A friend of our Lazy Dog Sangha, Isha, is trying to make it through the final year of their bachelor’s degree while carrying the weight of five years of continuous crisis. Isha is autistic, disabled, and the sole provider for two young boys. They are also a survivor of cancer and domestic violence. Every system that should have protected their family failed to do so.

Isha shares that they went from buying their first home and building a stable life to being forced into homelessness during cancer treatment after their husband discarded them. They lost their home, their belongings, their safety, their children, and every piece of security they had. There were multiple CPS reports, NCIS involvement, and a rape investigation with medical documentation. School records showed educational neglect and significant absences when kept from Isha's care. Their ex husband continues to abuse them after the separation and currently owes more than $6000 in unpaid child support.

Isha could use support for the following reasons:

• They are a disabled, autistic parent who is the sole financial provider for two young boys.

• They have survived five years of nonstop crisis including cancer, domestic violence, homelessness, and ongoing post-separation abuse.

• Their ex husband owes more than $6000 in unpaid child support from the past two years.

• They are completing the last year of their bachelor’s degree, with two semesters left, and are studying sociology to work toward preventing child abuse.

• They currently carry $36000 in student loan debt and hope to finish their degree without taking on more loans.

• Housing, transportation, food, medical care, and school costs have become overwhelming, especially while recovering from PTSD and supporting their children through trauma.

• A financial buffer would allow their nervous system to rest, provide basic stability, and allow them to complete their degree and secure safe housing.

• Their long term goals include building a nonprofit for autistic adults and families, expanding community resources, and developing new services for trauma survivors.

• The Lazy Dog Sangha has been one of the only sources of community and grounding during the hardest years of their life.

Isha states that "For the past five years, my nervous system has been in a constant state of fight or flight while I tried to recover from PTSD in the middle of an ongoing crisis. I have been doing my best to keep my family safe, support my children through their own healing, stay in school full time, and rebuild life from the ground up. Even when I have tried to rest, my body has not been able to feel safe enough to come down from survival mode.

When your system believes you are in fight or flight, you live in a state of constant exhaustion and stress. It's impossible to heal when the trauma is active and ongoing, that's like trying to put a band aid on a bullet hole. I need triage.

Throughout everything, my education has been the one steady thing I have been able to hold on to. My book, Autism in America, is currently rated #1 on Amazon's Psychology Reference list and came directly from my lived experience. I hope to continue using my life and work to help others who are navigating challenging systems while healing from ongoing trauma that typically is intentionally and systemically silenced and ignored, unseen and unheard.

I have two semesters left. I am majoring in sociology with a minor in anthropology, studying the root causes of child abuse and the social structures that allow harm to continue. When I graduate, my goals include creating a nonprofit for autistic adults and families, expanding services for trauma survivors, and building community resources that make healing and safety more accessible.

The Lazy Dog Sangha has been one of the few places where I have felt seen, supported, and grounded through all of this. Any help offered will go directly toward stabilizing our lives, supporting my children, and giving us the chance to rebuild safely while I finish my degree and continue my work.

Even a small financial buffer would make a meaningful difference for us. Thank you for considering supporting me and my boys during this final stretch."