Jamie Gaines

Hi there, my name is Jamie and I live in Bakersfield, California which is 1,554 miles from my home state of Arkansas where I was born and raised by my wonderful mother. A mother I haven't seen in 6 whole years. Let me explain: At the beginning of COVID my parents and I had a huge falling out, fighting, arguments, blah blah blah one thing led to another and I ended up moving to the PNW (Pacific Northwest). What happened after that point was to be some of the hardest situations and struggles I'd ever go through. Homelessness, loss, sickness. For the next 2 YEARS I was homeless, sleeping in the car, in broke down motel rooms, living on the street and suffering; during this time I found out I had COVID. I was scared and I felt alone. Through all of this my parents and I remained estranged, barley speaking and never on good terms. Determination, effort and hard work got me out of that situation and I was thankfully able to begin a life with more structure but still plenty of struggles. Ive had mental issues and emotional problems my entire life, I was bullied for being weird and different, I was institutionalized many times, lived through childhood trauma and then some so struggling was nothing new to me. It wasn't until 2025 after a committed full year of medication, therapy and psychiatry that was I was diagnosed with ASD level 2, to add to my previous CPTSD diagnosis. So after all this time I felt vindicated, I cried if I'm honest because with these answers came more questions, but I was happy to finally understand. Over the past 5 months my mother and I have become close, once again. I credit therapy and all my fantastic medications for helping me to grow and over come, because I really really missed my mom. My mother, who is currently going through quite a lot, was always my rock and my best friend, losing the connection we had broke a big part of me. She is currently going through divorce (after 33 years) from my dad, who decided to abandon her after a horrific car accident that made her health conditions worse; she is having total knee replacement surgery and she wants me to be there after she recovers so we can go and do things together. I desperately want to go to her and spend time with her, my mother is in her 60s and I'd love to be able to be with her in this rough time. As I am unable to work due to my lack of transportation and diagnosis, I am reaching out for help in funding the round trip train ticket, a travel bag and some travel supplies, I have none and have only had trash bags to carry my things in. I would greatly appreciate any and all donations and shares. Thank you so much!