Help Prince, youth advocate, w/ accident expenses

Justin "Prince" Hayward was hit by a car in a hit and run while on a work trip in Dallas  in early October.  The most significant injury from the accident is fractures in his back. He is currently in a back brace and goes to physical therapy twice a week.   His medical costs are covered, but he is not allowed to work while he is focused on healing his back, so I've set up this GoFundMe to help cover some of his expenses.  This fundraising campaign was setup with Prince's permission and 100% of the funds raised will go directly to cover his expenses while he is out of work.  Please consider helping him out with a donation.


More About Prince:
I first met Prince while he served on the Young Adult Leadership Council at TNOYS (Texas Network of Youth Services).  He joined me at the Texas Capitol many times during this most recent legislative session to advocate to improve policies and increase state funding to support youth in foster care and youth and young adults experiencing homelessness.  He is passionate about using his personal experiences and his voice to help the youth who will come after him in situations similar to what he experienced.  He speaks truth to power and his passion and dedication are inspiring to everyone who crosses his path. 



He has also used his experiences to help train caseworkers and residential staff to build relationships with youth to prevent youth in care from running from residential operations and has joined with TNOYS staff to use his experience to develop recommendations and support for better policies around juvenile curfew ordinances and supporting pregnant and parenting foster youth among other issues.

In the middle of August, he officially joined TNOYS staff as a Policy Specialist to help center youth voice and engagement in policy work and to help the organization engage more youth and young adults.  So not only is he my friend, I'm also now his supervisor.
 
Prince is also an advocate at the Young Adult Resource Center at the Salvation Army in Houston and works with the Harris County Youth Collective.   He also enjoys playing basketball daily -which due to his back injury is not an option for a while.

Why you should donate:

Prince spends a good bit of time giving of himself for the sake of others.  It's time we do the same for him.  

The driver in the hit and run has not yet been identified so cannot be held accountable.  

Workers Compensation will cover 100% of Prince's medical expenses related to the accident, but they only cover a portion of the salary he would have earned while he is out and he is not allowed to work until his doctor gives permission.  He has already been out of work for one month and that is expected to last for at least 2 or 3 more months. It also means the income from his other jobs is not available during this time.  So he is need of support to cover some of his standard expenses including food and bills. 

He also has expenses directly related to the accident that he could use help with.  Because he does not drive, the costly Uber trips across town to get to appointments with his primary doctor  and his spine specialist are adding up quickly.  Along with over the counter medication prescribed by his doctors, he has also been advised to upgrade his bed or at minimum get a mattress topper to make it more comfortable as his back heals as well.  


Thank you
Thank you for taking the time to read and considering donating to support Prince during this difficult time.  Every little bit helps.  I know that he is struggling with not working because the work he does is so important to him.  I know he trusts his doctor's decision to have him first focus on himself and healing his back, and so do I.  I just want to make sure my friend has what he needs while he heals.