My Life Story – A Journey Through Survival

My name is Jesse James Leighty, born on October 2nd, 1980, in Mount Savage, Maryland. By the time I was one year old, my family moved to Bedford, Pennsylvania, where we lived for six months before relocating to West Virginia. At two years old, we moved again to New Jersey, where my early childhood was shaped by a world of instability and struggle.

I spent my earliest years in Bordentown, NJ, just outside Trenton. My father worked at the Princeton sewage treatment plant and was known for more than just his job. Our house was always filled with people—wrestlers, partygoers, and those looking for something extra. By the time I was one, I had already been to my first keg party. Before leaving New Jersey at age three, I barely escaped a traumatic encounter with a neighbor, something no child should ever have to face.

Life at home was unstable. My parents' relationship was filled with conflict, and it all came to a breaking point. My mother, desperate to leave, hid a brick in her purse and struck my father with it, trying to make him react so she could run. That moment led to our escape, and we left New Jersey for Florida.

On the road trip to Florida, my father saved my life. The car radiator overheated, and I was just inches away from being burned badly. In an instant, my father pushed me out of the way and took the full blast of scalding steam himself. It was a rare moment where I saw him as someone who, despite everything, still had the instinct to protect me.

We settled first in Lovejoy, near Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where my family was the only white family within a 15-block radius. Life was rough, and I was exposed to things no child should ever witness. One of my first memories there was finding a human eyeball in a pile of wood.

Eventually, we moved to Shalimar, Florida, where I spent most of my childhood.

At 10 years old, I almost drowned, but no one saw me go under.

I witnessed people doing things in the woods that no child should ever see.

I was propositioned by a 12-year-old when I was just 10, a moment that shattered my sense of innocence.

By 13, I had to run away from my abusive mother. I bounced between family members, trying to find a safe place, until I was sent back to Pennsylvania at 16 to live with my father. That decision nearly cost me my life—in 2000, he pulled a gun and shot at me.

After that, my life became a constant battle. I fell into toxic relationships, addiction, and survival mode, leading to two failed marriages. But even through the darkest times, my two sons became my greatest gift, the only reason I kept pushing forward.

I have seen more tragedy than most could imagine:

I witnessed my coworker murdered at a fast-food job in the early 2000s.

I saw someone die in a car accident, their last moments frozen in my memory.

One of my friends played Russian Roulette—he survived, but now lives in a wheelchair.

The girl I loved in high school was in a wreck, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.

At a music festival, I almost watched another friend die in front of me. He came so close to not making it.

Then, life hit me again—hard.

For three years, during the pandemic, I ran a Boost Mobile store completely by myself. It was my dream job, something I put my heart into. Then, without warning, the franchise owner decided to quit and start power washing homes instead. Just like that, the job I dedicated years to was gone.

Only two days before Father’s Day, my wife left me. A week later, I shattered my right knee and had to undergo major surgery. In the middle of my recovery, I lost my apartment, and suddenly, I was homeless, living in a tent for four months.

I fought hard to rebuild. I found a job, lost it, and struggled with PTSD and trust issues, which made it even harder to keep stable work. Eventually, I was able to get into another apartment, and I’m currently looking for work—but my body is still suffering. Now, I’m facing serious liver issues and another battle with kidney stones.

I’m not someone who likes to ask for help—I’ve always been the one who tried to handle things on my own. But now, life is just too much. I have no family around anymore, and after everything I’ve survived, I just need a chance to get back on my feet.

This GoFundMe is my chance to rebuild—to find stability, to heal, and to create a future where I am no longer just surviving, but actually living. Any support, no matter how small, makes a difference. Whether it’s a donation or simply sharing my story, thank you for taking the time to read this.

I’ve been through hell and back, but I’m still standing. Life, bring it on.

most fund will go to the Workforce Housing Program to pay my rent, sone will go to pay my other bills

Hashtags for GoFundMe

#Survivor #HelpMeRebuild #LifeStruggles #HealingJourney #Resilience #HopeForABetterFuture #MentalHealthAwareness #SupportJesse #OvercomingTrauma #LifeAfterPain

Thank you so very much to anyone who donates, it means the world to me, I saw the first few come in in shear minutes and I couldn't help but to start to cry tears of joy. Again thank you so very much!