This is my best friend Hollis and her 6-year-old son, Tennessee, who is autistic. We are raising money for their move out west.

Tennessee is pure magic, a literal angel person on earth. From the second you meet him, it’s undeniable that he is an incredibly special little boy. He is brilliant and hilarious, full of love, light, and joy. He has absolutely thrived in school with the help of his teachers and therapists. What he needs now is a quieter environment where he can spend most of his time outside in nature, where he is most calm and at ease.

Aside from the resources that are provided by the state, Hollis is a single mom doing it ALL alone. Every second that Tennessee is not in school, he is with Hollis. Tennessee’s father has chosen to not be in his life. Until recently, he had regularly paid child support, but now he has stalled on even that. He is in no way a resource or a co-parent; he has spent about 12 hours with Tennessee in the past 5 years. Hollis has no family, no resources, no other help to speak of at all. The money raised will all go toward this move.

Moving across the country is challenging on its face; throwing a small autistic child into the mix presents many more obstacles. Tennessee has a lot of sensory issues and can’t spend more than about 5 hours a day in the car; he also has a limited diet and most to all of his meals will need to be prepared daily before traveling. A trip that might take anyone else a few days and several pit stops will likely require several weeks of travel and nightly stop overs for them.