Mental Health Treatment for Chris Peluso

Hi everyone,

We're Rebecca LaChance and Tim Oxbrow, and our dear friend Chris Peluso needs your help.

Chris is best known as an actor, for his work on Broadway, in the West End, and on national tours in both the US and UK. For anyone who knows him personally, Chris is also a funny, kind and caring friend, as well as a devoted dad to Peety, his beloved King Charles Cavalier, who sadly died last year. But as many probably don't know, Chris suffers from schizoaffective disorder. This diagnosis has resulted in Chris experiencing debilitating paranoia, which has kept him from performing in recent years.

As well as affecting his capacity to work in the field he built his career in over the last 18 years, Chris's mental health has affected every aspect of his life. In recent months, the paranoia has consumed him to the extent that he is unable to work any job and has had to leave his wife and young child and return to America to seek treatment. Chris has no health care insurance in the US and was recently hospitalized for about two weeks. Currently, he is seeking treatment at an inpatient mental health rehabilitation center.

Chris's insurance doesn't start until October, and unfortunately, it will not cover his inpatient treatment. The facilities that Chris is looking at are likely to cost between $70,000-$90,000 for the full term of treatment. While his family has generously helped with what they can, there is simply not enough to cover the treatment and pay off his exceedingly high hospital bills.

We love our friend fiercely, and know he deserves the opportunity to go through treatment, return to himself, and carve out a new life living with his illness in peace. And who knows, maybe he'll be able to act again someday!

Any donation you can give will be received with immense gratitude. Funds will be used to pay for Chris's inpatient treatment and pay down his hospital bills from the past few weeks. It's not easy to share with the world something you have kept hidden for a long time, and we hope you can appreciate how difficult a decision it was for Chris to allow us to share his story for this fundraiser.

In his own words, "Hopefully this helps bring some awareness to how so many suffer from mental illness in silence. You never know what someone may be going through. Be kind to each other."

With all our love and thanks,

Rebecca and Tim