Help Me Give My Dad Peace in His Final Days

My name is James Marshall Newsom, and I’m asking for help to give my father, Alex Newsom, a safe and peaceful place to spend the last chapter of his life.

My dad, Alex Newsom, former combat medic in the 101st Airborne Division in the Army, and the sole custodial parent of mine when I was young, is not long for this world.

My father, for about the last 6 or so years, has been in a state of homelessness, with most nights spent inside a tent unseen from the public view. During these long years, he has battled malnourishment, unjust eviction, faulty transportation, disability, false accusations and imprisonment, and many other modern-day horrors. Despite all these hardships, he has remained strong, constantly finding jobs and working under the worst personal conditions you can imagine. I have supported him in the best capacity that a young kid can fulfill. I have provided food, clothes, shelter, countless financial support, and most importantly, been his only family member who has never left his side, despite what people may think about him. I was even homeless with him for a time! Is he perfect? No. But he’s worth fighting for, and I always have. No drugs, no convicted criminal history, a drop of alcohol hasn't even touched his lips in the past 15 years, due to him witnessing his childhood friends being consumed by it. His situation has become what it is due to misfortune after misfortune, government aid being severely flawed, and Florida being an overall horrible state to bounce back from this sort of thing.

After so long, after so many days without food, shelter, or hope for my dad, when it finally seemed that we had a breakthrough and life was starting to look bright for us both again, bam, Stage 4 colon cancer. Very aggressive, spread throughout most of his body, and since his diagnosis in January, his tumors have doubled in size despite initial chemotherapy. There is no happy ending after all. Coming back from homelessness or not, my dad will be dead in a matter of months, 6 if we are lucky, a year if a miracle happens. My dream of him living to a ripe old age in a cabin behind my house, finally finding peace after being tortured and abandoned by the country he once defended, is nothing more than a childish fantasy now. It is the most gut-wrenching feeling that I can never describe on paper, let alone in words.

Putting aside this, my mission remains the same, to support my father in any way I can, only now I have a way shorter window. This fundraiser is not for any medical treatments or cancer bills; we are past that. This fundraiser is to give my dad the basic quality of life needs so that he may be in comfort for his last days on this earth. We are not looking for a place for him to live, rather, a place for him to die. My goal is to provide him with food and shelter, especially while he is continuing chemotherapy, as no one should be sleeping outside while suffering through the side effects of that treatment. A camper would be ideal, as then I can pay rent to have him parked in a spot of land with access to utilities. (That way, once my father has passed, I can sell the camper to hopefully refund all of you. Otherwise, this would mainly go towards rent somewhere for a few months.) A warm meal and a bed to call your own is a luxury I wish to give him.

A rough draft I have is this :

Used camper (or rental): $3,000–$5,000

Lot rent/utilities: $500/month

Food and supplies: $150-300/month

I have tried to bear this burden alone for so long. People have their own tragedies all the time; why should this be anyone else's problem? It's my dad who raised and took care of me, and now it's time for me to pay it back, that's just how it is. However, I have come to a very difficult realization for me: I cannot do this by myself any longer. It would be foolish and stupid to continue to try and face this all by myself, and even if I figured it all out in the end, I fear it would come too late and my dad will have already passed. Some of my close friends and their family (some who are probably reading this right now) have provided invaluable support to me in this long war without me having to ask, and for that, I am forever grateful. I could have never gotten this far without you.

This is extremely difficult for me to do, but now I must ask all of you, for once and for all, to help me with my final battle in this war, to give my dad some peace as he dies.

At the very least, a prayer for him would be very appreciated. I am very appreciative already that you read this far down.

Thank you.