Please Help Daro, The Bearded Lady. I've known 87-year-old Daro, my kind, bright, talented, joke-telling, ballroom-dancing friend for 50 years, and it breaks my heart to see him sink into isolation and depression because of a hoarding disorder. Daro's home, once charming, has become a health hazard and a fire trap. Daro's limited income (Social Security), along with his lack of computer skills, led me to start this fundraiser.

Hoarding Disorder. Daro struggles with hoarding disorder. ("You don't realize until it's too late.") Hoarders experience a compulsion to hang on to possessions, no matter their worth. In Daro's case, it's decades of clothing collected from thrift stores that he wears to dress in drag at local clubs, where he is known as The Bearded Lady. It causes him sharp distress to let go of any of the clothes, so over the years they have filled his home, with only a pathway throughout.

Safe and Comfortable. Hoarding disorder is difficult to conquer, but Daro assures me (a retired therapist) that he is ready to let it all go. With your help, we can hire qualified house cleaners to restore his home to a safe and comfortable space.

$5, $10, $20 -- Every Dollar Counts. It truly does, and anything collected over the cleaning costs will go to buying a used washer and a used stove, so Daro no longer has to wash his clothes in a backyard tub or cook on one functioning stove burner.

Thank You and Please Share.

Check out all the photos (tiny arrow in lower right corner), which show Daro watching TV in his living room (cover photo), his entryway, his unusable beauty shop, the kitchen, his dog Honey.