Money for Mitch

My dear friend Mitch Stark is in urgent need of financial support. As a high-functioning adult with Cerebral Palsy Quadriplegia, he has had to endure a life of significant hardships that most will never fully understand. He relies on the support he receives from government agencies to ensure proper care essential for his survival. Unfortunately, he is currently facing a situation where he has been left to fend for himself.

Recently, he had to make a dramatic move from the care facility, Cambie Gardens, where he's been since January because he experienced neglect and abuse at the hands of those whose job it is to protect and support him. It is no longer a viable option for Mitch to return there, given that it is inhumane to be abused and neglected by caregivers notwithstanding the fact that the environment itself has acted as a series of triggers for Mitch's PTSD caused by similar instances of abuse and neglect. We are pursuing a Human Rights complaint against the agency, but in the meantime, Mitch is in a no-win situation where he is trapped in a hotel, unable to return to the safety of his own apartment.

His immediate family and friends have been doing their best to lessen the burden and provide assistance thus far, but this burden is great, and unfortunately, there is no end in sight. No matter what he tries financially, he will never be able to live or be buried under these conditions and doesn’t know when it will end.

Additionally, I would like to add that Mitch is currently without his wheelchair. Unfortunately, it has been damaged from wear and tear, and he is working with the manufacturer to get it covered. However, there is no guarantee that they will cover the cost of repairs, which total $9000. At this point, the manufacturer still has his wheelchair and is investigating the issue. Mitch's situation is already dire, and not having his wheelchair adds to the challenges he is facing.

Due to an insufficient amount of care hours he receives from the Canadian health care system, he was forced to leave his apartment and move into a care facility where he was placed in a room with 5 other patients who are non-verbal, and whose disabilities are significantly more severe than Mitch's. As a result, his physical and mental health has dramatically declined since moving to the supportive housing and redevelopment Cambie Gardens on January 24, 2023.

At Cambie Gardens, he had been living amongst those with high care needs and low levels of cognitive function, which caused great distress and triggered his PTSD symptoms. On March 1, 2023, he began experiencing non-epileptic seizures and had to insist that staff take him to the hospital to deal with this sudden onset of symptoms. He was discharged from the hospital on March 2, 2023, and returned briefly to Cambie Gardens, where the symptoms continued, and the doctor confirmed they were being triggered by his living environment. He was unable to eat food for a week, so he returned briefly to the hospital on March 4, 2023, for about a 6-hour period. Upon discharge and after a short return to Cambie, he ended up removing himself from his living situation with the help of a friend, and has been staying in hotels ever since.

His needs require access to 24-hour care, so he has been staying in hotels that provide bell staff, whom he can contact for assistance after his care staff leave. This is not a sustainable situation and has created hardship for his family and supportive friends, both emotionally and financially, who have tried to do what they can given these extremely dire circumstances. Current expenses are approximately $400 per day, and this has been paid since March 5.

His living situation at Cambie Gardens is no longer a viable option for him due to the abuse, neglect, and distress created by the nursing staff there. His current living situation in a hotel is unsustainable and financially detrimental to him and his support system.

He urgently needs funds and appropriate hours of care to return to his apartment where he has all of his belongings and a job waiting for him. The total cost of his current living situation, without including the repairs to his wheelchair, is already staggering, at $400 per day.

Mitch's situation is particularly dire, and he urgently needs the support of the community to ensure that he can return to his apartment, where he can receive the care he needs and live a dignified life. The financial burden of his current living situation is immense, and his damaged wheelchair only adds to his challenges. He has been working with the manufacturer to try and get it repaired, but this process is ongoing, and there is no guarantee that they will cover the cost of repairs.

We urge anyone who is in a position to contribute to help support Mitch during this difficult time. He has already endured significant hardship in his life, and he deserves to receive the care and support he needs to live with dignity and respect. Any contribution, no matter how small, will make a difference in his life and help him to move forward.

Here are a few words from Mitch to describe the environment from which he escaped copied and pasted from his memoir: "The Man in the Chair":

Most of the people in the home will be lucky to get out once per week. Some may only be able to get out of their bed once a week due to medical reasons, and the only stimulation they have is a TV or someone sitting with them for a few hours, if they're lucky. They also may never get visitors, they may never see live performances of music, they may never experience dance, they may never experience culture or love, and countless other things that make life what it is. The truth is, they are stuck in their own chair and in their own home, if you want to call it one.

The man in the chair can move his chair, but most of the others cannot move their chair. They are literally trapped. The only hope they have is that someone not in a chair will come and take them and show them what it is to live life.

The man in the chair hopes that people will remove the brakes from their chair, get them moving, and try to give them what anyone in the same position would want: to feel what it is like to be human. The challenge is, the man in the chair is the only one with his voice and his mind. He feels like an outcast and as if he is speaking a language that no one else understands. The reality is, he is right. They will never understand because they are not stuck in their own chair.

The man in the chair is trying to tell everyone around him that he wants to be able and live a life as a human, not as the man in the chair. Not only does he want this for himself, but he wants this for everyone around him, especially for those who do not have a voice or are afraid to use theirs.

The man in the chair wants to leave the chair behind and just be a man, but he knows the chair will always be with him, no matter what. He must get used to his chair and keep hoping and praying that one day he will be looked at as just a man and society will find a way to understand him and help him live a life without having to remember he is in the chair. Most importantly, all of his needs will be taken care of.

To be honest, he does not know where to go from here. For now, he will remain the man in the chair. He sits and wonders who will be the next man in the chair? It's only a matter of time. Could it be you? As the man in the chair once said: "Remember, life can change in the blink of an eye.”

From his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008740246302