Aaron & Luke's Long-Term Care Plan

As many of you know, for the past 3 years, our dear friend, Aaron Hamilton has had primary physical custody of his severely autistic son, Luke. Sadly, Luke’s mother concluded that she could no longer care for him, nor does she provide any financial assistance to Luke. Thus, for the past several years, Aaron has been Luke’s sole parent and financial support.

 While in Aaron’s care, Luke has seen many improvements! Dramatic improvements! Overall, he is a happy, healthy, teenager. But as with all teenagers, there are also difficult episodes. In Luke’s case, a few of these have been very dangerous. Aaron has posted some of these events on Facebook. He has also dealt with these situations with the help of close family members, friends and trusted certified care-givers, or most often - alone.

 But recently, and due to many changes, both with Luke, and with Aaron’s employment, things have come to a critical point – simply overwhelming for any single parent to bear alone. The options available to Aaron are limited (state, county aid, certified care givers, lack of support from his former spouse, etc.) due to many reasons, one of which includes his current legal position, which he seeks to change. Aaron is seeking full, legal custody of Luke.

 Luke is a large, 5’ 9”, 240 pound teenager, going through normal hormonal changes and puberty. He is also severely autistic. This combination makes things even more difficult, resulting in Luke needing 100%, 24/7, supervised care.

 When Luke experiences “melt downs”, he poses a genuine threat to himself, to Aaron, and others. There have already been 8 trips to the emergency room in the last two years, and the police need to be called with every incident to help.

 Aaron can only work 100% telecommute jobs so that he can work at home to care for Luke. This has resulted in him taking a 50% pay cut. Additionally, due to Luke’s behavior and circumstances, Aaron has had to voluntarily forfeit his legal custodial rights to visits with his younger son, Ronan, due to the uncertainties associated with Luke’s unstable demeanor. Aaron can no longer afford the in-home care giving services he was employing in the past, due to said pay-cut. Aaron’s parents are elderly, and can no longer handle Luke safely. As a result, Ronan’s relationship with Aaron is suffering as well.  

 Aaron has made every effort to keep Luke at home, and care for him himself. But the circumstances have now escalated to the point, and his resources have depleted to the point that Aaron has no choice but to place Luke into a group home where he has all the support and care he needs to survive and thrive. 

 Aaron’s hope is that in this medically and emotionally supervised environment, Luke will either outgrow, or learn to cope with this current phase of emotional turmoil, aggression, and be able to return home. But that may not happen. And, if it doesn’t, then Aaron will need to financially sustain a permanent, full-time commitment to residential care for his son – without any financial assistance from Luke’s mother.

 In the meantime, he desperately needs interim help with after school and weekend trained care, while he works with social services to place his son. Aaron also needs immediate financial assistance toward the legal fees that will allow him, as sole care giver, to make the proper choices for Luke.

 In addition, financial donations will help Aaron to replace and repair items Luke has broken or destroyed during his outbursts, as well as replace or repair items such as electronics, clothing, and repairs to the car and home, all of which have occurred during Luke's meltdowns.

Here are real ways you can help our dear friend through this gofundme.com campaign:

 $5 - A sensory toy for Luke or movie rental to entertain him

$20 - One hour of in-home trained care for Luke

$35 - A new clothing item for Luke or Aaron to replace what Luke has ripped up

$50 - Durable iPhone Case (Luke breaks these often)

$100 - One evening/after school of trained care for Luke

$250 - Replacement of a car window Luke broke

$500 - Patching multiple holes in walls and replacement of broken fixtures

$500 - Replacement iPhone (critical for Luke to go out in public confidently)

$750 - Replacement of car steering column sticks broken by Luke

$1000 - Two weeks of in-home care for Luke

Aaron has some big picture costs to address as well. These include:

 $5000.00 – To immediately replace home and auto damages (in addition to above)

$5000.00 – Legal Fees for custody modification and group home placement contracts

Your donations through gofundme.com are tax free. They are considered gifts, so will not cost Aaron any fees!

Your donations are guaranteed! If anything goes wrong, the donor’s contribution is refunded!

Are gofundme.com donations tax deductible? You will need to check with your accountant.

We will also make periodic updates so that you know what your donations were applied to. Any donations in surplus of any category will go to certified, in-home care for Luke and for necessary legal fees.

 Thank you for supporting our friend!