#silentangels

 I NEED YOUR HELP. Please don’t just scroll past this. I have a friend in need.

Mental illlness is no joke. While I am not looking for any kind of sympathy or help personally, this specific topic is very hard hitting for me. While I apologize for seemingly making this plea about me- just hear me out. 

My mother is now a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. When I was in 4th grade my family went through a very trying time. My family was forced apart and my mother was institutionalized. My father, in his 50’s with 5 children- 3 under 13-  had no choice but to put his children before himself.

Growing up with a single father was definitely hard for me being the only girl, but it was nothing compared to what my Dad had to sacrifice as the sole income provider for our family. We spent a lot of time in and out of hotels and therapy. My brothers, Mike and Tim, raised me because my dad was so busy working full time trying to keep a roof over our head while also providing us with lunch money everyday. We went from living in a beautiful and spacious 3 bedroom home to a one bedroom upstairs apartment with nothing but the clothes on our backs. The help that we received from family (namely my Aunt Linda and aunt Nadine, Uncle Larry and Aunt Lynn Guerere Brennan, Uncle Pat and aunt Colleen Dearing ) and the community was the only thing I have to show for not being a total piece of shit as an adult. 

I thank God everyday for having a family that provided food, bunk-beds, and our kitchen table that served both as a place to eat and do homework, rides to and from school and sports practices, reading and math tutoring help, as well as simply the occasional, “How is everything going Rach?”

While I praise and thank my father every chance I get, we couldn’t have done it without family and friends. My father has proved to be a wonderful person and provider for not only myself and my brothers, but to my more than amazing blended family (Bonnie Brennan, Kate Lukas,Kyle Michael Hanlon, Scott Hanlon,John Hanlon) but only because he had support to move forward and become the best version of himself.

 

I have an amazing friend who is now needing help. Her significant other and father of their 3 very young children, is suffering from serious depression and recently left a suicide note.  He left his family for reasons only known to him and disappeared. He was recently found in a local hospital and my friend is left to pick up the pieces by herself. The stress of the situation has left her family in shambles and too embarrassed to ask for help. 

 

This is our chance as a community to help shape our youth. These 3 children are completely unaware of the severity of the situation and that their life is about to significantly change. I beg of you, any of you, to consider donating any amount of money. I’m not asking you to fund their college tuition or buy them gifts. I’m asking you to help Megan with her next grocery bill, fund some bunk beds, chip in for a month of rent or even just help with a few bucks for a babysitter so Megan can have one night to just cry and let loose. Even 5 bucks can make the biggest difference.


I encourage all of you to share this message with the hashtag #Silentangels to show appreciation for anyone who has gotten you or your family through a rough patch resulting from the effects of a first or second-hand mental illness situation where you or they may have been too scared or humble to ask for help. Share a story or send a prayer to let your friends know they are not alone.