Get Egg Some Learning
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My husband is a very good Egg who's gotten knocked down a lot as far as life goes. Without going into too much detail, PTSD and worsening physical disabilities have gotten in the way of success in the past, but we're finally to the point in his treatment and recovery where we're ready to give things a chance again.
The Situation
Chad has attempted attending our local community college on two separate occasions. The first attempt, he was fresh out of high school and not receiving any treatment for his mental health, and so he became quickly overwhelmed and lost his financial aid due to failing grades.
The second attempt was five years after the first - He was able to appeal the financial aid suspension as he had started treatment for his mental health. He performed better this time, but did fail one of the classes - a full time schedule proved to be too much to manage at the time as he was still adjusting to new and changing medications. We attempted to appeal again but were denied.
Between these attempts, he's done his best at securing work, but it's been a challenge. He worked in retail for quite a long while, but the long hours on his feet combined with a particular connectivity disorder called EDS (Ehler Danlos Syndrome) destroyed his knees. He is now unable to walk without assistant devices, and has trouble spending more than an hour walking with this equipment. This rules out most retail positions available to someone with only a high school education.
On the mental front, attempting jobs that require less walking but involve heavy customer interfacing ended up not being sustainable long term; while we've got medication perfected, answering calls and emails for customers who were usually disgruntled was worsening anxiety and depression associated with his PTSD. That's not to say he can't work with others, or even with customers---he has a lovely personality and can take quite a bit of stress without a problem, but when the primary job responsibility became de-escalating and interacting with aggressive and unhappy customers, this started to counteract all of the positive progress we had been making on his mental health.
The Plan of Action
So, with these challenges in mind, we think school is worth one more shot. With such a limited amount of unskilled work out there that works with his disabilities, gaining an education to expand his options seems like the best option at the time! In order to re qualify for financial aid, he needs to pass six credits out of pocket. While we plan on working with programs like Vocational Rehab to help with this, it can take months to get things started on that front. We'd like for the ability to dip our toes in the water this time, instead of diving in right away. So, Egg wants to take a single 4 credit class in Fall term while he works on securing additional funding and resources to help him succeed in the long term.
The Goal
The $600 specified will go entirely to tuition and fees for a single class at Lane Community College in Fall of 2019 (estimated cost of $627). Anything additional would go to things like textbooks and supplies. It's just barely out of budget for us, but we'd like so much to make something happen soon :)
Thank you so much for reading and considering helping Chad out. He's the best Egg!
The Situation
Chad has attempted attending our local community college on two separate occasions. The first attempt, he was fresh out of high school and not receiving any treatment for his mental health, and so he became quickly overwhelmed and lost his financial aid due to failing grades.
The second attempt was five years after the first - He was able to appeal the financial aid suspension as he had started treatment for his mental health. He performed better this time, but did fail one of the classes - a full time schedule proved to be too much to manage at the time as he was still adjusting to new and changing medications. We attempted to appeal again but were denied.
Between these attempts, he's done his best at securing work, but it's been a challenge. He worked in retail for quite a long while, but the long hours on his feet combined with a particular connectivity disorder called EDS (Ehler Danlos Syndrome) destroyed his knees. He is now unable to walk without assistant devices, and has trouble spending more than an hour walking with this equipment. This rules out most retail positions available to someone with only a high school education.
On the mental front, attempting jobs that require less walking but involve heavy customer interfacing ended up not being sustainable long term; while we've got medication perfected, answering calls and emails for customers who were usually disgruntled was worsening anxiety and depression associated with his PTSD. That's not to say he can't work with others, or even with customers---he has a lovely personality and can take quite a bit of stress without a problem, but when the primary job responsibility became de-escalating and interacting with aggressive and unhappy customers, this started to counteract all of the positive progress we had been making on his mental health.
The Plan of Action
So, with these challenges in mind, we think school is worth one more shot. With such a limited amount of unskilled work out there that works with his disabilities, gaining an education to expand his options seems like the best option at the time! In order to re qualify for financial aid, he needs to pass six credits out of pocket. While we plan on working with programs like Vocational Rehab to help with this, it can take months to get things started on that front. We'd like for the ability to dip our toes in the water this time, instead of diving in right away. So, Egg wants to take a single 4 credit class in Fall term while he works on securing additional funding and resources to help him succeed in the long term.
The Goal
The $600 specified will go entirely to tuition and fees for a single class at Lane Community College in Fall of 2019 (estimated cost of $627). Anything additional would go to things like textbooks and supplies. It's just barely out of budget for us, but we'd like so much to make something happen soon :)
Thank you so much for reading and considering helping Chad out. He's the best Egg!
Organizer
Caitlyn Christensen
Organizer
Eugene, OR
