Help Us Save Our Home

A letter to you from my 20-year-old daughter, a graduate of Cleveland High School and a current student of Colorado College: 

"To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow." —Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Dearest person of the World,

For my whole life, I have anguished as my Mama’s spirit waned under her husband’s violence, threats, and verbal torment. This Christmas, we received an attack on her and my brother’s life. Now, as her husband faces charges for domestic assault and the sexual battery of one of our young family members, we are at a critical moment. Less than 48 hours ago, as I’m writing this, I learned my Mama has early onset dementia. This means that my childhood promise that one day we would be safe and heal together, is on a timer. Disabled, impoverished, haunted by amnesia, and abandoned by her husband, my Mama—my rainbow—needs your help.

For people with dementia, familiarity is vital. For longer than I’ve been alive, she’s lived in the same home. Despite her husband’s violence, our home is where I took my first steps and where my brother learned algebra. It is where my Mama raised her only daughter from first Christmas to 18th birthday. It is irreplaceable. At 17, I fled Tennessee due to my father’s threats against me, but long to return to the smell of cornbread, the taste of sweet tea, and the warmth of a mother’s embrace in that house.

Her husband’s divorce papers are full of the vitriolic deceit that marked my childhood. He and his ex-wife—who inhabit a recently bought house—seek to take and sell the only place I’ve ever called home. He drained our family’s bank account, leaving it $977.00 overdrawn by bills and emptied the 401K. With no attorney, we stand little chance of proving the wreckage he’s done to our lives or retaining what's left of it. If things remain the same, we will lose our home before my brother—who lives with our Mama—is able to recover from my father’s attack and find work. We have less than a month. With your help, we can pay for legal fees and bills, granting our family the gift of justice and the time to get back on our feet and keep our precious home.

We might not know each other, but I am certain that if you’re on this page, you believe in helping others. My mama is a brilliant, caring, and resilient person, and like you, she believes in kindness. At 46, she took in a forgotten infant she had no obligation toward, and raised her into a summa cum laude graduate, a first-generation scholar with a full ride to an elite college, and a lover of the World.

We believe in community, care, and love. We believe in hard work. As a student of Cleveland High School, I devoted myself to education, jobs, and volunteer work. My mom served our community until she was permanently disabled in a work accident. She then devoted herself to her family: me, her sons, her grandchildren and of course, our cats.

What I ask for is not a handout from one stranger to another, but a gift in memory and honor of a mother’s love, with the promise that, like my Mama and you, I will continue a legacy of love, service, and labor. Whether it's a donation, a share, and/or kindness, your care has earned our eternal gratitude. Thank you and may you and your family be well.

Sincerely, 

Kallie Dawn Dover Latham

Colorado College Class of 2027

This Letter is from February 2025, please read the May update for the most information regarding our situation. 

Our Home 

Aftermath of her husband’s violence last Christmas:

Susan’s disability:

A text from my daughter: 

Alternatives to GoFundMe, if you’re more comfortable with those. 

Venmo: @Kali-L 

Paypal: @DawnRises 

Cashapp: @Kalimariii