Help A Homeless Aspie Find a Home
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I have no idea how to begin. I'm not very good at asking for help, I've always tried to be the helper, not the one looking for help.
My name is Fatima, I'm a 24-year-old college student with Asperger's Syndrome pursuing postsecondary education from a tent in Oregon. My husband and I are drug-free and childless, which unfortunately has contributed to our being forced to live in a tent. Perhaps some context is in order.
In October of 2013 my fiancé and I moved from New York to Oregon to help my father-in-law, a diabetic with congestive heart failure and my mother-in-law, who recently had a total knee replacement due to rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. Before moving, I secured a job as a customer service agent for gaming console technical support. When we first arrived to help my in-laws, we lived with them in their apartment. We helped around the house with chores, bills, etc. In early 2014 his father grew very ill. He spent hours in the bathroom, leaving a mess of body fluids when he finally emerged. We would never say anything, of course, so that the sick man could maintain some dignity. Soon after this, the doctors informed us that his kidneys were failing and he would immediately need to start dialysis At that time my mother-in-law was prepping to get her knee replaced.
In June things took a turn for the even worse, due to my own ongoing health problem. For years I’ve had pain in my ovaries due to what was misdiagnosed as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. During a flare up I would be doubled over in immense pain, sometimes so unbearable that the I would go to the ER. The visits didn't help; I would just be prescribed heavy pain medications and sent home. I had a flare up at work, and I left in an ambulance. After pleading with doctors who said my pain was psychosomatic, and referred me to psychiatrists, they finally agreed to do an exploratory laparoscopy, expecting to not find anything. The exact opposite happened and they found that my ovary had adhered to the back of my uterus and my intestines were also bound by scar tissue. The scar tissue was from a surgery I'd received when I was born to correct a condition called a Duodenal Atresia or "Double Bubble", which prevented me from effectively swallowing amniotic fluid. The tug of my ovary against my uterus and intestines was the source of my abdominal pain. This put me out of work for an entire month unpaid.
By the time I was able to return my father-in-law could no longer work, my mother in law wasn't able to walk, and my husband was home taking care of all 3 of us. After an unpaid month recuperating, I was unable to afford the fare to get to my job. Eventually, rent became overdue and we found ourselves residing in a Motel 6 by August 2014, and even that was becoming too expensive for us. Eventually my in-laws found housing in a veteran's shelter run by the Salvation Army. We, however, found ourselves residing in a tent not because we want to, but because the shelters are either reserved for families with children and people struggling with addiction. The only option we have, which we are pursuing, involves a waiting list of 7 months to 1 year.
Like many places in the US, camping like this is illegal, so each night we sleep afraid that we will be awakened by officers asking us, once again, to vacate. Or, even worse, to find ourselves being jailed for falling on hard times. My husband spends hours at the local library, using computers to try to find a permanent job. He is registered to every temp agency within a 10 miles, and though he finds jobs, he frequently works himself out of them. He works in manufacturing, and at his last job alone he overproduced items to the point where he worked himself out of a job.
I have been enrolled in school in an effort to help us be better-off in the future, but the cost of food alone (even with government help) is draining our savings and making education ever more unaffordable. We've tried finding a room to rent, but many are reluctant to rent to a couple.
So now I am asking for your help. I am a very determined person and have managed to maintain a 3.9 GPA and excel academically despite my social struggles due to Asperger's Syndrome. I plan to use the funds from this to find a place to call home. A place where I don't have to study by the light of my phone or wonder if I'm going to have to pack my life up again, or have most of our earthly possessions stolen again. I just want what everyone wants: an opportunity to succeed.
My name is Fatima, I'm a 24-year-old college student with Asperger's Syndrome pursuing postsecondary education from a tent in Oregon. My husband and I are drug-free and childless, which unfortunately has contributed to our being forced to live in a tent. Perhaps some context is in order.
In October of 2013 my fiancé and I moved from New York to Oregon to help my father-in-law, a diabetic with congestive heart failure and my mother-in-law, who recently had a total knee replacement due to rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. Before moving, I secured a job as a customer service agent for gaming console technical support. When we first arrived to help my in-laws, we lived with them in their apartment. We helped around the house with chores, bills, etc. In early 2014 his father grew very ill. He spent hours in the bathroom, leaving a mess of body fluids when he finally emerged. We would never say anything, of course, so that the sick man could maintain some dignity. Soon after this, the doctors informed us that his kidneys were failing and he would immediately need to start dialysis At that time my mother-in-law was prepping to get her knee replaced.
In June things took a turn for the even worse, due to my own ongoing health problem. For years I’ve had pain in my ovaries due to what was misdiagnosed as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. During a flare up I would be doubled over in immense pain, sometimes so unbearable that the I would go to the ER. The visits didn't help; I would just be prescribed heavy pain medications and sent home. I had a flare up at work, and I left in an ambulance. After pleading with doctors who said my pain was psychosomatic, and referred me to psychiatrists, they finally agreed to do an exploratory laparoscopy, expecting to not find anything. The exact opposite happened and they found that my ovary had adhered to the back of my uterus and my intestines were also bound by scar tissue. The scar tissue was from a surgery I'd received when I was born to correct a condition called a Duodenal Atresia or "Double Bubble", which prevented me from effectively swallowing amniotic fluid. The tug of my ovary against my uterus and intestines was the source of my abdominal pain. This put me out of work for an entire month unpaid.
By the time I was able to return my father-in-law could no longer work, my mother in law wasn't able to walk, and my husband was home taking care of all 3 of us. After an unpaid month recuperating, I was unable to afford the fare to get to my job. Eventually, rent became overdue and we found ourselves residing in a Motel 6 by August 2014, and even that was becoming too expensive for us. Eventually my in-laws found housing in a veteran's shelter run by the Salvation Army. We, however, found ourselves residing in a tent not because we want to, but because the shelters are either reserved for families with children and people struggling with addiction. The only option we have, which we are pursuing, involves a waiting list of 7 months to 1 year.
Like many places in the US, camping like this is illegal, so each night we sleep afraid that we will be awakened by officers asking us, once again, to vacate. Or, even worse, to find ourselves being jailed for falling on hard times. My husband spends hours at the local library, using computers to try to find a permanent job. He is registered to every temp agency within a 10 miles, and though he finds jobs, he frequently works himself out of them. He works in manufacturing, and at his last job alone he overproduced items to the point where he worked himself out of a job.
I have been enrolled in school in an effort to help us be better-off in the future, but the cost of food alone (even with government help) is draining our savings and making education ever more unaffordable. We've tried finding a room to rent, but many are reluctant to rent to a couple.
So now I am asking for your help. I am a very determined person and have managed to maintain a 3.9 GPA and excel academically despite my social struggles due to Asperger's Syndrome. I plan to use the funds from this to find a place to call home. A place where I don't have to study by the light of my phone or wonder if I'm going to have to pack my life up again, or have most of our earthly possessions stolen again. I just want what everyone wants: an opportunity to succeed.
Organizer
Fatima L. Bloodworth-Cropper
Organizer
Beaverton, OR
