A Home for Hannah

What does home mean to you?

I know what it means to me. Safety, comfort, privacy and a fridge full of food.

I'm lucky. And I know it. But sometimes how unlucky other people are just smacks me in the face.

That's how I met Hannah.

A few years back a friend on Facebook posted a photo of their double-wide, filled-to-bursting refrigerator with a silly caption about needing a second one. As I read through the comments, silly and commiserating, one jumped out at me as not a joke. It was made by a woman I didn't know but it sounded both real and maybe a little desperate. So I reached out privately. Turns out it was Hannah's mom, Katherine, a woman I've come to have a hell of a lot of respect for. Katherine and Hannah were barely making ends meet and food was scarce, rarely delicious and barely nutritious. So I bought them a round of food.

With that small act I joined a community of people hoping to hold this mom and daughter afloat in the face of constantly mounting odds. It’s really a lot, I don’t know how they do it. Here is what I've learned.

 Hannah was just 16 years old when an uninsured driver ran her down while crossing the street.

Hannah went from being a vivacious high school sophomore to being in a coma.  From being the girl who traveled down to NYC for modeling shoots and who loved attending country music concerts with friends to being on life support. In the days and months of her coma her mother, Katherine, was convinced her only child may never wake up, might not make it to the next day.

Hannah did wake up. And Hannah did live. But Hannah is not the same. 

Since the accident, Hannah struggles with Traumatic Brain Injury which manifests in a myriad of complicated and overlapping issues that make the life she was primed to have untenable.

It has been seven long and exhausting years for Katherine and Hannah. They have lost nearly everything. Katherine's business, friends and family, their house, their security..... they've lost everything but each other.

Currently and for years now they have been calling a 300 sq foot studio cabin "HOME". I've been there. It is structure meant for a small overnight camping adventure. It's barely insulated, there is no privacy, it's one room encompassing sleeping, living and eating. Katherine sleeps on the floor giving Hannah the one single bed. This is NOT a long term solution. It's no place to live, never mind HEAL.

They've been living there for YEARS and the landlord is raising the rent.

To be brutally honest the whole situation is starting to crumble. What little social nets they once had are snapping due to time, pandemic and Hannah's ongoing, debilitating seizures. Local medical resources have been exhausted and finding in-home care has proven impossible due to their living conditions.  Our region lacks the types of therapies and treatments that a traumatic brain injury patient requires. Until recently the picture was bleak. Really bleak.

But there is HOPE.

WE HAVE FOUND A HOME FOR HANNAH!!!!!!!!

We need YOUR help to get her there. PLEASE.

This HOME is amazing. It is both a miracle and an answer to prayers that have gone unanswered for so long.

Hannah and Katherine, with your help, have the opportunity to move to an area of Long Island by the medical university of Suny Stony Brook. This university has a research unit  full of expert neurologists with clinical trials and support groups and community outreach. Because of the proximity of the university, a cluster of brain injury support organizations and practitioners have blossomed in the area. We have reached out to multiple organizations and they are all ready to meet Hannah with open arms!

In addition to the amazing medical support Hannah will FINALLY receive, Hannah and Katherine will finally have a home. A REAL home. A place where they can each have their own private bedroom, that is well insulated against the weather and is clean and bright. Katherine may be most excited about the in home laundry!!!

Really what Katherine's most is excited about is that Hannah will have a fighting chance for recovery and autonomy.

But there's MORE!!! The miracle doesn't end here. The new house is on a farm, home to 16 horses and only 20 mins from the services Hannah needs. Hannah loves  horses. Even though she was injured in her sophomore year, Hannah, the fighter, worked really hard to earn her high school degree and the school she graduated from is a farm school.

Living on a farm by horses has been Hannah's life long dream.

In a time when housing is a crisis of epic proportions, the way this has all come together is overwhelmingly exciting.

Katherine and Hannah are almost there . They are almost HOME. All they need is a bit of financial support to make this miracle a reality.

Can you help? Any small amount quickly adds up. 

While this move is necessary and miraculous, it is financially untenable without help. 

The money raised will go directly to:
First, Last and Security
Beds (!) and Furnishings
Moving company costs 
Transportation both for the move but also to meet Hannah's ongoing appointments once there
Supplemental Monthly Income for 12-24 mo
Financial Emergency Cushion

Without this move, Hannah will miss out on this life changing chance of a life time.

Without this move to an available, safe space , Katherine and Hannah may be left without a home.

Without this move to be by the kind of medical support unavailable locally, Hannah's health and outlook will continue to worsen.

Please be the light that brings Hannah HOME.

Did you know gofundme fundraisers depend on grassroots donations often with a $10 average! Can you give $10 today? 

After donations the biggest success driver is simply sharing. Either by email or social. Can Hannah count on you to share herstory?

Thank you for donating and sharing.