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Since 2004, after a battle with brain cancer left her with a devastating brain injury, my amazing mother, Helene Neffson, has fought hard to rebuild her life. For those of you who don’t know Helene personally, she’s a dedicated teacher, loving mother, passionate writer, and caring friend. (Read more of Helene’s story and some of her writing below.) Now she faces a new challenge: In 2016 her Long Term Disability Insurance will expire, and her already small income will be drastically reduced. Helene's life savings were long ago exhausted by medical expenses, and now, without support from friends, she will no longer be able to afford her basic monthly living expenses. She will be forced to leave her apartment in Brooklyn, and the supportive community where she's lived for more than 20 years. She will no longer be able to afford the intensive PT that helps her maintain her physical wellness. She will lack the resources to pursue new assistive technology and equipment. Please donate to help Helene remain at home and maintain her quality of life!
As an educator, writer, mother, aunt, and friend, Helene has made a difference in the lives of many, many people. I watched her fight bravely to beat cancer and adjust to the physical and neurological challenges caused by her brain injury. It’s very painful for me to see her hard-won quality of life threatened in this way. As any child would, I want my mother to have a safe home and access to every possible support so that she can continue to improve her health and live a full life. So I am reaching out to you—Helene’s friends, students, colleagues, neighbors, and seeking the support of anyone whose life has been bettered by a caring educator. My mother needs your help. No amount is too small to make a difference as Helene faces this new challenge. If you can’t donate, please help us spread the word by sharing this page. I am also actively seeking leads on low-cost, handicap-accessible housing in New York City. My hope is that my mother can remain near the family and friends who play such a critical role in her daily life. Any support you can offer is deeply appreciated.
With tremendous gratitude,
Talia Neffson
(Helene's daughter)
READ MORE ABOUT HELENE’S STORY
Helene Louis Neffson is a mother, writer, and dedicated teacher who taught high school English in New York for more than 20 years. In 2004 Helene’s teaching career was cut short and her life transformed when she underwent brain surgery to remove a malignant tumor. The surgery saved Helene’s life but left her with a traumatic brain injury that resulted in serious physical and neuropsychological disabilities.
For more than a decade, Helene has striven towards health and independence, facing numerous hospitalizations, and financial, physical, and emotional troubles brought on by this devastating illness. Helene has faced each challenge with determination and optimism, using writing to express her feelings and drawing strength from the love and support of her community of family and friends.
Now Helene is about to face a new hardship and urgently needs your help to preserve her quality of life. In 2016, Helene's Long Term Disability insurance will be discontinued, drastically reducing her already small income. Without additional funding, Helene will no longer be able to afford her basic monthly living expenses, or crucial medical equipment and physical therapy treatments. Even with her current income, Helene can only afford to live in a small apartment not suited to her needs as a disabled person. Neither her kitchen nor her bathroom are wheelchair-accessible, and neither can be altered because of the conditions of the lease. My mother has taken on these challenges courageously. Now her quality of life is at risk of being further reduced. Without outside support, Helene will have to move farther away from family and friends. She will be unable to pay for the intensive PT that helps her maintain her physical wellness, and unable to pursue new assistive technology and supplies. Her income will simply not be enough to fill her basic needs as a disabled person.
Helene has made a difference in the lives of so many of her friends and students. Now she is counting on your kindness and generosity to get her through a very difficult time. Any help is greatly appreciated!
NOTE: This fund has been set up by members of Helene’s family to provide for her wellbeing and will be entrusted solely for Helene’s benefit. Donations will go directly to The Helene Neffson Special Needs Trust.
You may also donate by mailing a check payable to The Helene Neffson Special Needs Trust, to Helene Neffson Special Needs Trust, c/o Talia Neffson, 81 Ocean Parkway, Apt. 5C, Brooklyn, NY 11218.
Helene with her daughter, 1982
Helene with her mother and daughter, 2007
Helene with her grandnephew, 2014
HELENE'S WRITING
Ten Years Later: A Reflection
My recovery is less than I bargained for.
After more than a decade of confused adjustments, I am still longing for—more freedom to navigate this city, a bigger network of friends, a way to help strangers as I heal myself, expanding options by thinking differently, improving my gait, reducing hate, magnifying the intricate web of life.
Acrobatics in the synapses of my mind. My brain plays tricks on me: optical illusions, delusions, crustaceans, elation.
I jump over hurdles every day. The barricades are internal and external, mental and physical: a missed opportunity to make a new friend, a flight of steps I can’t ascend. I remove the obstacles as I face them—a detour here, a u-turn there, then I’m back to someplace better than where I started from. So there!
Poems
A strange striving force keeps me moving,
when it might be easier to passively accept inertia.
Easy is rarely the best policy.
Because you cannot see my disability, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
I’m still here,
me and my shadow.
We have an agreement—
stand in the sunshine outdoors, inside wear a halo of lamplight.
Where are the mere mortals when we need them?
✣ ✣ ✣
If only trust grew on
trees like pecans in the
New Mexican plains.
✣ ✣ ✣
Dreams and desires elude me,
but as I try to rediscover myself,
I have found a small core of stability,
like a golden planet
orbiting inside my head.
Tiny but solid, it glows
with microscopic possibilities
and as yet untapped energy.
And the pain and loneliness
don’t stand a chance
against this golden core.
Keep it glowing,
it will spread like mercury.
—Helene Neffson
As an educator, writer, mother, aunt, and friend, Helene has made a difference in the lives of many, many people. I watched her fight bravely to beat cancer and adjust to the physical and neurological challenges caused by her brain injury. It’s very painful for me to see her hard-won quality of life threatened in this way. As any child would, I want my mother to have a safe home and access to every possible support so that she can continue to improve her health and live a full life. So I am reaching out to you—Helene’s friends, students, colleagues, neighbors, and seeking the support of anyone whose life has been bettered by a caring educator. My mother needs your help. No amount is too small to make a difference as Helene faces this new challenge. If you can’t donate, please help us spread the word by sharing this page. I am also actively seeking leads on low-cost, handicap-accessible housing in New York City. My hope is that my mother can remain near the family and friends who play such a critical role in her daily life. Any support you can offer is deeply appreciated.
With tremendous gratitude,
Talia Neffson
(Helene's daughter)
READ MORE ABOUT HELENE’S STORY
Helene Louis Neffson is a mother, writer, and dedicated teacher who taught high school English in New York for more than 20 years. In 2004 Helene’s teaching career was cut short and her life transformed when she underwent brain surgery to remove a malignant tumor. The surgery saved Helene’s life but left her with a traumatic brain injury that resulted in serious physical and neuropsychological disabilities.For more than a decade, Helene has striven towards health and independence, facing numerous hospitalizations, and financial, physical, and emotional troubles brought on by this devastating illness. Helene has faced each challenge with determination and optimism, using writing to express her feelings and drawing strength from the love and support of her community of family and friends.
Now Helene is about to face a new hardship and urgently needs your help to preserve her quality of life. In 2016, Helene's Long Term Disability insurance will be discontinued, drastically reducing her already small income. Without additional funding, Helene will no longer be able to afford her basic monthly living expenses, or crucial medical equipment and physical therapy treatments. Even with her current income, Helene can only afford to live in a small apartment not suited to her needs as a disabled person. Neither her kitchen nor her bathroom are wheelchair-accessible, and neither can be altered because of the conditions of the lease. My mother has taken on these challenges courageously. Now her quality of life is at risk of being further reduced. Without outside support, Helene will have to move farther away from family and friends. She will be unable to pay for the intensive PT that helps her maintain her physical wellness, and unable to pursue new assistive technology and supplies. Her income will simply not be enough to fill her basic needs as a disabled person.
Helene has made a difference in the lives of so many of her friends and students. Now she is counting on your kindness and generosity to get her through a very difficult time. Any help is greatly appreciated!
NOTE: This fund has been set up by members of Helene’s family to provide for her wellbeing and will be entrusted solely for Helene’s benefit. Donations will go directly to The Helene Neffson Special Needs Trust.
You may also donate by mailing a check payable to The Helene Neffson Special Needs Trust, to Helene Neffson Special Needs Trust, c/o Talia Neffson, 81 Ocean Parkway, Apt. 5C, Brooklyn, NY 11218.
Helene with her daughter, 1982
Helene with her mother and daughter, 2007
Helene with her grandnephew, 2014
HELENE'S WRITING
Ten Years Later: A Reflection
My recovery is less than I bargained for.
After more than a decade of confused adjustments, I am still longing for—more freedom to navigate this city, a bigger network of friends, a way to help strangers as I heal myself, expanding options by thinking differently, improving my gait, reducing hate, magnifying the intricate web of life.
Acrobatics in the synapses of my mind. My brain plays tricks on me: optical illusions, delusions, crustaceans, elation.
I jump over hurdles every day. The barricades are internal and external, mental and physical: a missed opportunity to make a new friend, a flight of steps I can’t ascend. I remove the obstacles as I face them—a detour here, a u-turn there, then I’m back to someplace better than where I started from. So there!
Poems
A strange striving force keeps me moving,
when it might be easier to passively accept inertia.
Easy is rarely the best policy.
Because you cannot see my disability, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
I’m still here,
me and my shadow.
We have an agreement—
stand in the sunshine outdoors, inside wear a halo of lamplight.
Where are the mere mortals when we need them?
✣ ✣ ✣
If only trust grew on
trees like pecans in the
New Mexican plains.
✣ ✣ ✣
Dreams and desires elude me,
but as I try to rediscover myself,
I have found a small core of stability,
like a golden planet
orbiting inside my head.
Tiny but solid, it glows
with microscopic possibilities
and as yet untapped energy.
And the pain and loneliness
don’t stand a chance
against this golden core.
Keep it glowing,
it will spread like mercury.
—Helene Neffson
Organizer
Talia Neffson
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY