mother's house hoping to

reconcile and ask if he could live there again. Our mother refused to let him stay inside the house, but she and my stepfather encouraged him to sit in her parked car to charge his phone instead before leaving their home.

BOTH of them were present when Noah

arrived and when he left. During that time, Noah recorded a video on Instagram while sitting in the car where he spoke about feeling like he had

nobody and how alone he felt. In the video, it is clear that he was emotionally distressed and not in a stable mental state, but he was not aggressive and no one expressed fear for their safety. Noah eventually left the property

respectfully. Hours later, my mother reported to the police that he had violated the restraining order, which created a warrant for his arrest that none of us knew about until today— March 6, 2026.

The day after my mother denied Noah a home, he went to the Social Security office, as my sister and I encouraged him to do, letting him know that he has our support— he was seeking help with housing and services. During the routine security screening at the entrance, officers discovered a gun in his backpack while his backpack was going through the dangerous materia screening machine. . Noah did not resist arrest and cooperated fully.

Everyone who knows Noah was shocked by this, as he has no criminal record and has never been known as a violent

person. He had gone to that building looking for help because he was homeless and trying to find resources.

Nobody in their correct mind state, would visit a federal building with a gun on them and voluntarily put the backpack holding the gun through the machine to be found. My brother was clearly experiencing psychosis as he has experienced many times before becoming homeless in under my mom’s care.

I am no physician so I cannot formally diagnose anyone, but I do work with many physicians and I have professional experience in mental healthcare, where I have been taught to look for the signs of someone who may be experiencing a mental crisis. My brother checks so many boxes from the way he always speaks to himself, believes his paranoid thoughts, and more regarding his appearance that I will not elaborate on at this time.

Today, MARCH 6th 2026, in court it became even more clear that Noah is struggling mentally. When the judge asked him if he wanted to appeal the decision not to release him today(March 6th, 2026), my brother asked the judge to repeat the question because he did not understand. After the judge repeated himself,

Noah said he didn't know and simply asked if he was going home that day. It was heartbreaking to watch because it was obvious that he did not fully understand what was happening.

This is exactly why Noah deserves a proper

psychiatric evaluation & support—-not solitary confinement.

The public report regarding my brothers arrest, stated that he had some used bullets in his wallet, but, there is no proof that he use those bullets himself. The reason as to why he had a gun in his possession is still not clear. But I’m sure that it is related to his psychiatric state at this time.

If my family were wealthy, we would have an advantage and have been able to have his case, looked at sooner but, that’s not our situation unfortunately.

Our justice system is so corrupt. We have so many people who have murdered and raped people that get to go hom to their families as long as they have access to money for an attorney.

Growing up, we were we were never encouraged to take care of our mental health. Our mother's emotional abuse and neglect affected all of us deeply. I am only telling Noah

's story right now, but if I shared everything I personally experienced growing up - including the many times my mother called the police on me in the middle of the night while I was sleeping, telling me that i will be just like her when I grew uphw the e - many people would wonder how any of us made it through at all.

Today Noah is sitting in jail and has already been placed in solitary confinement after having to defend himself during an altercation on just his second day there. He has never been properly evaluated by a psychiatrist despite showing serious mental health symptoms for years.

Noah graduated high school, has recently talked about wanting to learn a trade, and every time I see him he hugs me and tells me he wants our family to win. When Noah is released, the plan is for him to live with me so I can support him in finally receiving the therapy and mental health care he has needed since he was a child. We are trying to raise at most, $20,000 to hire an attorney who can fight for him and help bring the mental health evaluation and support he should have received years ago.

If my brother had received help when he asked for it at 14 years old, we would likely have years of clinical records proving his struggle - but instead he was ignored, and now the system is asking for proof that our family was never given the chance to create.

ANY and I really mean any donation or share could help give Noah the chance to finally

receive the help he has needed for years.