Hi I’m Hannah. I’m asking for help with expenses related to my sister’s mental health condition and treatment. My sister, Shira, was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 2014. If you aren’t familiar with schizoaffective disorder, it is paranoid schizophrenia where you hear voices and have hallucinations with a side dose of mood dysregulation similar to bi-polar. It’s a harsh mental health disorder and she has had a difficult time staying compliant with her treatment plans and medications.

In June of 2019, Shira went off of her medication and left our parents' house in MN, traveling by car to Phoenix, AZ without a plan for housing. We later learned she had been living out of her car and in shelters. Eventually, she was hospitalized for a month in Phoenix in August 2019. However, her follow-up care was inconsistent, and her treatment was not sufficient, allowing her mental disorder to manifest again.

She began to make risky life choices, and in late 2020 Shira went to Sonora, Mexico with a boyfriend she had only known for a short period of time. Shortly after making this trip, she expressed the need to get away from this partner and started to drive back to the U.S. with MN being the intended destination. Her car broke down in Kansas, but she refused to return with our dad who planned to go pick her up to transport her back to MN. She was once again unmedicated.

This began a period of transience, where she lived unhoused in KS, sometimes in shelters and sometimes on the streets. From 2021-2022, Shira was again hospitalized twice. Our family attempted to begin guardianship proceedings which were derailed because they were unable to serve the legal paperwork due to her location.

In September of 2022, after filing a missing person's report and putting information out on missing person's pages on Facebook, we learned that Shira was in Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico living on the streets. She had made her way from KS to El Paso and eventually into Mexico. Her goal was to get to Morelia where she believed she was to start a worship center. During this time, a group of kind women and locals made sure she was fed and clothed, got help to build a small shelter, and communicated with us via Facebook Messenger about how she was doing.

In January of 2025, she started on foot toward the town of Jimenez with the goal of getting to Morelia. She was picked up and returned to Camargo by the National Guard, but she left again to make this journey on February 9, the voices in her head compelling her towards Morelia.

On February 26, our brother Ben arrived to meet her on the road to Jimenez, 40 miles from Camargo. She was urged to return to the U.S. for her safety because the cartels make Jimenez unsafe. On February 28, she was brought to the Central de Salud Mental Hospital in Chihuahua City and admitted under her brother’s authority. On March 10, our dad arrived to take over this authority and allow Ben to return home.

During this time, other members of my family worked with the consulate to initiate a transfer to care in the U.S. On March 26, one month later, Shira was released and transferred by ambulance to the U.S. border. Once on the U.S. side, she was assessed and released as not a danger to herself or others. After 5 days of our dad doing his best to keep track of her, she was eventually convinced to continue voluntary treatment in El Paso, TX. [When you have a serious mental illness, and you are unmedicated for many years, it can take many months to stabilize and for the full effectiveness of the treatment to be realized.]

Meanwhile we had hired a Guardianship attorney recommended by NAMI to begin the process of Emergency Guardianship orders. We believe that the only hope for our loved one to stay healthy and on her medication is for Guardianship to remain in place, at least for the foreseeable future. On April 17th, we had a hearing and Emergency Guardianship was granted. We also hope that Shira will be able to forge a relationship with her daughter who turned 18 in January and has reached out to reestablish contact and urge her mother to continue treatment. One of our hopes is also that we can support her daughter to travel to reconnect in person.

The expenses have added up for her care including:

Travel expenses for her dad, two sisters, and her brother

EEG & MRI - $900

Lost earnings for my dad as he spent time in El Paso and Mexico during the hospitalization and awaiting the Guardianship hearing

$700 for an ambulance ride to the U.S. border

$7500 remaining balance on the $12,000 Emergency Guardianship attorney fees

$850 for psych evaluation as part of the guardianship process

$2500 for retainer for Minnesota attorney for Permanent Guardianship

$750 For Attorney ad-litem (State appointed Attorney for Shira)

There are many miracles and kindnesses that have kept Shira safe and alive during the years of transience. Many, many people have prayed for a miracle, and we received one and now have our family member is restored. However, we have huge expenses, much of it on credit cards. Some of it is still uncovered, not even on credit cards yet. Our parents are retired, and Shira’s siblings are working class families looking for a way to contribute and help so that our parents do not need to take the full weight of these expenses.

We are looking for community support to help us offset the costs of doing this important work toward her health, safety, and reconnection with her daughter. Many thanks in advance!