Jarrod is disabled, sick, unsafe, and facing homelessness. He needs urgent support.

Hello! My name is Emilie, and I’m fundraising with some friends to help Jarrod*.

This fundraiser is about getting urgent housing for Jarrod; a base for survival, a bridge to stability.

Jarrod is disabled by severe neuro-immune conditions (ME/CFS, POTS & Dysautonomia, MCAS) and neurological injury from familial abuse (PTSD).

These conditions severely affect every aspect of his body and day to day life, making life a disabling unrelenting challenge from the moment he wakes every day.

As an adult Jarrod became dependent on the same family who abused him as a child, for accommodation and utilities. The family have spent years re-enacting controlling, invalidating, contemptful, and threatening behavior towards him as he struggled to manage his health conditions. Accommodations were taken as frivolous demands, illness as a self-inflicted and controllable character flaw, and advocating for himself met with punishment - leading to severe, progressive decline. The hostile situation has led Jarrod to his lowest point of exhaustion and incapacitation, and now he is being evicted. The family members are selling the house and moving on without him.

Every dollar Jarrod has available is used to pay for basic essentials, and the medical treatments and supplements that are vital life supports, keeping him from total collapse. It’s clear that Jarrod’s ongoing medical treatment is helping, but without stability and safety, he has not yet been able to heal. His current state is extremely fragile. Private rental is not viable for him. If Jarrod paid private rent, even for just a room, he wouldn’t be able to afford any treatment at all, leaving him medically incapacitated.

In theory, social services and community housing organisations ought to help, but they are sorely underfunded and overwhelmed. Jarrod is on the waiting list for social housing and has been for two years; his imminent homelessness and severe health situation make no practical difference to his priority.

Jarrod is a guide in the dark for many

For decades, and despite fighting severe adversity himself, Jarrod has dedicated much of his energy to individually helping people, many struggling to navigate their own severe health conditions and vulnerability, many online. Jarrod meets people with quiet authenticity in their darkest emotional moments - whether he is supporting someone through the devastation of a life changing illness, mentoring friends through personal crises, or being the deeply empathetic listener people need when they have fallen through the cracks.

Jarrod has spent his lifetime searching for answers. He has developed deep observational skills and intricate awareness. Jarrod helps people translate isolating and un-nameable inner experiences into clear shareable language, and uses his own lived experience, like a mirror, empowering others to see themselves, map their own experiences, and find their way.

He asserts, “I can’t let anyone else lose what I’ve lost. Not on my watch.”

Right now, Jarrod needs us to be a lighthouse for him

Surviving complex disabling illness is hard, but without a roof becomes nearly impossible. Jarrod is facing eviction and urgently needs support.

Jarrod’s fragile state and extremely limited energy mean he needs stability and needs to maintain his critical treatment. In his condition, attempting to live on the street is not feasible. Jarrod is isolated, and does not have a local network who can prop him up while he waits for social housing. The debilitating toll of surviving a hostile environment while disabled means no capacity to attempt applications that would help his financial situation or get him access to practical support.

Supporting Jarrod to move and ensuring he has accommodation will give his treatments a chance for meaningful progress instead of just managing decline, a chance to regain lost function, time to access resources and supports that will help stabilise his situation, and a platform from which he can begin reclaiming his life and reconnecting.

Please donate if you can, and share this campaign with friends, family and your local communities.

Funds raised will cover:

All donations, big or small, will help Jarrod avoid homelessness.

If you’re one of the many people Jarrod has helped, and finances are tight, please know, even $5 helps, as does sharing this campaign with more people.

Can you help?

This fundraiser is about immediate survival: having shelter to bridge the gap between eviction and long term housing. Beyond this, we dare to imagine a future where Jarrod has the long term stability he needs to live, heal, and continue guiding others.

We will share updates - about the campaign, how funds are used, Jarrod’s situation, and what’s next.

Thank you for reading and for your support!

Emilie, FT, Kammi, RP, and JH

*Jarrod is a pseudonym used for safety, to protect him from potential retaliation or further harm. All donations given through this fundraiser will be transferred to Jarrod privately. Jarrod is the sole beneficiary of this campaign, however, to maintain privacy he is not listed as an official beneficiary of this fundraiser in GoFundMe.