Marco Petronio

Pushups for Mike

As some of you may know, my brother has been severely affected by mental illness. His situation is heartbreaking. He has lived with a lifetime of anger, low self-esteem, and paranoia, and despite repeated efforts to confront and manage these struggles, he never had the support he truly needed.

Over the years, he was committed multiple times and released shortly after being stabilized, each time with little meaningful follow-up. The reality is that our mental health system is not equipped to provide consistent, long-term care for people with ongoing and complex needs. Without that support, his grip on reality deteriorated, his paranoia intensified, and it ultimately led to a horrific crime. He has now been incarcerated in a mental institution for the past six years. Tragically, it took the loss of another life—likely someone struggling in a similar way—for my brother to finally receive sustained care. He isn't a bad person, he never hurt anyone except himself leading up to this incident and remains very remorseful about the events of that day. 

I’m doing this push-up challenge not because it’s important in itself, but in the hope of raising awareness and raising funds for mental health services, so others don’t have to reach a breaking point before help is available.

If you’re able, please consider making donation to support mental health programs and resources. Even a small contribution can help fund long-term care, advocacy, and support for people who are falling through the cracks. If you can’t donate, sharing this message also helps more than you might realize.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any support you’re able to give.

I pledge $100 to get the ball rolling.