Family friend seeks aid for Charleston boy caught in crossfire

You likely recall the story of Tyreik Gadsden, the five year-old boy who was errantly struck – and ultimately paralyzed – by a bullet from a gunfight in downtown Charleston on May 22 of this year. You may also be familiar with the fundraising efforts that took place in the weeks following the incident, from local celebrity-attended soirees to “Go Fund Me”-type collection efforts. What you couldn’t possibly know, however, is that Tyreik has received relatively little of the funds raised to go toward the mounting expenses of a child with special needs.

At the October Charleston City Council meeting held at Providence Baptist Church on Daniel Island, Mayor Joe Riley invited forward the young boy and the woman who has stepped in to help him, so that they could tell that part of the story.

Bonnie Sempier met Tyreik when she, with the assistance of a colleague connected with the family, paid a visit to his school to bring him a donation of clothing and an electronic tablet. Sempier, like so many others who had followed his story through the news, expected to see a boy getting accustomed to a wheelchair and enjoying being back at school. What she found instead stopped her in her tracks. “He had dried urine and blisters on him,” she recalls, “and I found a bullet in the school parking lot.”

Sempier was spurred to action. She reached out to Tyreik’s mother, Lashaunna Jones, who had returned to work immediately upon returning to Charleston following her son’s two-month medical treatment in Charlotte. Sempier learned that, despite Jones’ drive to earn an income to support her family, additional bills and expenditures related to the tragic incident far outpaced her take-home pay. And though the National Action Network (NAN) had established the Tyreik Gadsden Benefit Fund through a state credit union, and approximately $45,000 had been donated to that fund, Sempier states NAN had put a hold on all withdrawals until the boy turned 18 years old.

Though the bulk of Tyreik’s rehab has been covered by insurance, Sempier lists the many other expenses that are not: a wheelchair-accessible vehicle and other transportation to and from physical therapy, counseling for his post-traumatic stress disorder and, perhaps most pressing, a safe place to live. The apartment in which the boy lived downtown was on a second floor, and there was no way for him to get upstairs in his wheelchair. He was also terrified to return there, fearing he would be shot again.

So Sempier located an apartment for Tyreik and his mom in Mount Pleasant, and has paid several months rent for them. She was also able to convince NAN to permit a $13,500 withdrawal from the benefit fund to purchase a properly-outfitted van for the family. The fund has since been closed, and the remaining money awaits the child’s 18th birthday.

In the meantime, Sempier has set up a fund through Wells Fargo to accept contributions for Tyreik’s current care and living expenses, and she is reaching out to the community – as she did at the October 13 City County meeting – to make donations that are accessible to him and his family today. For information on how to help, contact Bonnie Sempier at (843) 478-7933.