I was issued a 7 day notice to surrender my apartment. This notice wasn’t issued due to non payment of rent or because I caused damage to the unit, it was issued because my son, who has been diagnosed with several mental health disorders spiraled into an episode again. This episode did not result in any physical harm to any of the other residents, but it did disrupt the community.

You see one of his symptoms is paranoid psychosis, he begins to believe others are out to harm him, he believes he has an important message to share with anyone even if they don’t want to hear it he begins to completely unravel. At best it is unsettling for anyone in proximity to him; at worst it is terrifying. He has survived multiple attempts to end his own life but remains trapped in an endless cycle of spiraling out of control, this time that spiral has cost himself, his sister and his new born nephew our place to live.

I have read countless stories of the struggles those with mental health issues have in finding and keeping stable housing and how so often our afflicted loved ones end up living on the streets due to a lack of viable housing options or even worse end up incarcerated. I don’t want that for him so I continued to take him in no matter how challenging his symptoms where to manage. I hold on to the hope that God will make a way in this difficult situation for me and my family and ask anyone in this community who believes in the power of prayer to pray for my son and for us to find a new place to live. Thank you for allowing me to share some of my story. God bless