Help Sean and Alice Secure a Safe Future

My name is Tristin, and I am creating this fundraiser to help my son, Sean, and my granddaughter, Alice. Sean, like many kids his age, smoked marijuana. He ended up getting what is called cyclic vomiting disorder, and as his health gradually declined, he found himself unable to stop on his own. In July, he showed up and asked me to help get him into treatment. He went into treatment and came up with a solid plan for afterward. He was going to stay at my house until he got a bed in sober living, he got himself a sponsor, continued to go to meetings, and got a job lined up.

The first weekend he was here, he got to take his 3.5-year-old daughter for the weekend. She was sent with a backpack full of pajamas that are way past being too small and a pair of shoes that were also too small. Then her mom asked if he could keep her for a week. Then two weeks. About this time, we found out some information about the conditions little Alice has been living in, and Sean had to refigure all of his plans. Not only can we not, in good conscience, send Alice back to those conditions, but this called for drastic measures to keep Alice safe. Every child deserves to be safe and taken care of, and Alice is also autistic, so she can't even verbalize what is going on in her little life. I can't go into all the details due to our pending court case, but I feel absolutely confident that if you knew what we have found out, each of you reading this would have the same level of concern and come to the same conclusion.

Sean has filed for full custody, and although this is the right decision, it has put him in a precarious situation. Due to all these circumstances, he cannot go to regular sober living, and he was unable to start his job due to lack of childcare. I work full-time and am in school, so the days and times I can watch Alice are quite limited. Despite these difficult circumstances, Sean has been working diligently to get everything set up and in order. His biggest problem is that with everything combined, everything needs to be done almost at once whilst he continues to work on and maintain his sobriety. He has secured a part-time job that he starts on 10/21/24 that he will be able to work while Alice and I are sleeping. That will open the door to get daycare assistance so he can start working more hours. He has been accepted into the Life Start Village, which is sober living for families. He still has documents he is working on gathering for court, and he continues meeting with his sponsor and going to meetings, even though sometimes that means going to a midnight meeting while we are sleeping. He has also got Alice health insurance now, something she hasn't had for a long time. This will allow him to take her to a specialist and start getting her help for her autism and help her to have the best quality of life possible.

So, this fundraiser is to help him get the most pressing issues resolved. He needs $500 as soon as possible for his deposit at the Life Start Village. If he can get that, plus the $400 first month's rent by November 1, 2024, then they can move into their apartment. I figure he needs about $250 to get his car licensed and insured so that he and Alice are able to get to work/daycare/meetings safely and legally. He needs to order both of their birth certificates for court and assistance. He will need to be able to buy Alice a bed for their new apartment also. The last few hundred dollars will help him make it to his first paycheck and allow him to be able to buy things like gas and diapers, as Alice is not potty trained, although we have just started to train her.

I can honestly say that the day your child gets out of treatment is a very scary day. You never know what can happen when they leave that structured environment, but Sean has definitely risen to the occasion, and even though he is under an incredible amount of stress and pressure, he is still showing up every day and doing his very best. I am so incredibly proud to be this kid's mom! Sometimes people just need a small helping hand, and that can make all the difference for them. Thank you to everyone who has helped or helped support Sean through these difficult times. For what we cannot do alone, we can do together.