Apollo Deserves a Place to Call Home

Hello! My name is Raven, and if you've clicked this, you've probably heard my cry for help. Thank you for being here!

My name is Raven, I'm from Elsipogtog First Nation and I'm reaching out to my community and networks because my Dad, Apollo, is dying, and is in desperate need of a place to call home. As his daughter, I felt obligated to do everything in my power to help make that happen for him! I wanted to explain the circumstances a little bit to give people a better idea of why this is a do-or-die emergency situation, and why we could use your support/help.

My reserve (Elsipogtog) is experiencing a pretty bad housing crisis right now, and has been for years. We are the biggest Mi’kmaq reserve located in New Brunswick, as of April 2016 the registered population is 3,313, with 2,587 living on reserve, with the population growing higher and higher every year. So far the band has been building an average of about 5 houses a year. Life on reserve and being Indigenous in general, is not as easy as getting a job, building your credit, applying for a mortgage, and living happily ever after, because unfortunately banks will not lend money to people who reside on reserve for a number of different reasons. As you can imagine, life for an Indigenous person who moves off reserve is not easy either, due to intergenerational trauma, discrimination, racism, prejudices, and just the general fact that statistically speaking, we are a more vunerable population of people.

I wanted to do this fundraiser to raise as much money as I can so that he can finally have a place to call home, for years I have been watching my Dad suffer from housing instability and I’ve always felt so hopeless. I’ve watched him sleep outside on the rez, in the woods, in hammocks, in tents, and now in his car in the middle of winter. He bought himself a car with his Indian Day School money after years of not having one. Today, I went to check on him and bring him my sleeping bag. I noticed his head was down, and I also noticed fluid was gushing out of his exhaust, I opened his door and I smelled fumes. I told him “Dad! Turn off your car right now! You’re gonna die of carbon monoxide poisoning!” and he told me “is that why I keep nodding off?”

A few years ago, my Dad got very very sick and was on the brink of death, he was sent to the hospital, and went straight into the ICU with blood sugar levels as high as 67. Another time he got sick, his blood sugar levels were at 99 (in America this would be a normal measurement, but in Canada these are ALARMING rates) For the past couple years he’s been on and off with the mother of his young 1 year old child, and each time he’s home with her he does fine with his illnesses and is somewhat stable. Whenever they break up though, he has nowhere to go, nowhere to shower, nowhere to keep his belongings, nowhere to cook food and make sure his diabetes is stable, so whenever they break up he ends up in the ICU (intensive care unit) due to the lack of housing stability, and being unable to take care of himself properly. He’s been in and out of the ICU/hospital more times than I can count, and has almost left me to go to the spirit world so many times. Drugs are what he uses to cope with his housing instability, and there’s nothing I can do to change that, but I can help support him by providing him with that stability because he is worthy too. I will do anything in my power to help make this happen for him, I remember when I was a kid he would talk about sending letters to the band and being put on the housing list, and this year he went and bought some building materials to build one for himself but he doesn’t have enough supplies at all to build him an actual functioning home. He just needs a place to feel comfortable to be himself and do what he wants, he enjoys living a simple life. He loves landscaping/gardening, technology, land-based living, etc.

My Dad has been suffering with drug addiction for as long as I can remember, and right now he’s on the methadone program. My Dad and I have always had a very solid bond, and I’ve always been very attached to him, I love him more than anything. Everyone I meet tells me that my Dad has a heart of gold, and is the most compassionate, loving, empathic person they’d ever met. He’s honestly the best type of Dad when he’s present. I see him playing outside with my little brother and teaching him things like my Dad use to teach me when I was a kid (though he had me when he was only 15 years old) He’s so loving and caring, there was never a day in my life my Dad has ever yelled at me or showed me any aggression. He’s ONLY been a loving father to me. There’s nothing he could do that will make me stop loving and supporting him. When somebody you love is sick, you don’t give up on them, you take care of them and give them medicine until they get better. 

I know this is a story so many Indigenous people share, they either love someone suffering from addiction, are suffering from addiction themselves, or maybe they have lost someone to addiction. If you are experiencing this, you know what it's like. People can try and tell you that your loved one is not worthy of love, support, or even housing, but we see it differently.

I’m so grateful he’s still here with me today and I’ll do anything I can to in order to keep him around, even if it’s just for a little while longer. My Dad (like many of us) is a victim of the violence that is the Indian Act, the on-going genocide of our people, the colonial-government, and systematic oppression. He’s the reason why I am the way I am, he’s the reason I fight so hard against colonialism. It’s affected me my entire life, and I’ve had to break those generational curses, it’s not easy being Indigenous, and I live for a day where our people can once again be at peace and stop living in survival mode.

My great aunt gave my Dad this old, abandoned, burnt house that we can MAYBE get checked out and fixed up, but I’m not totally sure it’s fixable, if it is, we will consider it! If we all collectively gave just a little bit to the cause, we can help make this a reality. The people in my community are supportive because they know how badly he needs it! I’m trying to get him something small he can live comfortably in for the rest of his life. If I don’t receive the help we need, he will die, and that’s just a sad reality I’ve had to learn to accept. We can’t keep allowing our people to die. The total amount we’re trying to fundraise is $25,000 but if we don’t receive the total amount, I’m going to inquire and ask the band if they would be able to help pay the difference, and if they won’t, I’ll see what our options are as far as getting a trailer/camper/shed to shelter him because I can’t bear to see him live in his car anymore. I’m also going to be raffling off a 6” quilled basket that I made in the near future that is worth $5000.00 so if you’d like to follow me on Instagram my handle is @junnygirldecolonized

Thank you so much if you’ve read this, it was really hard to write it and it seems a little robotic because I’m trying to be logical and less emotional. It’s hard to be vulnerable and open about your struggles sometimes, and I’m hypersensitive about my Dad. I’m really appreciative of everyone willing to help, all my friends who are starting their own fundraisers, and everyone sharing this story to help us. 

If you're unable to donate here, I also have a PayPal: PayPal.me/junnygirl 

and email money transfer: ravenchanelleaugustine at gmail dot com
(if you do send one, make the security question "what color is the sky?") 

Instagram: @junnygirldecolonized