Need help attending school and surviving w/ G6PD
Donation protected
Hello, We're the Hendrix's. We're a family of six that could really use the help. For the past couple of years we've been going through a never ending cycle of setbacks and are having an extremely hard time trying to make it through.
Three years ago on the 21st of this month, after giving birth to our youngest son, Micheal, we found out that he, myself, and our other two sons have G6PD deficiency; a genetic disorder that results in hemolytic anemia (spontaneous breakdown of red blood cells) when exposed to legumes (beans, peas, peanuts, soy), various food additives, and certain medications (including Tylenol and Ibuprofen).
As a result all of our food bill exploded as well as trips to the hospital. We realized that we now had to make the majority of our food from scratch (including bread, mayo, powdered bouillion) from fresh ingredients, which due to various dieting fads have made non-processed foods (regular ingredients like fruit, vegetables, and meat) more and more expensive. It also made it near impossible to have quickly made foods, as even simple sandwiches technically have to be either started 3 hours before you want it or you have to buy the more costly ingredients.
It also resulted in increased doctor's visits and days that my husband had to take time off work in order to care for us at home.
We have attempted to get an increase in our SNAP budget but since the regular food is not considered medical food, we are not eligible for an increase. We have also attempted to use local food pantries, however the majority of the foods are foods we cannot eat or are too distant to be able to use reliably.
So we've had to compensate by focusing the majority of our money on food instead of rent
But even with this we were catching up, until our wonderful toddler, throwing a tantrum, threw his head backwards and accidentally gave me a concussion. Since then, I have been attempting to recover, however due to the workload of taking care of four children and making most of the food from scratch, as well as other activities that due to our low income take much more time if you can't afford convenience, I have been maintaining 4 hours of sleep a night, since the accident in late September. My doctor would like me to take a couple of weeks in hospice but we cannot afford the time for me to leave.
Throughout all this, we caught up to the rent in March, when we paid it off and ahead with our tax refund. We also put in for an adjustment to the rent as we live in housing and it's supposed to stay around 30% of your income and was currently around 70%. (They still have not made the adjustments).
Since this time they have made us move everything in our apartment in order to paint (using paint they told us they weren't going to use which sent our child to the doctor) TWICE (second time they used the right paint). And a gas line break on Mother's Day resulted in no gas or stove until Father's Day (so no ability to cook for a month and all the services available similar to Meals on Wheels could not help us due to the G6PDD).
We are attempting to use services designed to help people with their rent, however the main service available, is mostly inaccessible, as the our zoned office is 2-3 buses away, even though there is an office ON OUR BLOCK.
So we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. In this time, I've started to become emaciated trying to keep up with the needs of the house and not eating enough. The rent is above $3000. All of our credit cards have been maxed out completely on food. School is about to start. And we just received our little blue card of non-payment summoning us to housing court.
There are a few ways you can help. There is of course by donating here. But we can also always use giftcards from Instacart.
And remember us, since once we get on our feet, we'll need help setting up a foundation for G6PDD suffers in the tri-state area. It's one of the most common genetic deficiencies with 1-10 black males having it, and it's still hard to get information and resources to those that have it. It's greatly needed considering how many cracks sufferers end up falling through.
Thank You
Three years ago on the 21st of this month, after giving birth to our youngest son, Micheal, we found out that he, myself, and our other two sons have G6PD deficiency; a genetic disorder that results in hemolytic anemia (spontaneous breakdown of red blood cells) when exposed to legumes (beans, peas, peanuts, soy), various food additives, and certain medications (including Tylenol and Ibuprofen).
As a result all of our food bill exploded as well as trips to the hospital. We realized that we now had to make the majority of our food from scratch (including bread, mayo, powdered bouillion) from fresh ingredients, which due to various dieting fads have made non-processed foods (regular ingredients like fruit, vegetables, and meat) more and more expensive. It also made it near impossible to have quickly made foods, as even simple sandwiches technically have to be either started 3 hours before you want it or you have to buy the more costly ingredients.
It also resulted in increased doctor's visits and days that my husband had to take time off work in order to care for us at home.
We have attempted to get an increase in our SNAP budget but since the regular food is not considered medical food, we are not eligible for an increase. We have also attempted to use local food pantries, however the majority of the foods are foods we cannot eat or are too distant to be able to use reliably.
So we've had to compensate by focusing the majority of our money on food instead of rent
But even with this we were catching up, until our wonderful toddler, throwing a tantrum, threw his head backwards and accidentally gave me a concussion. Since then, I have been attempting to recover, however due to the workload of taking care of four children and making most of the food from scratch, as well as other activities that due to our low income take much more time if you can't afford convenience, I have been maintaining 4 hours of sleep a night, since the accident in late September. My doctor would like me to take a couple of weeks in hospice but we cannot afford the time for me to leave.
Throughout all this, we caught up to the rent in March, when we paid it off and ahead with our tax refund. We also put in for an adjustment to the rent as we live in housing and it's supposed to stay around 30% of your income and was currently around 70%. (They still have not made the adjustments).
Since this time they have made us move everything in our apartment in order to paint (using paint they told us they weren't going to use which sent our child to the doctor) TWICE (second time they used the right paint). And a gas line break on Mother's Day resulted in no gas or stove until Father's Day (so no ability to cook for a month and all the services available similar to Meals on Wheels could not help us due to the G6PDD).
We are attempting to use services designed to help people with their rent, however the main service available, is mostly inaccessible, as the our zoned office is 2-3 buses away, even though there is an office ON OUR BLOCK.
So we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. In this time, I've started to become emaciated trying to keep up with the needs of the house and not eating enough. The rent is above $3000. All of our credit cards have been maxed out completely on food. School is about to start. And we just received our little blue card of non-payment summoning us to housing court.
There are a few ways you can help. There is of course by donating here. But we can also always use giftcards from Instacart.
And remember us, since once we get on our feet, we'll need help setting up a foundation for G6PDD suffers in the tri-state area. It's one of the most common genetic deficiencies with 1-10 black males having it, and it's still hard to get information and resources to those that have it. It's greatly needed considering how many cracks sufferers end up falling through.
Thank You
Organizer
Shandora Hendrix
Organizer
Parking, NY
