HI. My name is Jennifer and I am fundraising for my dear high school friend, Thom, as he seeks treatment for a severe back injury.

Thom is a successful educator, researcher, LGBTQ advocate, and therapist. He was working at his dream job when his position ended as Director of Research at ISGMH and Northwestern University right at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Unable to find a new position, his lived off his savings, retirement fund, and unemployment until, eventually, he lost everything and found himself living on the streets of Chicago with a disabling back injury. With nowhere to go, he was lucky enough to secure a bed at a medical respite shelter.

With your help, Thom has moved into an apartment and finally has a home again. But now Thom needs help with the cost of living while he has a third surgery on his back. He dreams of becoming independent and returning to a career helping people.

Please read Thom’s story below and help him in any way you can. I am blessed to have Thom as my friend. After 40 years of friendship, I can personally attest that he both needs and deserves this opportunity. Thank you and bless you and yours.

“While searching for work during the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, I applied to hundreds of jobs to no avail. To pay the bills, I spent unemployment, life savings, and all of my retirement funds. During the process I lost two apartments and injured my already compromised back when I moved my former partner, Tom Gertz, out of senior housing to hospice care. I ended up staying on a friend's couch until I had emergency spinal surgery. While I was still recovering, I was evicted by that former friend. This led to an unfortunate and devastating path of events that I was unable to prevent.

In September of 2022, I entered a medical respite shelter for the homeless. I never imagined this road from a leader in LGBTQ research to being homeless and without friends or family to support me. The fall was precipitous, and left me in shock, deep depression, and feeling I was a complete failure.I was homeless, unemployed, and broke.

Regaining my life has been arduous and is a work in progress. 

I'm excited to have secured a one bedroom apartment. I still do not know when my Social Security Disability case will be resolved but I am facing a third back surgery that is much more extensive (an open lumbar decompression of L2-L5). Therapy to rebuild my strength and stamina will be long and difficult, but I am determined to maintain and hopefully improve my mobility. Today, I struggle to walk, lift more than five pounds, or work in any capacity.

If you are able, I'm asking for any donations, no matter how small, to help me get through the next three to four months while I wait for my Social Security disability benefits.. Suffice it to say, I have a walker, am limited to lifting no more than 5 to 10 pounds, and I have severe limitations in walking, sitting, or standing.My hope is to return to work after the third back surgery.

If you are able to help me, any amount, will help more than you can imagine. Please help me if you can as I literally have nowhere else to turn aside from a crowd funding campaign. I will be forever grateful.