A Home of Our Own - mother and son

Hi Everyone!

My name is Melissa and I am here to ask for your assistance in providing a real home for my son, Dane.   A home where we can make a lifetime of memories for ourselves and if we're lucky, future generations as well. A place filled with love, laughter, trust and safety.  The one place my son will always be able to go:  Home.

Dane is my joy, the love of my life, but his young life has been filled with hardship and fear.  You see, I had been in a relationship with a man who was intelligent and handsome and seemed to have the same value system as I had... until I became unexpectedly pregnant.  That is when the cycle of abuse began and I had not seen it coming.

I am a Christian and have always tried to see everyone as equal. I trusted that everyone had the same moral principles that I held to and it was my trust in humanity and naivete  which exposed me and my son to psychological, emotional, physical and sexual abuse by this man, Dane's father.

With God and a help from a few good friends I was able to escape the relationship when Dane was 2-years-old. Unfortunately, this abusive man would not give up so easily.  Dane and I have had to keep on the move as the father continued to stalk us and keep us living in fear.  I have legal custody of my son and the father has no rights whatsoever because about a year after we got out of the house, our pursuer, Dane's father, laid in wait, followed us in his car and successfully ran my automobile with us off a cliff.  

It is by God's hands alone that we survived the crash.  As a result of that assault my son suffered a closed head injury and suffers from night terrors as well as post-traumatic stress disorder.  He has a difficult time trusting adults and people of authority because he does not see the world as a safe place.  As for me I have suffered grand mal seizures ever since and was forced to give up a career in court reporting and go on disability, Medicaid and food stamps.  His father went to jail and has never paid any child support since we left his custody.

My seizures are now basically under control and I am trying to put my life back together and create a safe, stable home for my son to feel secure and safe again.  I plan to go back to court reporting school in the spring to get my skills back to professional levels (there's only one school in my state) and am searching to buy a home to grow up and grow old in.

I want to be able to show my son that people are kind and good and trustworthy and I want to show him that we are strong and can overcome our history.  We can rebuild our life after tragedy.  We don't have to depend on the state, we can get out from under evil as well as out from under the care of taxpayers.

Please help me to accomplish these goals, to get a home for my son now that we are finally safe.   I need help with a downpayment but can pay the mortgage and taxes, etc..  Help bring a brighter future to our lives.

Thank you for listening to my story,

Melissa.