Support the Treat Family in Their Time of Need

On November 4, 2021, the Treats’ 19 year old son, Michael, left home to buy a car on OfferUp. The seller shot him twice, pushed him out of the car, and left him in the street - taking the $7000 he had brought with him. It is an unimaginable tragedy for most and the family will be continuing to work through this loss for many years to come. Fortunately, Michael provided them with the seller’s information and the murderer was arrested the next day. Now, more than three and a half years later they are still waiting for a trial.

At the community candle lighting, they were asked if they wanted a GoFundMe. At the time, it didn’t seem necessary. They were employed, could take time off to grieve, had savings, and all that mattered at the time was to take care of themselves.

They had no idea at the time that the cost of grief would financially drain them. They could not find therapists who took their insurance and had to pay out of pocket for each of the four remaining family members. They learned grief is hard on the body and started having health related issues, many doctors appointments and ER visits trying to manage the symptoms that come with grief. They learned the California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) is understaffed and as of today, continues to deny and challenge their claims in more than $30,000 of unreimbursed health care costs.

Since Michael’s death, they have attended court every 4-6 weeks in the morning. Even on the days that they are “ok,” they are exposed to seeing the person who murdered their son each time all while trying to understand why it needs to take so long. Over time, they were able to go back to work right after court, though it seemed impossible some days.

In March 2023, Sean’s job was impacted by the mass Google layoffs. Through networking with the many former coworkers and friends who he spoke with, took out for coffee, and graciously followed every lead, he found a role from June 2023 to August 2024, and has continued to look for a role since. Sean was diagnosed with Polycythemia Vera, a blood cancer, in March of 2024. The medication to treat this condition has challenging side effects that have affected the entire family, as well as Sean's job search efforts.

Jessica is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice. In the beginning, many clients left due to feeling overwhelmed knowing what happened, as they saw it on the news and in the community. Jessica rebuilt her practice and attended additional training to supplement her specialties. With the state of the economy and the need for people to use their insurance to cover therapy, Jessica started to take insurance in order to stay in business, accepting about half her usual fee and working twice as many hours to keep her business afloat.

For them, even now, it is difficult to ask for help. In the past, when times were hard, they always figured it out. With the unreimbursed costs of nearly $2,000/mo for ongoing therapy for each of them and their other two children, as well as COBRA at $2,300/mo to keep medical insurance for the family, unemployment benefits ending, and exhausting their savings and retirement to stay afloat, they realize they cannot do this alone. Thank you for your consideration and any help you can provide.