I have had the privilege to be Susie’s best friend for many years and now baby Jaxson’s’ Godmother. With that honor comes good times and hard times. We are aiming to keep as much of Susie, Joel and Jaxson’s’ private life separate.
Yet, I understand many will expect more information.
Joel has been through some hardships recently concerning his mental health. I can’t go into much detail, but mental health is an ongoing battle for anyone who has experienced it.
Unfortunately, people see mental health as a weakness and perhaps a reason to not seek help.
Whether it be anxiety, depression, or a mental disorder, everyone deserves help when they need it. Susie and Joel had been working on his mental health together, setting up the correct support systems but that all takes time and resources.
The global pandemic has further brought delays and has added to the frustration and stress for a lot of people. Unfortunately, it seems that the stress of life got the better of Joel before he could use the help and resources he needed.
His family and friends were concerned when he did not return home after 48 hours, and we began our search.
Susie had already called the police and filed a missing person’s report and we had started a Facebook group within days. In two weeks, we had 1,600 amazing people helping us, and I think many of us were concerned about the direction this was headed.
After all, it is a long time to be gone without a word.
We don’t know what state of mind he was in when he was found by police. I know it’s easy to assume things, but we are all human and we all make mistakes, especially with mental health issues playing a role.
With that being said he is where he needs to be and family and friends are still here to support him. We are still figuring things out ourselves.
We have been lucky in our story, in finding him alive. Not everyone with mental health problems fare so well. We had people across the country supporting us and helping us.
This community, those around it and the many who reached out and showed up are forever engraved in our hearts for what they have done in the last two weeks.
It has shown us the power of humanity, kindness and compassion, and we will remain forever grateful.
Kristina Walker is a family friend of the Goodard family.
