Help Keep My Mom at Home

Please help me keep my 97-year-old Mother at home the rest of her days. We are on the verge of bankruptcy, care-taking and property upkeep has taken everything I have in time & money and almost all of what she had in savings. I’m a retired professional in the design field, I am an artist. I was a creative director, and a product development manager for 20+ years. Though I have worked all my life, my Social Security is much lower than I need to survive and help in this situation I hadn't planned for. I get fuel assistance and state-funded health insurance. I was able to work freelance and supplement income after her first stroke several years ago by creating websites for a handful of people and doing a variety of design projects and selling artwork. I could work at home, help with finances and still be with her. I am always looking for work. I would be glad to work on any kind of creative project. Any idea that you’d like to have an artist create for you, I can do, or find a way to have it done for you.

My Mom was a public school teacher all her life, and even continued to work, as a secretary to one of her former students, and as a saleswoman at Macy’s after she retired. She started working as a teenager, she was able to put herself through college to become a teacher, she always found different ways to earn, working restaurant and clerical jobs in the summer and teaching during the year. She continued working until she was 88. She suffered a stroke at 90-91. A second stroke at 93. A few less serious ministroke episodes also. The health regime is good and she's doing well, all things considered. 

She is truly a remarkable woman, and deserves to be able to live the rest of her life free of cares where she is comfortable and has the needed familiarity of the home she knows and loves. Our combined incomes can’t cover the costs any more. This is family property, first purchased by my Grandfather in the 1920’s. It is a valuable property, near the town harbor and beaches and a walk to the Main Street. This property has been part of our family as long as I’ve been alive. When I had to take over her finances, I realized I could not keep this property much longer under the financial strain, and though I regret having to face that fact we are house-poor, I am trying hard to make it work. What I need to accomplish is to be able to keep her here, continue to live and care for her in her home for as long as she lives. Care-taking leaves me no time to get a full-time job, though I have been able to find work both part-time and free-lance, but currently not earning enough and personal health issues are on the back burner, it is difficult for me to be away for more than a few hours at a time so I do housekeeping work a few days a week in 3 hour shifts sometimes with backup at home and sometimes not but I'm fortunate that my clents are less than ten minutes away.

Though there are certain recompense programs for care-givers, we could not be qualified for various reasons, which simply means I can't be paid for care-taking. Barring a miracle, I will have to sell the property in the future, or find an investor. The property is unique, the location minutes from the harbor and beaches, and could be turned into income-it's a high-rent district, the property values in the area keep increasing steadily because of the economic development at the harbor, and it would be possible to use the four buildings on the property as income-producing with businesses like seasonal/year-round rental, community conference setting, exhibit setting, bed & breakfast, artistic retreat space, etc. I haven't moved forward on this because we're struggling just to pay the bills. We are in trouble, afraid of the disintegration of our security during my Mom’s last years. Please help in any way if you can, I will be eternally grateful, and will gladly pay back if/when I can turn things around. I will not forget any kindness given to help keep her safe and secure the rest of her life. Thank you so very much for any help you can offer.