June 27, 2023 Update

Good morning all,

I just found out that Jacquie's daughter spent a brief time in hospice, before passing away last night.  Minorka, fought so hard, for so long.  She tried again and again, but in the end the horrible combination of mental illness and addiction was no match for her.  

Jacquie is having a tough time with some of the chronic physical symptoms exacerbated by all the stress.  She's preparing herself emotionally, as best she can, to share the news of Minorka's death with her daughter's children, especially the youngest grandchild, pictured above, who lives with Jacquie, and has been having such a hard time with everything these last many months. 

One dear friend left NH & helped Jacquie get home from the hospital late last night.  They've been up early, beginning to make plans for the funeral & hosting so many family from around the country, & beyond. Another friend has offered Jacquie a massage session at the salon of her choice & others have come over the last few days to be with the family at the hospital.  At one point over the weekend, there were over 25 family and friends in the hospital waiting rooms.  The love for Jacquie and her family is palpable!

Please keep the Martinez family in your hearts and prayers.  Funeral expenses must now be added to the list of things needed.  Any donation at this time, no matter how small, would be so appreciated

Thank you

Hi, my name is Valeria Chambers. I use my lived & living experience of a mental health condition as a peer support specialist, trainer and Sr. Community Researcher. I have a friend and colleague whom I've worked with for over twenty years. We've chosen to work in the mental health peer support movement for many reasons. We've both struggled with mental health diagnoses and have searched for ways to piece back together a life for ourselves after devastating losses.

Jacquie, being Latina and me, being African American, quickly discovered that many people in our communities and even our families were suffering in silence or else had terrible experiences trying to fit their "round" selves into the "square" holes of mental health systems. We learned how to become advocates and ambassadors, sharing our life stories & working out our ongoing recovery processes.

Proudly nurturing & growing her various facets of recovery, Jacquie wasted no time learning to use her lived experience to help others. Today, she is a First Responder during the COVID pandemic, a Recovery Coach for addictions, a Certified Peer Specialist for mental health, as well as a Forensic Peer Specialist and an Older Adult Peer Specialist. Jacquie has offered training and support groups through the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) in both Spanish and English and is currently working as a Recovery Coach/Peer Support Specialist at a Boston area shelter. She serves on numerous boards within the healthcare and community arenas across the country. It is also my pleasure to work with Jacquie at the COE for Psychosocial and Systemic Research at Massachusetts General Brigham, as a Community Consultant, where she and I and a team of 6 other peer support specialists help bring the lived experience, family & patient perspective to each phase of the psychosocial research process, as we seek to increase access of culturally resonant mental health services & supports to those seeking help .

2022 however, was quite a tough year for Jacquie, though at first glance, you'd never guess all that she's gone through- a family member suddenly lost to violence, an adult child suffering cardiac arrest, needing 2 surgeries & fighting for her life after a near lethal overdose, a smart, beautiful granddaughter whom she is seeking to adopt, who is having huge mental health struggles of her own as a teenager finishing middle school, never having really known her mother, due to the drugs, and acting out while feeling the pain & anger of that loss deeply... these are just some of the things Jacquie and her family have been coping with. 

Unfortunately, that was not all. Last December, Jacquie and her family found out that they needed to vacate their home by December 31st. So in the middle of her daughter's health emergency, in the middle of her own serious chronic illnesses, in the middle of going back and forth to take care of her ailing mother and having parent/teacher/doctor consultations for her granddaughter, Jacquie was suddenly  presented with another gigantic layer added to a very full plate!

As an update, I'm happy to say that Jacquie & her family are now settled into their new home, and have been joined by Jacquie's son, Gabriel, who finished college with honors and is working for a Boston area company in I.T.!!  The best news of all though, was when Jacquie's daughter miraculously pulled through her 14 hour heart surgery and began the long road to physical and emotional rehabilitation.  She finished her detox program in early winter and began living in a sober house while receiving physical therapy, and  addiction treatment.  Jacquie's granddaughter graduated from middle school despite all the difficulties!

Thank you to everyone who contributed funds earlier this year and last year to this Go Fund Me Page for Jacquie and her family!

Now, for the latest update, which is difficult to share.  2 days ago, Jacquie's daughter was rushed to the hospital. She has an aneurysm pressing on the area of her heart that had already gone through 2 open heart surgeries. In 24hrs, the aneurysm has trippled in size and continues to grow.  Jacquie's daughter has been incubated to try and control her way too low BP, but the outlook is not good. Jacquie and her family are devastated with this latest development.  They have been advised to "hope & pray for the best, but prepare for the worst"...  Jacquie's granddaughter is heartbroken with the news, but holding on to her faith in God. She's been eagerly waiting for the time when her Mom could move closer to the family, so she could visit every day to try and build the relationship they were never able to have, the relationship that the drug addiction lifestyle took away from them.

This Go Fund Me page is to help with the cost of essential things the family needs that can not be paid for by the combined incomes of Jacquie, her husband & her son.  Jacquie's granddaughter has been accepted into a therapeutic summer camp for teens, but it costs almost $3000.00., so it is all but out of reach.  The family must also put money aside for any of the unexpected issues that may come up in the future.

To many of us in the peer support movement, Jacquie is an inspirational role model. She gives new meaning to the term "giving back" as a recovery tool and "it works if you work it"! So many times when there was something that needed to be done or someone who needed help, Jacquie was right there or already in the process of finding someone, someplace, something that might be of service.

Jacquie is doing the best she can with everything, she is grateful that her job is not to far from the hospital so she can make frequent visits before & after work and on her breaks.  I spoke with her this morning and she says she's been using her favorite wellness tool to the max: cooking!  Jacquie is an incredible cook and baker. She is always sharing her incredible creations with her very lucky colleagues and co-workers.  We always tease her that she should open a restaurant but she says she hates the clean-up ;-)

Please keep Jacquie and her family in your prayers and consider offering a bit of your financial support as well.  Thank you so much for your time and your consideration!

P.S. Donations can be made by name or organization or they can be done anonymously.