Support Dan's Journey to Safety After Hurricane Milton

TLDR: Our friend Dan from Florida is homeless after Hurricane Milton and we're trying to move him away from his abusive family. Because we can't risk his parents finding out we're using a different name.

I met Dan online when we were both kids, and we've been friends for nearly a decade. We live on opposite sides of the US, him in Florida and the rest of our friends in Hawaii, but despite that he's one of my best friends. For as long as I've known him, though, he's been suffering from abuse.

He's been forced since he was a little kid to do unsafe and illegal labor at his father's construction sites. He's been the victim of multiple workplace injuries, including stepping on a rusty nail, that he has not been allowed to report nor ever get treatment for. He's also never been paid; his parents refuse to let him open his own bank account, taking his paychecks for themselves. Even when he's managed to find different employment, it doesn't last long, since his parents won't drive him and don't allow him to drive himself. His personal documents and mail are being withheld from him, so he can't even get his license. They deny him access to healthcare, money, transportation, and identification, keeping him trapped without any way out.

Back in September of 2021, right after the struggle of the pandemic and during his last year of high school, Dan faced a house fire caused by his parents' negligence that ended in the loss of his entire home and all of his belongings. His family was never able to financially recover. They have been hopping between homes for the last three years, repeatedly getting their power and water turned off and even getting evicted from his parents not paying their bills.

Recently things have taken an even darker turn. Dan has type O-negative blood, the universal donor. Because of this, his parents have started taking him to blood drives, taking the payment to pay off their own debts- literally bleeding him dry in the process. Throughout all of this he's managed to keep going, but after Hurricane Milton, losing his home again was the final straw.

To be able to get Dan out, we need to fund transport, food, and shelter. Transport is straightforward, around $400 for the rides and airfare. Shelter is the hardest, as finances are tight, and no one we know is in a position to take in another person right now. $4000 should be enough to secure Dan at least a month of guaranteed shelter, hopefully more. The last $600, and any potential extra, will be going to food and other necessities to rebuild his life, like replacing his legal documents, getting new clothes, and building his financial independence. If we can earn a significant amount more than our goal, we could even afford to finally get him medical care.

We've been talking about moving Dan here for years, but the timing was never right. Yet in the wake of these events it seems like any time is better than never. We can't let this abuse continue, and we can't let him go homeless. Even trapped under control and abuse he never stops trying, always uplifting others, but he can't escape on his own. We're contributing everything we possibly can, but still it's not enough. He needs your help. Even if you can't donate, any advice, resources, or just sharing around will help. Thank you.