Let's Help Flynn

In December, unfortunately, one week after his 13th birthday, we were forced to send our son Flynn to blueFire Wilderness Therapy Camp.

Flynn’s journey to this point all began at age 3 when he had struggled to fit in with school, peers & to find his place in the world. Throughout the years, he suffered depression, anxiety, ADHD, impulse control & DMDD. A wonderful teacher suggested he be tested so that he qualified for an IEP (individual education plan). Despite many efforts, he continued to struggle. It was all "managed" by "4 wall" therapy until it could no longer be contained.

As you all know, COVID has been a mentally & spiritually challenging time for all but particularly the youth in our society. After the first year of COVID, my son's behavior started to change drastically in ways we couldn't imagine. Instability, irritability, and the inability to make proper choices all led him to finally calling 911 himself & ending up in the ER out of fear for his own behavior. On that night, when we got the call we were convinced we would be identifying our son's body in a morgue.

At that point, my husband, Victor & I needed to act quickly as he was clearly at the crossroads in life.

Our only choice was to remove Flynn from the environment he was in. This was painful and painstaking for both of us as parents but Flynn needed a complete reset in order to save his life. The solution seemed to be a long journey back to mental health beginning with blueFire Wilderness Therapy Camp. We did not hesitate even though this is a luxury way beyond our means. We just needed to help our child. Only after did it become clear that the resources devoted to the mental health of our youth are very limited. Insurance does not cover this cost and we went through the exhaustive process of getting a grant. The grant awarded was a maximum of $8,000. There are minimal resources for troubled teens. This has left us with a $40,000 bill just to cover the first part of his journey back to mainstream society. This will never be reimbursed & unfortunately, we need it to continue to maintain his care at this time without interruption for his emotional stability. I truly believe that were it not for the intervention and hard work of blueFire wilderness camp, Flynn would not have even arrived at the place he is now. This program taught him invaluable skills; he worked so hard, & he is moving forward on this journey.

That was just step one. From there Flynn has been sent to another therapeutic environment where he has also struggled with the transition. This is a long and winding road and in the meantime, all expenses are to be paid by my husband & me upfront. In order to do that, we need funds to lay out that we used for part one wilderness therapy camp, again not reimbursable. We are 2 hard-working people who both now have 2nd jobs to afford what we can to help our son. It is with the utmost humility and gratitude for this community that we are putting up this go fund me for help. The teenage mental health crisis is prevalent and we never thought we would be in this position. Thank you for any & all help with this heartbreaking & vital path we are on. It is our hope that we can someday have the resources to give back to the next child as blueFire Wilderness Therapy Camp has, to this point, helped to save his life.