Help Tim Battle Mental Illness

I want to tell you about my friend Tim. Tim is a brilliant writer, a gifted musician, a kind and caring friend, and a devoted dog lover. Tim also lives with severe and persistent mental illness.

Tim endured ongoing physical, sexual, and emotional abuse throughout his childhood resulting in medication-resistant depression, C-PTSD, and a dissociative disorder. He's been voluntarily hospitalized many times and lives with constant thoughts of suicide. When Tim is in a downward spiral, as has been recently, he finds himself unable to work. Because of the events of his childhood, he is estranged from any support from his family of origin.

Tim needs our help. Due to both brain chemistry and circumstance (a new, cheaper place to live that didn't work out, an opportunity for a side job that didn't materialize), Tim has recently experienced a severe depression and is just starting to emerge.

We are hoping that if we, his friends, his advocates, and advocates for mental health can band together, we can help him bridge this gap until he can work again. 

We're going to lay out the specifics of his situation so you understand how dire his need is and how large the gulf is between public assistance and living expenses. 

He receives a disability check each month totalling $864, and he gets $200 a month from a family friend, bringing his total monthly income to $1054. On a bare-bones budget, with only necessities covered, he needs $1700 a month for rent, groceries, utilities, medication, gas, and pet food. This budget includes no extras for entertainment, clothes, car repairs or emergencies. His healthcare, therapy, and psychiatric care are all free. He has applied for food stamps. There is a 10-year waiting list for Section 8 Housing. The government just doesn't provide enough for him to live on, and although he has previously supported himself doing odd jobs to bridge the gap, his recent depression and change in living circumstances has left him unable to work at all. 


As a result of our budgeting work with T, we've determined that if we can raise $5000, we can catch him up with his debts, meet his immediate needs, and supplement his government assistance for 6 months to get him over the current hump. 

Please consider helping with a one-time donation or a monthly donation. It will be placed into an informal trust for him and paid out in increments for as long as it lasts to supplement his public assistance and whatever he can earn from odd jobs when he is well.

Whether its $10, $50, $100, $500, buying and gifting certain items, or helping provide food, anything will be helpful as he gets back on his feet.  We freaking love Tim, and if you're seeing this, you love him too or you have a personal interest in mental illness. We want him to feel loved and supported and get a breather while he gets back on his feet.

Thank you so much for your help and support.