Mother's death leaves Fiona and Liam homeless

Hello, friends, My name is Teresa Blomquist and I'm fundraising for Liam Murphy (18) and his sister Fiona (20), who attended the same high school as my daughter. In early September, Liam and Fiona's mother, Nancy Murphy (65) moved the kids and their few worldly possessions from Oak Park to South Carolina to begin a new life. Two days after they arrived, Nancy died in her sleep. Liam and Fiona woke up in the morning to find their mother deceased and themselves without a provider, carer, or home. Both children were utterly unprepared for this change -- Liam is too young and Fiona too disabled to manage on their own. Fiona was born with schizencephaly and has limited movement and no speech. She cannot care for herself independently.

Liam and Fiona (and their cat) were driven back to Oak Park by a friend. They are trying to build their lives into something better. Liam will get his GED at Triton. My friend Beth Norton is helping Fiona apply for Disability Benefits. In the meantime, the kids are couch-surfing while trying to find a place to live in Oak Park or Chicago. Their loving father, Hugh (65), rents a room in an apartment and does not have a home of his own to offer them or the financial means to get them started, although he looks after them. Their mom died with debts, not assets.

It will probably be a year before Liam can earn enough money to pay for rent and until Fiona gets social services help. They are too old for foster care and yet truly incapable of supporting themselves for at least several months. To keep these young people afloat for a bit until they can build new lives as productive members of society, we are asking kind-hearted people to contribute a few dollars to Liam and Fiona Murphy. Our goal is $7,000 to pay for the first month, last month, and a few months in between. Also, if you know of an affordable place where Liam and Fiona (who can't do stairs easily), please let me know. They are sweet and warm-hearted. Thank you in advance for extending yourself to these two needy young people.

In terms of specifics of how your donations will be used for Liam and Fiona: I will transfer the GFM donations (currently over $15,000, even net of the GFM user fee) to my checking account and then write a check to Hugh for the full amount. In turn, Hugh will pay his prospective landlady for however many months of pre-payment of rent she requires (she has indicated she will need several months in advance; we'll make sure pre-payment is acknowledged in the rental contract). The rent at the Forest Park apartment that looks promising is $1100/month. Even if the landlady requires the full year paid in advance, there will be some money leftover to get Liam enrolled in Triton's GED program and to pay to get Nancy's furniture out of storage so it can be used furnish. Going forward, paying for rent and living expenses will be managed by Hugh's Social Security checks and income (he and Liam are both job-searching). Fiona remains safe and sound with Beth but is free to join her dad and brother in the apartment once they are settled, either permanently or just for visits.