Help Takoda and Mom Rebuild Their Lives

I really hate to ask anyone for help. I am very embarrassed ashamed to ask for help when there are so many other people in the world who need urgent help right now. I don't ask for myself but for my son, Takoda, who is extremely unwell emotionally. He does see a counselor that specializes in Autism but he is really struggling wit the trauma of losing his home and with the fear of losing his pets and treasured belongings. Takoda is convinced that life has nothing positive in store for him. We have been evicted and are sleeping outside in a tent in the yard of a condemned house with the permission of the property owner. We have no wayto stay warm at night. We refuse to surrender our dogs and break their heart so that we can move into emergency housing. We are in this together. There is a housing crisis in Southern Ohio and there is 6 month to 1 year waiting list in Athens County, to even be considered for government subsidized housing. At this time we have no income, no savings, no job prospects and worsening health problems. We have no electric or running water. No electric means no heat. I recently had my pacemaker battery replaced and now need a CT to find out why my GI tract is not working properly. There are no job prospects on the horizon because of my ongoing health issues. We have no reliable place to sleep, take a shower and get ready for work. This unfortunate journey began Spring of 2023 when I decided to leave a 7 year long job in healthcare, with many benefits, to accept a position in theater. I had a lifelong dream to work in a cretive field and I thought that it may be coming to fruition. I left a very positive, team oriented family like environment to live and work with some of the worst people that I have ever met. Many of the actors were narcissistic, rude, entitled, lazy, two faced and vindictive. The only saving grace was the fulltime staff and house staff who were very kind and accepting. After about 5 months working there, the budget was drastically cut and my position was eliminated. I was blindsided and knew that it meant disaster for us because we live paycheck to paycheck. Leaving my job of 7 years is perhaps one of the biggest mistakes and regrets of my life. In this impoverished area of Ohio, if you get a job that pays better than minimum wage and has benefits, you'd better do everything to keep it. It wasn't my dream job or field of study, but it kept our heads above water and I had a positive and loving work community. I was able to collect unemployment for 6 months but in that time, I could not find a position that could accomodate my many health issues. There are a lot of "hiring" signs out there but that doesn't mean everyone can stand for 8 hour shifts. There are mostly service type positions in this area. A college town has a lot of barista, waitressing, fast food and retail jobs but because of joint and connective tissue diorders, I cannot be on my feet for extended periods of time. The same is true for Takoda with his spinal defects. The past few years have been very challenging due to ongoing and developing health issues which limit the type of work I can do and how often I can work. I have been hospitalized several times due to serious illnesses. I had to have a pacemaker implanted in 2013 because my heart rate was in the 30's. In 2019 I was rushed to the ER because I could not stand or walk. I was transported to Columbus to OhioHealth's Spinal Trauma unit. I was in the hospital for a week and had a battery of tests. It was discovered that my paralysis had nothing to do with my spine at all but with my body's lack of potassium. I was told that it had dropped so low that I was lucky to be alive. I could have gone into cardiac arrest. When your potassium drops too low, your muscles stop working. We had started renting the house that we were evicted from in 2015. We had an agreement with the landlords that we could make much needed improvements and repairs to the diapidated victorian house. The landlords did not keep their promise. They absolutely refused to make any home repairs or address any health issues the home posed. They would never give their approval to make repairs or would simply ignore our emails and texts regarding health and safety issues. Yet they expected a monthly rent check. That house had faulty eletrical wiring, plumbing issues, a leaking roof, no insulation, mold and mildew, rotting floors and ceilings, and rats, so many rats! We counted 70 rats, in one wintrs time, between the ones our dogs killed and the ones that were caught in traps. We have no idea how many others died because of poison. The kitchen sink pipes stopped draining two years ago. We paid a plumber to snake the pipes and were told that the pipes were cast iron, were corroded and needed t be replaced. The landlords flat out refused and never even reimbursed us for the plumber's bill. We had to drain the kitchen sink into 5 gallon buckets and carry it outside for over two years! We could not put rent in escrow because we fell behind with my first hospitalization in 2019. We complained that our electric heaters shut off or that we couldn't use more than one appliance at a time and the landlord "rewired" the electrical box which did nothing but just created a fire hazard! I suddenly became very ill with an elevated white blood cell count and put on emergency medical leave in 2022. I could not stand and walk without feeling like I was going to pass out. I was nauseous for weeks. My head and spine throbbed. I was put on leave for 8 months but the symptoms finally began to ease after a few months and I begged my doctor into letting me return to work early before they placed someone else in my position. So she relented, but I returned to work against medical advice and struggled immensely. My physician, who is a miracle sent from above, ordered an intermittent leave of absence so that I could miss up to 5 days per month withot being penalized by my employer. I struggle daily from the symptoms of chronic diseases, neurological disorders and autoimmune issues that make it very difficult to get out of bed most days. But, I refuse to surrender and give into collecting a disability check and spiraling into a never ending cycle of depression and feelings of uselessness. Takoda struggles with the different aspects of Autism including depression and anxiety. He has met and interacted with some of the most hateful and cruelest kind of people in this world. Yet he has a heart of gold. He has always brought a smile to my face when I struggle and he has the most compassionate heart and soul. He never passes up an opportunity to reach out a helping hand if he thinks someone needs a helping hand. We are accessing all available resources in our area and the different agencies are networkig to try to find us shelter. If things weren't bad enough, my husband of 35 years has not kept his promise to give 100% in the relationship. I ignorantly stayed in the relationship because I thought it was best for my son but now I see how much damage has been done. My soon to be ex has a substance abuse disorder and anger issues related to childhood trauma. He has had numerous traumatic brain injuries and is not a pleasant person to be around. He has placed 90% of the financial and daily responsibilities on my shoulders. He drinks beer continously. He is Jekyll and Hyde and my son and I are tired of guessing who he will be. The real struggle is when he drinks whiskey. When he drinks whiskey, he blacks out, becomes verbally abusive to me and my son, punches walls and acts like a completely horrible human being to anyone who crosses his path. He has humiliated us i public onumerous occasions. I am tired of watching my son shrink his 6'9" frame as small as he can because of the public humiliation. It breaks my heart! I am filing for a divorce. Right now our biggest issue is losing the last of our belongings due to the storage unit company hiking our storage fees. We rented our first unit in August when we began moving car loads out of the house trying to get a head of moving day. As it became more apparent we could not find a house to rent we began donating items to local thrift stores and selling off furniture. As the unit filled up we had to rent another and then another. Instead of charging us for each unit seperately from the different day we began renting it, they are charging us for all three units from the date of the first contract in August. Takoda has a computer that he proudly built himself. It means the world to him. Hi escape from reality are video games, podcasts and documentary films. I have items that belonged to my parents, grandparents and other loved ones that have passed on. Takoda is so stressed, down trodden, hopeless and filled with despair that he is saying that he wants to commit suicide. He is certain this is how life is always going to be. He is certain that the world only wants to deal him one bad hand after another. I understand as my struggle with depression began almost to the day I turned 13. I have struggled my entire life to convince myself that I matter and have a purpose. When he was born, he became my purpose. I could not believe that the Creator would deem me worthy enough to be the guardian and caretaker of such a wonderous soul. I breaks me into pieces to see him so down and so dark. I don’t know what our future holds. I know that we are worse off than many, but with the recent hurricane and the ongoing war atrocities and loss of life, we are far better off than a lot of people around the world. When we pay the storage unit bill off we are donating most of the furniture and items to a thrift store called Little Wing that uses the proceeds to provide much needed food, medicine, clothing and hygiene products to the war ravaged people of Ukraine. We believe in paying it forward. The money you give to help us, will in turn, help others. Hopefully our housing situation will change soon and we will have a warm place to sleep. We appreciate each and every penny that you can give. If you are struggling yourself, please just send loving thoughts to us! Thank you!