Support Toni's Children Through Crisis

Hi, my name is Shasta I am fundraising for my dear friend Toni who was unjustly convicted - a tale for another time, and is now in a federal prison camp serving a 30 month sentence. She is a single mom and tried to prepare for her children to be provided for during her incarceration. There just wasn't sufficient time given the circumstances at hand.

She is the sole provider for her three children, as well as the sole caregiver and medical of power attorney for her mother, who is very ill, in a state of cognitive decline, and recently fell and has a compression fracture in her spine from the fall. The children's father is homeless and unemployed, living somewhere on the West Coast. He was abusive to the family and was removed from the home by the police in 2019 for domestic violence. Toni's only sister passed away 19 years ago, and her father passed away in 2019. She has no one to assist the family while she is away.

Prior to her self surrender, she was successfully working as a project manager for a construction company. She was gainfully employed, paying her restitution, and taking care of her children. Since her surrender her children are struggling to keep up with the monthly living expenses associated with maintaining the home, they have not been able to pay the house payment since March and are at risk of losing their home. They are all employed at entry-level positions with wages that are not meant to maintain a household established by a working adult. The kids will be without utilities and phone service within the next couple of weeks and are on the brink of losing their family home.

The children have diligently investigated assistance programs to maintain their residence, but have continued to run into dead ends. They have no family or friends to live with, and no way to afford the total monthly household expenses. I expect they will soon be homeless before their mother is released without some type of intervention or help from outside resources.

Please find it in your heart to help this family and give what you can towards payment on their mortgage, utilities, and food. The children have part-time jobs to buy some groceries and the 21 year-old who left college to ensure there was and adult in the house must return to college or lose his scholarship. We are hoping that their mom will be home by the end of this year based upon her good conduct and other potential considerations. In the meantime, your kindness will be welcomed with immense gratitude.

Please read the letter from Toni's daughter Aliana below:

My name is Aliana. I am 15 years old and my mom's name is Toni. She is currently an inmate at a federal prison camp.

Since my mom has been gone, l've had to try to keep the house running on my own. I have 17 and 21-year-old brothers, but they are not very good with household responsibility on top of school and work. My 21-year-old brother does not have a driver license and is barely able to work before he goes back to college or he loses his scholarship. He is here for the next couple of months so that there is an adult in the house, but he will lose his scholarship if he does not return. He is only working 18 hours a week.

Money is not good since my mom left. She tried really hard to make sure we had money to support us while she was gone. But after a few months with prices of everything going up we have not been able to pay the house payment in our now at risk of losing our house. My grandmother is trying to get my brother and me to pay it because she can't afford it either. If we can't pay her she said we will have to move out, but we don't have anywhere we can go. Also, I was diagnosed with conversion disorder and orthostatic tachycardia syndrome last summer.

Since my mom's been gone, I haven't been able to see my therapist who I was seeing once a week previously. I haven't been able to see the pediatrician or the neurologist either. One of my conditions is caused by trauma from living with my dad's abuse until I was 11 and in the stress of my mom situation. The conditions together cause seizures and fainting spells every day multiple times a day.

My dad is violent and emotionally abusive to us. He doesn't have a job and he's homeless. Even when he lived with us my mom was the one who provided for us. I haven't seen my dad in two years and he's been living in my mom's bus on the other side of the country.

We have nobody that can help us. Our mom has a job waiting for her once she gets home and can work again. My grandmother is our only living grandparent and she has a bunch of serious health issues. My mom was taking care of her before she went to prison. My grandmother gets confused every day and forgets things. She needs surgery but can't have it until my mom gets home because she will need around the clock care. My mom has power of attorney for my grandmother's health decisions.

We really need help until my mom can get home. She is a good person who went to work for the wrong company and has always taken care of all of us.