💔 Breaking Silence: Family Shares Heartfelt Story of Child's Mental Health
Family Demands Reform in Arizona Mental Health System for Children's Safety.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🌧️ Jacob has been struggling with mental health issues since he was 10, and his family is having a hard time getting the help they need. 🏥 Even when they visit different places, the hospitals don't provide much support, leaving them feeling neglected and unsafe at home. 😔 Other families are facing similar challenges, so they’re asking those in charge to improve hospitals and ensure families can receive early support. 🙏 They really want things to get better so that everyone can feel safe and happy. 🌈💖
🗝️ Takeaways
📉 Systemic Failures: Families face neglect and danger due to inadequate mental health services.
🚑 Immediate Needs: Accessible, affordable mental health care and early intervention are crucial.
🛡️ Safety Prioritization: Better crisis response systems and family support are essential.
⚖️ Demand for Accountability: Calls for systemic reforms to prevent repeated hospitalizations without proper evaluation.
🤝 Legislative Support: Urges lawmakers to enact changes that protect families and communities.
The letter below was sent to Arizona legislators.
Dear legislators,
We are writing to you as parents who have been living a nightmare that no family should ever endure. For over a decade, we have fought tirelessly to support our son, Jacob, who began struggling with severe mental health challenges at the age of 10.
Despite our unwavering commitment to helping him and seeking professional support, the mental health system has consistently failed us, leaving our family devastated and, at times, unsafe.
Our journey has spanned multiple states—from The Bronx to Puerto Rico, to Arizona, and even Connecticut—and everywhere we turned, the system failed us. For two years in Puerto Rico, Jacob’s needs were grossly neglected. When we relocated to Arizona, seeking better resources and answers, we faced the same failures.
Time and again, Jacob has been released from psychiatric hospitals—sometimes within 24 hours—only to return home and endanger our family.
This cycle of neglect by the system has painted us as negligent, but the truth is that the system has neglected us. No resources, no accountability, and no solutions. This lack of support has led to repeated trauma for our family and, most recently, a tragic escalation that left us hurt, broken, and forever changed.
We cannot help but ask: When will it stop? How many more parents need to suffer in silence, live in fear, or lose their lives at the hands of their own children because they had nowhere to turn? How many parents are behind the faces of school shooters, grieving not only for victims but for the loss of their own children to untreated mental illness?
We do not want to become another tragic statistic. We do not want to be the parents behind a child who takes another life because the system failed to intervene. We need change, and we need it now.
Families like ours need:
Accessible and affordable mental health services for children, including early intervention programs.
Better crisis response systems that prioritize de-escalation and safety for all family members.
Resources for families to navigate the emotional, legal, and practical challenges of raising a child with severe mental health needs.
Accountability within the system to prevent the revolving door of hospitalization and immediate release without true evaluation or follow-up.
As our representative, we urge you to take action. This is not just our story—it is the story of countless families who suffer in silence, feeling abandoned and hopeless. Please help us turn our pain into change. Work with us to create reforms prioritizing safety, support, and real solutions for families and communities.
We would welcome the opportunity to share more of our story and collaborate on meaningful reforms to protect families and prevent future tragedies.
Sincerely,
Names omitted
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
☕ If you enjoyed this article, give us a tip! We 🤎☕‼️
