Sick and 3 weeks from homelessness
Donation protected
My name is Chris - and I have started this GoFundMe for my friend Evan who is three weeks away from homelessness - not because *he* screwed up some-how, but due to the systems in the US.
Evan is Gravely ill - has been for more than three years and his situation has now become desperate.
A herniated disc and no health insurance. Five thousand dollars in savings, gone. A subsequent diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes and COPD banished him to pauperism on the public dole. He hasn't been able to work in almost four years. His income amounts to $381 per month in government assistance.
He used to be "that athletic guy." Protein, bike rides, bench presses. He sleeps most of day now when he's not succumbing to "razor blade" cramping. His daily meds number in the double digits: Metformin, Dulera, Glimepiride, just to name a few.
"You'd be really surprised how much time gets chewed up feeling sick. I used to look like that at 210 pounds," Hiltunen says, referring his photo on Facebook. "Now, I'm 158 pounds. I look like the guy in the American Gothic painting."
Evan has: Herniated cervical & lumbar disks, Type 2 Diabetes, IBS C & D, chronic fatigue, Whipple Procedure (removal of gall bladder, bile duct, lower
stomach, part of pancreas), and Severe Pancreatic Insufficiency being the major ones.
Medicare covers the medical bills. Evan is scheduled for a pancreatic MRI later this month. Doctors suspect the organ is failing.
Every day is miserable, to some degree, and always painful.
Next step is homelessness.
Typical of Evan he did not tell me *how* desperate his situation is until today. He has never asked for anything - still hasn't - but now when I finally find out how grave his circumstances have become, I have to do my best to help. Please read his story below:
Here is a link to his story in CityPages:
http://www.citypages.com/news/sick-and-three-weeks-from-homelessness-with-only-a-powerball-ticket-for-hope/416271153
And in his own words:
Pre-Homeless Man Further Crushed by Not Winning Lottery
Like most humor, this title contains a large nugget of truth and it is all the more painful because it seems more likely to win the lottery than it is to resolve a Social Security Disability claim.
It’s been three and a half years since my health went to hell.
Starting in Sept. 2013 with a herniated cervical disk (and a herniated lumbar disk) which preceded Type 2 Diabetes, IBS C & D, Chronic Fatigue, COPD, the removal of my gallbladder, bile duct, lower stomach, and 40% of my pancreas (March, 2016) and, now, the remaining pancreas is not working and my formerly muscular 210 pounds is down to 158. Slowly starving to death.
It has also been over three years since I initially filed for
disability. A process that often takes 3 to 5 years.
What happens when you can’t work for that long? You burn through all your savings, you sell your nice furniture, and you lose the nice house you were renting.
You end up on food stamps and general assistance. If you are lucky, afriend takes you in while you fight, however ineptly, to get healthier and stop the downward slide.
I was lucky and have such a friend. He gave me shelter for a year.
Unfortunately he sold his house and is moving to Italy. I’ve now been at another friend’s house for a month. He’s selling his house and moving out of the area. I have no more friends, and no family, with room.
So, this is what it looks like with nowhere to go. On the edge of losing my few remaining possessions and wondering how I am supposed to take my meds if I’m living under a bridge.
The system I paid into all my life doesn’t have any answers. Social workers at Hennepin County merely hand out a sheet of numbers listing
landlords that accept Section 8 housing. Doesn’t really help if you have no money and haven’t yet been classified, by SS, as disabled.
It’s not like I don’t have a case. The lawyers aren’t sticking around because they think we’ll lose (and they’ll be out money). Senator Klobuchar launched a Congressional Inquiry into my case, so I’ll takethat as a good sign. My many doctors use words like “chronic” and
“unable to work” and “permanent”.
However, those don’t really help me in the moment when what is needed is shelter and stability until my case is resolved. Ending up on the street is a death sentence.
I believe my situation is fairly common: Medical problems that get worse and destroy a person’s foundations, then the slide into poverty and, unless a miraculous lottery win, a harsh landing on the street.
And you may have noticed there are a lot of homeless, street people.
If you are, or will be, writing articles on these issues, please contact me.
Evan
SSI Disability Facts:
Roughly 70% of initial disability applications are denied.
The rate of denial for first appeal is 82-85%
Around 60% of claimants win at a disability hearing with a federal
judge. 40% lose.
(http://www.ssdrc.com/9-17.html)
It took 34 months for me to get to the disability hearing level (Oct.
2016). Turned down.
An appeal to the disability hearing takes 12 to 36 months (Filed by
lawyers Dec. 2016).
Homeless in America Facts:
564,708 people in the U.S. are homeless
1.4 million Veterans are at risk of homelessness
50% of the homeless population is over the age of 50
(http://www.socialsolutions.com/blog/2016-homelessness-statistics/)
The State of Homelessness in America 2016; a report.
(http://www.endhomelessness.org/page/-/files/2016%20State%20Of%20Homelessness.pdf)
“More than 40 percent of America’s homeless population are people with disabilities and the number appears to be rising …”
(https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/07/16/homeless-report/4153/)
Evan Hiltunen
www.evanhiltunen.wordpress.com/
www.FaceBook.com/NeoLuxStudios
www.mnartists.org/neoluxstudios
www.linkedin.com/in/evanhiltunen
Evan is Gravely ill - has been for more than three years and his situation has now become desperate.
A herniated disc and no health insurance. Five thousand dollars in savings, gone. A subsequent diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes and COPD banished him to pauperism on the public dole. He hasn't been able to work in almost four years. His income amounts to $381 per month in government assistance.
He used to be "that athletic guy." Protein, bike rides, bench presses. He sleeps most of day now when he's not succumbing to "razor blade" cramping. His daily meds number in the double digits: Metformin, Dulera, Glimepiride, just to name a few.
"You'd be really surprised how much time gets chewed up feeling sick. I used to look like that at 210 pounds," Hiltunen says, referring his photo on Facebook. "Now, I'm 158 pounds. I look like the guy in the American Gothic painting."
Evan has: Herniated cervical & lumbar disks, Type 2 Diabetes, IBS C & D, chronic fatigue, Whipple Procedure (removal of gall bladder, bile duct, lower
stomach, part of pancreas), and Severe Pancreatic Insufficiency being the major ones.
Medicare covers the medical bills. Evan is scheduled for a pancreatic MRI later this month. Doctors suspect the organ is failing.
Every day is miserable, to some degree, and always painful.
Next step is homelessness.
Typical of Evan he did not tell me *how* desperate his situation is until today. He has never asked for anything - still hasn't - but now when I finally find out how grave his circumstances have become, I have to do my best to help. Please read his story below:
Here is a link to his story in CityPages:
http://www.citypages.com/news/sick-and-three-weeks-from-homelessness-with-only-a-powerball-ticket-for-hope/416271153
And in his own words:
Pre-Homeless Man Further Crushed by Not Winning Lottery
Like most humor, this title contains a large nugget of truth and it is all the more painful because it seems more likely to win the lottery than it is to resolve a Social Security Disability claim.
It’s been three and a half years since my health went to hell.
Starting in Sept. 2013 with a herniated cervical disk (and a herniated lumbar disk) which preceded Type 2 Diabetes, IBS C & D, Chronic Fatigue, COPD, the removal of my gallbladder, bile duct, lower stomach, and 40% of my pancreas (March, 2016) and, now, the remaining pancreas is not working and my formerly muscular 210 pounds is down to 158. Slowly starving to death.
It has also been over three years since I initially filed for
disability. A process that often takes 3 to 5 years.
What happens when you can’t work for that long? You burn through all your savings, you sell your nice furniture, and you lose the nice house you were renting.
You end up on food stamps and general assistance. If you are lucky, afriend takes you in while you fight, however ineptly, to get healthier and stop the downward slide.
I was lucky and have such a friend. He gave me shelter for a year.
Unfortunately he sold his house and is moving to Italy. I’ve now been at another friend’s house for a month. He’s selling his house and moving out of the area. I have no more friends, and no family, with room.
So, this is what it looks like with nowhere to go. On the edge of losing my few remaining possessions and wondering how I am supposed to take my meds if I’m living under a bridge.
The system I paid into all my life doesn’t have any answers. Social workers at Hennepin County merely hand out a sheet of numbers listing
landlords that accept Section 8 housing. Doesn’t really help if you have no money and haven’t yet been classified, by SS, as disabled.
It’s not like I don’t have a case. The lawyers aren’t sticking around because they think we’ll lose (and they’ll be out money). Senator Klobuchar launched a Congressional Inquiry into my case, so I’ll takethat as a good sign. My many doctors use words like “chronic” and
“unable to work” and “permanent”.
However, those don’t really help me in the moment when what is needed is shelter and stability until my case is resolved. Ending up on the street is a death sentence.
I believe my situation is fairly common: Medical problems that get worse and destroy a person’s foundations, then the slide into poverty and, unless a miraculous lottery win, a harsh landing on the street.
And you may have noticed there are a lot of homeless, street people.
If you are, or will be, writing articles on these issues, please contact me.
Evan
SSI Disability Facts:
Roughly 70% of initial disability applications are denied.
The rate of denial for first appeal is 82-85%
Around 60% of claimants win at a disability hearing with a federal
judge. 40% lose.
(http://www.ssdrc.com/9-17.html)
It took 34 months for me to get to the disability hearing level (Oct.
2016). Turned down.
An appeal to the disability hearing takes 12 to 36 months (Filed by
lawyers Dec. 2016).
Homeless in America Facts:
564,708 people in the U.S. are homeless
1.4 million Veterans are at risk of homelessness
50% of the homeless population is over the age of 50
(http://www.socialsolutions.com/blog/2016-homelessness-statistics/)
The State of Homelessness in America 2016; a report.
(http://www.endhomelessness.org/page/-/files/2016%20State%20Of%20Homelessness.pdf)
“More than 40 percent of America’s homeless population are people with disabilities and the number appears to be rising …”
(https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/07/16/homeless-report/4153/)
Evan Hiltunen
www.evanhiltunen.wordpress.com/
www.FaceBook.com/NeoLuxStudios
www.mnartists.org/neoluxstudios
www.linkedin.com/in/evanhiltunen
Organizer
Christer Rosewell
Organizer
