After COVID, I lost my job. When that happened, I also lost my health insurance, and with it, access to treatment for my ADHD and mental health. Without support, things slowly unraveled in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time.

I stopped being able to keep up with my house. I stopped being able to make good decisions. I stopped caring in ways that are hard to explain unless you’ve been there.

During that time, I took in cats—too many. What started as trying to help animals turned into a situation I couldn’t manage. I ended up with 26 cats, and over time, my home became badly damaged. I didn’t step in. I didn’t fix it. I just watched it fall apart while I felt stuck and overwhelmed.

Today, my house is technically paid for—but it’s uninhabitable. I’m currently living in my garage. I’m behind on property taxes, and because I can’t afford repairs, neighbors have contacted the city. I’m at real risk of losing my home entirely or having it condemned.

I’m not asking for help because I don’t want to work. I’m asking because I am trying.

I’m working to start a small drone photography business so I can support myself independently. I’ve been studying, preparing, and trying to build something real. I also write songs and poetry and am trying to turn my creativity into something that helps me survive instead of sink.

But right now, I’m trapped in survival mode. I can’t move forward because I’m constantly trying not to lose everything.

Funds raised will go toward:

Critical home repairs to make the house livable again

Catching up on property taxes to prevent losing my home

Cleanup and remediation so the house isn’t condemned

Giving me the stability I need to actually launch my drone business and get back on my feet

I know this is a lot. I know not everyone can help financially. Even sharing this means more than you know.

If you’ve ever struggled with mental health, ADHD, or losing your footing after everything collapses at once—please know I’m trying to climb back out. I just can’t do it alone anymore.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. And thank you for giving me a chance to rebuild my life.

— Ted

Optional shorter version (for people who won’t read long posts)

If you want, you can also put this at the top as a TL;DR:

TL;DR: After losing my job and health insurance post-COVID, my mental health collapsed. My home became unlivable, I’m currently living in my garage, and I’m at risk of losing the house entirely. I’m trying to start a small drone business and rebuild my life, but I need help stabilizing first. Any support or shares mean the world to me. I'm only asking for a fraction of what is really needed, I was quoted a cost of almost 300k to repair the damage to my home, but this would be enough that I could stop living in the garage, move back into the house, and hopefully get me started on a path to where I can support myself again.

Thank you, Ted.