Crisis Overview: Homeless - Food Insecurity - Prolonged Survival Mode - Pressing Financial Needs - Multiple Medical Conditions - AMIDST MAJOR DENTAL SURGERY EMERGENCY

Ben is disabled, unhoused, and experiencing a large-scale dental crisis. He is currently staying in temporary housing at a local motel (SC, CA), recovering from recent intensive dental surgeries with more upcoming treatments. Ben needs financial help primarily for lodging to recover from dental procedures, therapeutic bodywork treatments, and basic living costs. The intention is to apply funds to the next 4 - 6 months of expenses as a safety net while steadily orchestrating each step toward stability. He wishes to relocate to Santa Clara County soon for better medical care access and social services in the interim until able to relocate to Oahu, HI for the same reasons and to follow through with his healing plan.

Your support, either through financial donations and/or by sharing this crowdfund to others, and otherwise, will be instrumental in helping to overcome the obstacles ahead! Any and all applied efforts and donations are absolutely appreciated and put to good use. Please lend some help and many thanks in advance!!

Bio -

J. Ben Hartley, 38 years old

Hometown: Sacramento, CA

“2nd Hometown”: Santa Cruz, CA

Gig worker, property caretaker, jack of many trades, aspiring entrepreneur. Artist, creative, organizer, visionary, wounded healer, herbalist, “untrained” permaculturalist, etc..

Homeless: runaway teen, nomadic, traveler, survivalist.

Disabled: scoliosis, sciatica, hip & leg issues, chronic pain, etc..

Dental Emergency: Recovering currently from 2 major tooth extractions - 3 teeth then 5 teeth 5 weeks apart. 2 more upcoming extractions of 3 teeth total. 8 teeth can be “replaced”. Planning for partials or state plates until permanent implant “replacements”.

Proposed Solutions:

Crowdfunding (in lieu of social services, safety nets, government assistance) to afford temporary lodging and then semipermanent housing towards permanent stability.

Shelter - oral surgery recovery emergency motel room stays towards housing. Immediate lodging bills, to secure longer term stays and transition to monthly rental.

Actively seeking resources and community support to navigate this challenging period. Reaching out in hopes of hospitable sanctuaries of sorts (advertising soon), safe houses, flexible work trade barters, property caretaking positions, and healing spaces. Asking for People Power, Buddy Systems, Grassroots Community Building, Mutual Aid, fellow givers and symbiotic relationships.

(Have been plugging through local systems for resources again leading to mostly disappointments.)

Preparing for relocation to the best medical care possible. Mapping out arrangements and timelines as the treatment plan is realized and more clarity arises out of a complex and delicate situation week by week.

Donations will contribute to:

Lodging - motel rooms < AirBnB < monthly rental

Bodily Health - food, vitamins & supplements, bodywork therapies, self care

Vehicular Upkeep - gas, tune up maintenance, insurance, registration

Other - yet to be known dental surgery recovery bills and living costs

I have little choice but to ask for help.

I have EBT (food stamps - now $292 a month) which has never been enough and I utilize medical resources as much as possible via MediCal insurance. I’ve applied for SSI and been denied 3 times, reapplied this summer and they didn’t call me when they had scheduled for the telephonic interview appointment; I plan to reapply once housed.

I would love some help with researching data on relocating to make well rounded educated decisions.

When I can safely relocate and establish I intend to secure financial assistance (EBT, SSI, etc..), fully pursue my healing path, attend college, and plan to start small businesses.

Your supportive generosity would directly impact my ability to make full recovery, access critical dental care to complete much needed treatment, and find/create stability in order to rebuild my life.

I intend to be as forthcoming and transparent as possible in regards to bills and expenses that donations are used for with updates and milestone notifications as these endeavors progress over time.

Storytelling (some details)

~ Homeless ~

Chronic homelessness since age 15 (23 years). Broken home, fragmented family, became a nomadic survivalist, gig worker as able. I have searched the West Coast for home and family repeatedly, and I’ve searched my soul for answers elsewhere. I’ve been surviving in Santa Cruz for almost a full decade. For years, I am reverse engineering a real chance to repair my life and create prosperity.

~ Disabled ~

Chronic pain, scoliosis, sciatica, chronic venous insufficiency, hip & leg problems, shoulder issues, neck and back pain, etc.. Health issues have escalated in recent times from years of rough living. Dental surgery caused spikes in ailments and symptoms, put me back on cane use (same day) after 6+ months without a cane. Recent ER visit due to Angina (acute chest pain, shortness of breath) running 10 cardio tests, “workup was overall reassuring”, but potential cardiovascular and pulmonary issues to diagnose.

~ Dental crisis ~

Recent extractions of 3 teeth and then 5 teeth. Two more extractions of 3 more teeth this winter. 8 teeth to “replace” with partials or state plates until implants are achievable.

Malnourished, underweight, weak & low energy, struggling through recovery motions, financial jam, mostly on my own with some fleeting aid. Trailblazing my healing path and gateway into housing. In my experience the system has failed me here so I’m seeking better systems elsewhere. In the meantime I’m still pushing through the local system relentlessly to reach resources in a personal emergency. I’m reaching out for community support to safeguard myself for the immediate future.

…From December 2023 to Fall of 2024

How I got my reality check. (Long stories shortened)

Fed up again with barely surviving in Santa Cruz I was reluctantly heading to L.A. to couch surf at my half sister’s place to start over when I broke down in Chualar with a failed alternator. After emergency repairs in Watsonville I came back to Santa Cruz to resupply and decided to get my teeth examined at Dientes since I had the chance to. This exam became the big fat reality check of my lifetime (I cannot emphasize this enough.). 16 out of 32 teeth needed dental work! I could see clearly that the nightmare ahead of me was most definitely coming on soon. (5 years beforehand I had an odd, quick, heavily surreal, yet sorta funny dream warning me of all this too.)

And then, the relentless rains for weeks caused a serious mold problem in my van that halted my life for months. I came back to Santa Cruz after once again searching for support and “home” through family and friends up and down the state to rediscover dead ends. This summer a similar crisis occurred with a mite infestation that came from the trees downtown I had come to rely on for shade. I frantically reached out for local community support to facilitate the situation, it took several weeks with few resources. Soon after finally exterminating the mites (BugMD works!) I began having bad toothaches again.

I took care of all the dental work I could during spring/summer between those emergencies short of extractions. I got as ready as possible informationally along the way but nothing could have prepared me for the hell I went through on my own with no facilities blindsided by dental surgery.

Mid-September >

My body was hit very hard responding to intense oral procedures. Nowhere to heal, I was clinging to my cargo van near the most reliable restroom downtown, losing strength rapidly, watching myself fall apart naturally. NO-one should be completely alone during heavy recovery.

Left with no options, I put the situation into words the best I could and asked my sister to post it on FB reaching out for help. Ten people donated just over $1000 in response to that which was used for a motel room. I’ve been gathering resources, making progress and troubleshooting prognostications to the best of my abilities. I need more help…

Please help us get the word out by reposting this and make a donation if you are able to! Thank you kindly!! Much obliged.