Team Gary

My name is Nicole Easley.  The story below was posted on Facebook by my Mom who has always been an advocate for others who are in need.  I wanted to help her friend as well so I created this fund to help with housing and food and medical/transportation until Mom can get him into a more permanent situation. Everything helps. A taxi ride is $10 to the doctor. So if you feel like you can or want to help, please do. You can also PayPal to her at [email redacted]. Friends and Family for no fees.  

Thanks for helping a very very nice gentleman who needs assistance.  THIS time, the face of homelessness has a familiar name and you know where your dollar is going. ❤️❤️


Those of you who have known me for most of my life know this gentleman. His name is Gary Allen. Lots of us had lost touch with Gary. I’m one of those people. We went to a small high school in Richardson, Texas and our “crowd”, which was everyone, started school together in about the 5th or 6th grade and we founded J.J. Pearce High School, becoming the first graduating class in 1970. That just dated me!

Gary was one of us. Football player, friend, regular guy. Funny guy. And then we all went our separate ways. And then a few days ago, I found out that Gary was living on the streets right here in the same town that I live in. Austin. And I knew that I couldn’t just let that happen.

Gary suffers from bipolar disease. It’s not his fault. It’s as real as diabetes or cancer. But it is more visible and more difficult to treat.

He has been living in the woods that you see in the picture. It’s a hard life. Especially alone. He has lived in shelters but that’s even tougher. Drugs and alcohol and even more difficult mental illness. Gary is clean and sober. He has one friend. A 16 year old mutt named Rusty that is his tried and true companion.

I got him a room in a hotel room today and he is paid up for 6 nights. I believe that longtime friends can band together and help him out for a while. I am working hard to find resources for him, and an apartment that is under $700 a month furnished. He has an income of $600. He needs medical attention (orthopedic especially), mental health, housing, public assistance (social worker), someone who understands how to navigate the system and some financial assistance to prop him up a little until I can get those other things in place.

If any of you who remember Gary want to help him for a while, message me and we can figure out how. I didn’t start a fund or anything, but maybe we can just keep him under a roof until I can get things in order. He talked about so many of you today, remembering old friends.

Homelessness is a disease, just like mental illness. He isn’t a drunk or an addict. Just a lonely man who needs a hand.https://www.paypal.com/us/home