How to begin this message is difficult and uncomfortable. So I am going to get right to it—

When I was 10 my mother lost custody of my little brother. He was taken to Florida by his father where none of us were able to reach or connect with him. Fast forward to when he was 14 his father left him in his Florida home and never returned, in which the state of Florida put him into foster care. Not one of his parents fought to get him back, as their life was succumbed to their own addiction. He has been on his own, abandon by the people who were supposed to love and guide him. Unfortunately, my brothers life took a path of homelessness, chaos, and addiction.

5 months ago he suffered an overdose in which left him on life support for 2 weeks. Due to the lack of oxygen to his brain, he was unable to move, swallow, eat, speak, or follow commands. By nothing short of a miracle he pulled through. He has overcome many of those obstacles. However, he is left with a severe speech impairment with his expressive language, as well as impaired motor control in his right arm. The last few months have been trying, to say the very least. He has been in an inpatient drug/alcohol rehab for the last 2 months and has shown nothing but willingness and desperation for a different life. He has never been given the chance to be shown any other life than the one that was given to him. There has been no love, no guidance, no happiness. Just him on his own with an understandably sick and suffering mental state. I know the risk of helping and putting my heart out to addicts, I have dealt with it firsthand. But I also believe everyone deserves one chance. Which is why I’m writing this very uncomfortable post.

I live in NY, he lives in Florida. There is only so much I can do from afar and only so much I can do on my own. I myself am desperate to give him this chance at a good life and am doing everything I can to support him without putting myself or family in a financial hole. He is being discharged from rehab and into sober living where he will also be able to receive physical & occupational therapy, speech therapy, vocational therapy, and counseling. As we all know, everything comes with a cost. This is going to be a long road, it will be quite some time until he’s able to work and support himself. And while I and my 2 other brothers are trying to help where we can, the costs of housing, transportation, food, necessities, medical expenses, are only adding up. So, this is me being completely vulnerable and asking for any bit of help to try and give my brother an opportunity to know what a life with love looks like. Any and all help will be used in good faith and will be so deeply appreciated.

all my love,

Jess.