Evelyn Johnson's 'rock & a hard place' dilemma
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My long-time and open-hearted friend, Evelyn, has recently encountered an ordeal that every parent or grandparent shudders at the thought of -- a living nightmare. Her tiny grandson (by marriage) has been deeply traumatized by an unfortunate - potentially-deadly - accident last week that left little John with a bullet-hole through his hand, a shattered middle finger, and future plastic surgeries to help mend and heal his little hand.
BACKGROUND:
Evelyn is not biologically related to little John, but after the death of her husband 5 years ago, she wanted to continue to provide a healthy home and stable environment for her husband's grandson (who had been intermittently living with the couple). Evelyn has worked hard to gain the status as John's legal guardian since John's biological parents & grandparents are unable to provide for him. To make ends meet, while also paying for John's schooling, clothing, food, health care, after-school activities, etc., Evelyn works three jobs, 7 days a week. She is a top-notch, trusted, professional caregiver to elderly and disabled clients with over 30 yrs. experience. Her clients and their family members adore and love her.
EVENT:
While Evelyn was at work on sunday, (6/23/19) she had arranged little John to visit with his biological Grandmother, who then informed Evelyn that the child's Father would be visiting him and taking him to his girlfriend's house. Evelyn was given assurances that this was the case. With some trepidation, she gave permission for the visit. She allowed John to see his father on good faith, with the promise that John's safety and welfare was first and foremost. However, it seems that the father was not honest. He was living in a homeless camp, and brought John there with him. Unsupervised, the father apparently, let John play with another little boy -- where there was access to fireworks and a loaded gun. No adults were around while the boys were playing. The other little boy, showing John the gun, inadvertently shot him in the hand. The bullet went straight through. It shattered John's middle finger. There may be permanent nerve damage to his middle finger. John was taken to Children's hospital. The father was arrested, and Police contacted Evelyn. She was distraught and hysterical as you can imagine. Very traumatic for both John and Evelyn.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/06/23/7-year-old-boy-shot-at-oakland-homeless-camp/
Little John desperately longs to see his Dad. Not wanting to deprive her grandson of the opportunity to visit with his dad, Evelyn allowed it - much to her regret now. She is well aware and so grateful that John is otherwise okay, and circumstances could have been much worse. Only supervised visitations from the father will be allowed in the future.
CURRENTLY:
John is at home with Evelyn recuperating as best he can. He is in both physical and emotional pain, and as a result, Evelyn has to be by his side - especially at bedtime. John has not been able to sleep in his own bed as normal. He needs and wants Evelyn's love, support, encouragement, and warmth to help him get through the night. He's not able to talk about the event either, so John is scheduled to meet with a psychiatrist next week. Evelyn has been working closely with a county-assigned social worker to make this happen.
Evelyn is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the impossible choices of wanting to stay at home with John to comfort and care for him, while she is also faced with the hard reality of needing to go to pay her rent, bills, obligations, and put food on the table. She desperately relies on her 3 jobs to provide for John and herself. Unfortunately, there is no extra money to draw from; no house emergency fund; and family members are in the same financial boat as she. This week Evelyn has had to miss 3 days of work, and there will be more to come. Her day time clients have been kind enough to allow little John to come to work with her on her shifts, but with her overnight clients, she has had to step away for now. She cannot risk John crying in pain and needing her attention at night, while at the same time, her elderly client waking and also needing her assistance and help.
FUNDS - CAN YOU HELP?
Evelyn is a very proud and self-sufficient woman. She is generous and kind, and always the one person that everyone counts on - friends and family alike. But this situation has rendered her in the vulnerable position of asking for help. With an upcoming surgery of John's hand pending, Evelyn is uncertain when she will be able to resume her normal work schedule. Additionally, the trauma suffered by John will be carefully managed by a county-assigned psychiatrist and will take some time to heal. It is for this reason that I started this go-fund-me campaign for Evelyn and John.
Any amount you are able to donate will be put to good use and deeply appreciated beyond words. After loosely calculating Evelyn's rent, utilities, monthly expenses, food, gas, car payment, insurance, etc., I'm hoping that the amount raised will ensure at least a whole month-and-a-half's expenses for her & John, which I'm sure will be abundantly needed, welcomed, and appreciated.
Thank you with all my heart,
Ann
BACKGROUND:
Evelyn is not biologically related to little John, but after the death of her husband 5 years ago, she wanted to continue to provide a healthy home and stable environment for her husband's grandson (who had been intermittently living with the couple). Evelyn has worked hard to gain the status as John's legal guardian since John's biological parents & grandparents are unable to provide for him. To make ends meet, while also paying for John's schooling, clothing, food, health care, after-school activities, etc., Evelyn works three jobs, 7 days a week. She is a top-notch, trusted, professional caregiver to elderly and disabled clients with over 30 yrs. experience. Her clients and their family members adore and love her.
EVENT:
While Evelyn was at work on sunday, (6/23/19) she had arranged little John to visit with his biological Grandmother, who then informed Evelyn that the child's Father would be visiting him and taking him to his girlfriend's house. Evelyn was given assurances that this was the case. With some trepidation, she gave permission for the visit. She allowed John to see his father on good faith, with the promise that John's safety and welfare was first and foremost. However, it seems that the father was not honest. He was living in a homeless camp, and brought John there with him. Unsupervised, the father apparently, let John play with another little boy -- where there was access to fireworks and a loaded gun. No adults were around while the boys were playing. The other little boy, showing John the gun, inadvertently shot him in the hand. The bullet went straight through. It shattered John's middle finger. There may be permanent nerve damage to his middle finger. John was taken to Children's hospital. The father was arrested, and Police contacted Evelyn. She was distraught and hysterical as you can imagine. Very traumatic for both John and Evelyn.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/06/23/7-year-old-boy-shot-at-oakland-homeless-camp/
Little John desperately longs to see his Dad. Not wanting to deprive her grandson of the opportunity to visit with his dad, Evelyn allowed it - much to her regret now. She is well aware and so grateful that John is otherwise okay, and circumstances could have been much worse. Only supervised visitations from the father will be allowed in the future.
CURRENTLY:
John is at home with Evelyn recuperating as best he can. He is in both physical and emotional pain, and as a result, Evelyn has to be by his side - especially at bedtime. John has not been able to sleep in his own bed as normal. He needs and wants Evelyn's love, support, encouragement, and warmth to help him get through the night. He's not able to talk about the event either, so John is scheduled to meet with a psychiatrist next week. Evelyn has been working closely with a county-assigned social worker to make this happen.
Evelyn is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the impossible choices of wanting to stay at home with John to comfort and care for him, while she is also faced with the hard reality of needing to go to pay her rent, bills, obligations, and put food on the table. She desperately relies on her 3 jobs to provide for John and herself. Unfortunately, there is no extra money to draw from; no house emergency fund; and family members are in the same financial boat as she. This week Evelyn has had to miss 3 days of work, and there will be more to come. Her day time clients have been kind enough to allow little John to come to work with her on her shifts, but with her overnight clients, she has had to step away for now. She cannot risk John crying in pain and needing her attention at night, while at the same time, her elderly client waking and also needing her assistance and help.
FUNDS - CAN YOU HELP?
Evelyn is a very proud and self-sufficient woman. She is generous and kind, and always the one person that everyone counts on - friends and family alike. But this situation has rendered her in the vulnerable position of asking for help. With an upcoming surgery of John's hand pending, Evelyn is uncertain when she will be able to resume her normal work schedule. Additionally, the trauma suffered by John will be carefully managed by a county-assigned psychiatrist and will take some time to heal. It is for this reason that I started this go-fund-me campaign for Evelyn and John.
Any amount you are able to donate will be put to good use and deeply appreciated beyond words. After loosely calculating Evelyn's rent, utilities, monthly expenses, food, gas, car payment, insurance, etc., I'm hoping that the amount raised will ensure at least a whole month-and-a-half's expenses for her & John, which I'm sure will be abundantly needed, welcomed, and appreciated.
Thank you with all my heart,
Ann
Organizer and beneficiary
Ann DiFruscia
Organizer
Richmond, CA
Evelyn Johnson
Beneficiary