Hi,

A Pennsylvania mom here, humbly asking for your help. My name is Tracy and my son is Josh. My family and I need to raise money for Josh who requires intense mental health services through Park Mental Health and Shoreline Sober Living both located in California. Josh has struggled with his mental health for several years now. In 2021, he sadly attempted to take his life twice! In 2022, after numerous ER visits and an admission to Horsham Clinic in Bryn Mawr and Malvern Behavioral Health in South Philadelphia, Josh finally agreed with his treatment team to go into Residential Treatment. In June 2022, Josh was fortunate enough to be admitted to “A Mission for Michael” in California for 45 days – yes California! This was a really tough time for our family. Thankfully, his treatment was covered by our insurance. Upon discharge, Josh was accepted into Park Mental Health for their partial hospitalization program and intensive outpatient program from August 2022 until March of this year. He then went into “A Sober Living” until the end of August 2023.

Josh made incredible strides, however, once again he found himself having suicide idealizations and was beginning to self-harm. He was seeing a therapist weekly and attending two AA meetings a week, at the time. The good news is that he did not try to self-medicate this time, so he is now 18 months sober! Josh realized he needed to go back into treatment – this is both great and heartbreaking at the same time. So, on Friday, December 8, Josh flew back to California for treatment. California has better mental health programs than on the east coast and this has been the only program that has given us hope. Currently, our insurance will cover the program but we will have to pay out of pocket for his housing which is $700 a month. In order to attend the program, he needs to stay in their sober living/mental health treatment house. There is around-the-clock staff and a house manager looking after him and about 10 other individuals. They take Josh to treatment, give him his medication, and provide a supportive and therapeutic home environment while undergoing treatment.

Since November, I have missed 3 weeks of work due to Covid and a hospitalization for an intestinal blockage that occurred out of nowhere. I only had 2 sick days so most of my medical leave was unpaid. I don't like putting my son’s personal business out there, but we need help to fund his stay, as we exhausted what we had during his initial in-patient stay. Mental Health is very important and it has been beyond painful to watch our son struggle, knowing that we can only do so much. I am asking that you consider making a donation of any amount to assist us with the cost of Josh’s monthly housing. If you feel more comfortable, you can call Shoreline Sober Living and pay them directly. Every and any amount will be greatly appreciated! Sober Living’s phone number is [phone redacted].

If you want to learn more about the treatment program that my Josh is in, for yourself or a loved one, the links are listed below:

Home - Mental Health Treatment in San Diego (mentalhealthtreatmentsandiego.com)

https://www.shorelinesoberliving.com

Thanks,

Tracy – a mom seeking help for her sick son