Continued Relief for the Meehl-Savoie Family

When I think of community what comes to mind is the willing spirit to help one another get through some of the most unimaginable times in each other's lives. A family that has exemplified community has been the family of Shani Meehl and Jamie Savoie. These two and their blended family have overcome insurmountable challenges with grace and dedication to serve others before serving themselves. They have opened their doors to those without shelter, have donated their time and skills to further individuals and neighborhoods, and they give hours of their time to Mat-Su community groups without compensation.

Shani is a medically retired special education teacher. Her health conditions are numerous and she has been given a terminal diagnosis. The physical and mental toll her diagnosis and illnesses are causing is devastating and unimaginable to the entire family. Shani is unable to drive and her SSDI barely covers her monthly medications let alone any household bills.

Jamie, a Marine Corp veteran has endured over 27 years of extensive medical trauma and pain, directly caused by his military service. In the summer of 2022, Jamie underwent surgery and, within two months of surgery, his employer of over 10 years unexpectedly raised insurance premiums, and Jamie was given dramatically less assignments. He was later forced out of his position by a company he had remained loyal to for over a decade. After wholehearted attempts to become gainfully employed again, Jamie was met with a myriad of obstacles, businesses that used predatory hiring practices, and barriers to collecting unemployment insurance. Once securing a cane and building strength post-surgery, Jamie was able to pick up small jobs, and even had the opportunity to design for eBay Corporation which fizzled out quickly with the mass-silicon layoffs. Jamie is not only battling the unemployment market but he's the full-time caregiver to his wife, Shani. He ensures she takes her 15 medicines daily, administers 4 liters of IV solution in her port weekly, and be close by in the need to administer her Epi pen in the case emergencies.

This family went from being gainfully employed before the pandemic to fighting each and every month to pay their bills. They lost Jamie's car due to repossession, have been behind on their utilities and storage unit bills, and, most recently, faced eviction from their home of 5 years after an unforeseen rental increase and renewed security deposits were imposed by their landlord. As if their monthly expenses are a nightmare enough, due to both Jamie's and Shani's extensive medical issues, they have thousands in unpaid medical and credit card debt.

Shani's 16 year old son is an honor student, a dedicated employee, involved in sports throughout the school year, and also has multiple physical and mental health issues. The family had to use the last of their savings to fix the transmission on his vehicle, that he uses for transportation for school, work, and sporting events / practices. Last month, Shani’s son was hit by a truck while working at Sonic delivering food at the car hop section. Not only is this more out-of-pocket medical bills and numerous medical appointments which has caused missing work shifts, school, and track practices for her son. Sonic has not been forthcoming with information on the incident and refuses to provide workman's compensation for the injuries sustained. They are left with no other choice but to find a way to obtain legal counsel.

Shani, her son, and Jamie are all prescribed monthly medicines, costly restrictive diets, and doctor prescribed medical treatments that are not covered by health insurance as well as mounting monthly expenses they need help with covering. I implore you to help this family to help them tread above water and get them back on their feet after years of setbacks, traumatic and life-changing events, and terminal medical diagnosis that has left them greatly disadvantaged each and every month.