CAN WE REACH $900 THIS WEEKEND ? We had a great boost to our fund raiser , but half of what has been collected so far has already been used by this family . We still need to get the rest of the funds in to reach out target figure to make sure they keep their room for the rest of this month . Please give whatever you can to help us do this and share this wherever you can too ... Thanks xxx This is a family Ive known for 8 years now . The guy lost his job because he was trying to care for his elderly father and learning disabled brother and having health issues with his back too . when they first lost their home they would spend what time they could in a hotel room and were living in their car for the rest of the time for about the first 5 or so years I was just someone who cared and was always there to listen and support them as a friend ... nothing financial .. just checked up on them via the internet and phone almost every day Yes we tried to find alternatives that would work for them but all social services would say is you could put your brother into care and get a job and that made him terrified that they would force him to put his brother in care and his dad too when he was alive . One Christmas whilst they were living part of each month in their car I waited on Christmas Eve for my friend to come online when he got back to the hotel . It got to about 3am here in the UK and I knew theyd not made it back . I was so devastated and found it so impossible to go to bed and spend my Christmas in the usual way with presents and a big dinner etc knowing over in LA they would be in a car alone , cold hurting and scared whilst all around them everyone enjoyed their holidays. They eventually made it back to the hotel in the new year and were absolutely dead on their feet all of them . My friend told me how when they got to the church they went to for food handouts on Christmas eve , demand had been so great the church had run out of food and closed early . This meant that on top of everything they had no food over Christmas too . I vowed there and then that never again would my friend spend another Christmas like that . It was the following Christmas that I persuaded my friend to let me do the first fund raiser for them to make sure they had a room for the holidays that year . He had always been one that kept his business to himself and hardly anyone else knew of their situation . He was very reluctant to let me share his story but eventually by promising no names or location or any other details would be used , it would just be me trying to help a friend in need and Id set it all up and collect everything in and monitor it all .. and send the money to his pay pal as it came in so they could use it to keep the room and, he agreed to let me do it . That is why hes only referred to as my friend and I do all the collecting in etc . - To start with I did the fund raisers to make sure they had a room over holidays like Xmas , Easter and Thanksgiving . Following his dads death though , his brothers benefit had to all be recalculated and he never knew what he would be paid or when he would be paid it for about 4 months . That is when I started doing the fund raisers every month , as his brothers benefit was their only income . Once they started getting his brothers benefit regularly I carried on doing the fund raisers because they were only just coping and I don’t think they would be able to cope mentally and emotionally any more out in the car on the streets . Especially as the car has got more and more go wrong with it and is unusable now we are still continuously trying to find a better option but One big problem is their only guaranteed income is his brothers benefit of just over $1000 and to rent a place they often need a months rent up front .. or a security deposit and do stuff like credit checks etc .Another big problem is that with all theyve been through so many people he feels have let him down that he has kind of shut himself off and finds it frightening to interact with strangers ... and very hard to trust those people he doesnt know . He is also terrified of social services , that they will take his brother from him and put him in care . He is very protective of his brother and needs to be somewhere he feels is safe for them . There is affordable housing in LA county but he feels they could end up amongst gangsters or drug dealers or something where it wont be safe for his brother to live . Also for similar reasons he wont consider going to live in places he doesnt know or living with strangers All of this makes it very hard for him to find an alternative where he feels they could be safe and live peacefully without feeling they were constantly being checked on or having to worry about who else might be living where they were ....... I know hard to understand .. but its just what the years of living like they have has done to him and how its affected him mentally and emotionally as well as physically . He does put his little dogs and brother first before himself so many times though and tries hard to find them a way out of this that he can accept . He is always so devoted to his family and 2 little dogs and wants this to end more than anyone , he hates having to ask others for donations and share his story .. but knows especially now , that without the help others give they truly would be walking the streets ... theyve lived on the streets in their car before .. but dont even have that option . we all want this to be temporary ... and to not need to have to do this , but the hotel room keeps them off the streets and safe ... and whilst they need that help .. Ill try and help them ... what sort of a friend would I be if I just said Ok this has gone on for long enough ... Im not helping any more ... and left them alone to god knows what fate . We are trying to find a solution .. but it has to be one he will be willing to try and one he feels happy with and sadly all of them involve too much money , interacting with strangers , interacting with social services and moving to a place you know nothing about thats full of people you dont know . All of these just cause him more stress and upset and more fear ... its not something he can control its just how his mind is how he is and its very hard to get them help because of that but its because he wants to keep them all safe and together and knows his brother and 2 little dogs are what keeps him alive ... If he lost them I dont think hed be around much longer to be honest . youcaring/help-a-neighbor/help-a-guy-who-has-stood-by-his-2-little-dogs-and-brother-/198173
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:57:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015