Help for Jesse

Hi, my name is Jesse, and I'm looking for some help in putting my life back together.

I'm a 51 year old neurodivergent father of 2 living in Gettysburg, PA. I've lived here most of my life. My children are 14 and 10, and they are my reason for struggling on in the face of my situation. My son is on the autism spectrum and while I was diagnosed with ADHD in 1989, working with him has helped me realize the source of many of my own difficulties stem from my own autistic tendencies. This has been both a blessing and a curse. I have no health insurance, so treatment for myself is basically out of the question. In some ways it has made my own situation more painful and difficult.

For the last 20 years I've run a Batterers Intervention Program called NOVIS. I work with men who have behaved abusively to family members. We use a 26-week educational curriculum that confronts and addresses the behaviors as well as the beliefs and cognitive patterns that are connected to them.

I had no background in social work or domestic violence when I started this work; I have an English degree. The more I worked with the men, the more I came to love it. I believe it’s important and worthwhile. I now own the business. In 20 years I’ve seen and heard some amazing things. As domestic violence is powered and caused by the beliefs and thought processes of those who commit it, it can be very effectively addressed with education. It has to be done properly, but men can be taught new ways of thinking and acting.

While NOVIS was never meant to be a for-profit organization, the people who started the program never set it up correctly. I was originally hired with money from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. This allowed NOVIS to set up operations and paid my original salary. It allowed us to create a stable funding stream by way of client fees and court referrals.

Even before the pandemic, my business and I were in trouble. I’ve had lifelong struggles with depression and executive functioning, and events of the past ten years have taken their toll on me. When the pandemic hit, I was in no shape to weather it financially or mentally. I am now homeless, staying with friends and trying to re-establish a home for my kids.

Things are not hopeless. I’ve discovered a new anti-depressant that has helped a lot. I’m now fully virtual and running sessions via Zoom rather than in person. My client enrollment has doubled since December. I’ve raised my fees a little, and I’m very close to being able to afford a home.

I’m asking for help because I don’t think I’m quite there yet. The expenses around getting a rental are large, and my credit is pretty bad. This money will allow me to afford a deposit that will let me get a decent living situation. The friends I am staying with would like me out by the end of August, and I’m committed to getting there.