In loving memory of our mom, Colette Slade

Hi everyone. As many of you know, my mom took her life last week shortly after midnight on New Year's Day. My mom was a compassionate, caring woman who loved her family and animals dearly, but she struggled with mental illness and trauma.

Colette dedicated her life to raising her family and, more recently, rehabilitating injured songbirds. Her loss isn’t just felt by our family but by her community, her friends, her siblings, her nieces and nephews, and those birds she will no longer be able to save. ❤️

Her immediate family, my dad, brother, sister, and I, have been left behind to pick up the pieces and try to keep our family from crumbling. We have to figure out how to fill the hole she left and step up for each other in ways that we never thought we would have to. I never imagined I would have to hold my siblings while they screamed and cried over the loss of our mother. I never thought I would have to call 911 or try to perform CPR, even though I could tell she was gone.

These are realities we have to deal with now, and we need help doing so. These have been the hardest two weeks of my life, and there is a long road ahead to healing and trying to be okay again.

Any donations would go directly to my family to help us cover the cost of mental health services such as trauma therapy, support groups, and whatever other support we need while we process and grieve. We would also use it to cover basic needs such as food and to make up lost income from not working during this time. And finally, to help us celebrate my mom’s life and who she was while she was here with urns to keep her with us and a tree to plant in her honor.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to our family during this incredibly difficult time. We appreciate each and every one of you. Knowing that we are not alone in our grief has helped us keep our heads up and carry on, even though we are so devastated by our loss.

You can also visit our Meal Train page to help us that way. ❤️