Let’s show John Jones that people care

01/15/2024 Update: Due to the generous donations we have received so far we have paid the $1,600 in past dues and we have ordered more propane so the furnace can hopefully be repaired. Please continue to contribute and please share with your family and friends. We pray they will also be generous. We greatly appreciate your prayers. God Bless.

URGENT NEED!! 01/11/2024

I have just learned that John has a more urgent need. He has run out of propane and his furnace is broken. He has to pay $1,600 dollars before they will deliver more propane. He has to have propane before his furnace can be repaired. Please do what ever you can to help. No donation is too small. God Bless You!

I am assisting my 41 year old nephew, John Jones. He is the one on the left in the photo. I am on the right. John was somewhat of a caretaker for his parents most of his life even with his limited abilities. John could drive short distances when they had a car. His father had MS and passed away in 2013. His mother, who suffers from schizophrenia, was placed in a post acute care facility about 9 months ago. She will not be returning home. John was never able to work due to his intellectual, social and emotional disabilities. John has never consumed drugs or alcohol. John’s parents both received Social Security Benefits because of their illnesses. John lived with his parents and now he is alone in a 35 year old mobile home that is falling down. He worked with Vocational Rehabilitation several times, but he had many difficulties and was never able to work more than a few days at a time. We have recently learned that John has Phenylketonuria (fen-ul-key-toe-NU-ree-uh) also called PKU. It is the inability to digest proteins. I

understand that he was tested at birth and his parents were told but they did not tell us on the father’s side of the family. We learned this from John’s mother’s father a few weeks before he died. It is a rare inherited disorder that causes an amino acid called phenylalanine to build-up in the body. It causes intellectual disability, social and emotional handicaps. PKU is caused by a change in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene. This gene helps create the enzyme needed to break down phenylalanine. He should have had treatment from the time he was born, and it should have continued for the rest of his life. He has never been treated and has suffered the damage caused by this rare disorder. Although there is no cure for PKU, recognizing PKU and starting treatment right away can help prevent further limitations in the areas of thinking, understanding and communicating (intellectual disability) and other major health problems. People with PKU need to receive lifelong care which includes very expensive medical food. 

While John has applied for disability with social security he was denied due to a lack of evidence. We are in the process of gathering that evidence. However, it can also be a lengthy process. At this time, John has no income. He will soon receive about $220 in food stamps each month but has no money for transportation, utilities, taxes and insurance or other daily expenses and is currently being supported by relatives.

John is also in serious need of housing. He is living in the same 35 year old trailer that he shared with his parents. When I asked John if he had rats and mouse he said he took care of them with some rat poison. He then told me he had a possum. I asked how it got in and he said through a hole in the floor. He has five window units but only one works. 

When his father was alive a shop was built beside the trailer by relatives where he planned to built cabinets and do other woodwork. Unfortunately, his MS progressed so quickly he was never able to complete a single cabinet. It is our hope to turn this shop into John’s future home. It will also need repair but is a much better structure to begin with.

The money raised will go toward supporting John until he receives disability benefits from Social Security. The remaining funds will go toward converting the shop into John’s new home. 

12/15/2023 - Update - A group of relatives and friends met at John’s place Saturday and Sunday to begin the process of cleaning, clearing, and organizing. We will be working on the shop, the trailer, and the land. Please keep us in your prayers as we engage in what is potentially dangerous work. God is good all time! Please contribute and share! If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions please contact Buck Jones. Please support us in supporting John. Thank you and God Bless

12/29/2023 - Update - John and I removed three of the non working air conditioners and sealed the windows. We also repaired holes on the walls and floors. I also bought a used leather recliner for John and we put it in the trailer. We have been able to collect information from Vocational Rehabilitation. We are expecting information from the school system soon. This information will be provided to the Social Security Administration to justify John’s disability benefits. John has had two doctors visits. His first in decades. He is being treated for high cholesterol, low B-12 and low vitamin D. The doctor has also told John he needs to lose 150 pounds. Hopefully, this will be an easier task once he is being treated for PKU which we hope to start in a few weeks.

Pictures taken before we started work:

Pictures taken after our first work on December 16th and 17th.

12/29/2023 - Taken after John and I removed three of the non-functioning air conditioners. We also repaired holes in the walls and floors. This work is necessary given that John will have to continue to live in the trailer for several months.