Support Matt and Michelle in Their Time of Need

Hello

My name is Bethany Bible. I am Michelle and Matt's neighbor and very good friend. I am creating a GoFundMe to benefit Michelle and Matt Bartholomew. Matt and Michelle are facing a very difficult time in their lives right now and need all of our help. Michelle and Matt are always the first people to help anyone, anytime that they can, and right now, it's our turn to help them. Here is the situation in Michelle's words. If you are unable to help, that is okay. Please pray for this family and share this as much as possible!

"Asking for prayers again for Matt, the kids, and me. We are having a really rough go in life right now, and I can't continue to hide it. I know I've been vague because it's very personal to our family. Truth is, Matt is battling a very serious mental illness, and we are supporting him through it the best we can. He is unable to be home and has needed 24/7 professional help. Being in a facility with that has been the best course of action. Mental health should not be so taboo and scary to talk about because so many of us, or people we love, will experience problems with it in their lifetime. He should not feel embarrassed because of something he has no control over. Sadly, the help that he's received has been nothing short of terrible. He's been sent home to us from facilities no better than when he's gone in and just been expected to be okay. Been treated poorly at others, told he's playing games and wasting people's time all while he's begging and pleading for help. He's had 6 inpatient stays now and just got to the newest facility today for who knows how long. He's been out of work for almost 2 months because of this, and we don't feel any closer to seeing an end in sight. The kids and I have had a wonderful support system around us, but those people can only help so much. We are surviving on my substitute special education aide job, which I'm making literal peanuts in comparison to what Matt did, and he has no option for short-term disability or anything like that, so we're reaching a tough spot financially also. I'm applying for any and every assistance I can get through the state, and that's just been a back-and-forth game for weeks. They have everything they need to help us, they just need to do it. If anyone knows of any programs that will help to pay bills or anything like that, please send me all of the information. This is like nothing we have ever faced before and something that no one ever really thinks they're going to have to face. It is so incredibly hard to reach out and ask people for help, but when you're in the spot where you absolutely need it, you don't have a choice. I have a family, a job, and a house, all kinds of things that I have to figure out how to keep up and running!"