Get Annie to grad school!

For those who don’t know me, I am Eden Atwood. I am a licensed clinical

social worker and provide psychotherapy in private practice. Three years ago I moved my son and I to Carbondale, IL so my son could attend a school for kids with executive functioning issues like adhd, etc. My mother had died less than a year earlier and we were looking at spending the next three years in Carbondale until my kiddo graduated. When I tell you it was hard…it was HARD. I was motivated but depressed and hurting. Then I met Annie.

AnaLuisa Ramirez is a 41 year old woman born in Monterrey, Mexico. She moved to Southern Illinois with her family when she was 12. She spoken very little English and while there is a sizable Hispanic community in Carbondale and surrounding areas, it was not easy. She experienced overt racism and bullying. Her family broke up and her father left her with her mother and two brothers. They became very active in the local Hispanic evangelical Christian community. Annie started a free summer camp through her church for the children of migrant workers. Over time the camp broadened it’s reach to include any children in the community whose families struggled with financial hardship. Eventually she was serving nearly one hundred kids. Free. As a volunteer. She enlisted help and had other volunteers. She worked her butt off.

By this time she had married her high school sweetheart and they welcomed three of the best kids I have ever met. A boy and a set of twin girls. They are ultra smart and wickedly funny. Things were good. Except for one thing.

Annie’s gay.

Of course she had no idea she was gay and being gay in her church community as well as the larger Hispanic community was a major no no. She was tortured by this new burgeoning understanding of herself. But eventually she came to the conclusion that she had to model an authentic life for her children and live in her truth whatever the consequences might be. And there were consequences.

She lost everything.

Annie lost her church family, the camps she so loved, her community, her family, her connection to her culture. Everything.

Annie found work at Brehm Prep in Carbondale as a dorm parent. She administered meds and helped kids with homework and tended to their hearts when they were homesick. Of course, she was excellent at this. Annie is the soul of nurturance and acceptance. She is a deeply kind and loving person.

And she was struggling.

Now Annie was a single mother of three kids making barely enough to pay rent and keep food on the table. This is when I met Annie.

Annie was cleaning houses as a side hustle and in my depression and sorrow, I was struggling to stay afloat. Annie came in and did so much more than help me clean the house. She helped me create a life. And she became my best friend. It was with Annie that I got to really embrace my own queerness as an intersex person. We got tattoos together! We supported and loved each other through the roughest times. I fell in love with her kids. She became a second mother to mine. We laughed and laughed and laughed. It was medicine.

But Annie was still struggling. I urged Annie to go back to school when she brought up thinking about it. Social Work!! She has the gift! She connects! And she did it! Annie will graduate with her BSW this May. She has been working at the local domestic violence shelter and cleaning houses to make it work while raising her three kids. To make matters worse, Annie has to move again because there is a lot of gun violence in her neighborhood (her tires have been slashed twice in the last month!) and she and her ex (with whom she has maintained a tight friendship) made the decision for the kids to stay at his place until she can move.

Here is the kicker. Annie has ten days to decide if she can afford to go to graduate school at Southern Illinois University (where she is finishing her bachelors.) There are loans and maybe scholarships but it isn’t going to be enough to keep a roof over her head and pay her bills and feed her kids. She needs help.

There are many deserving people in the world, of course, but I am asking for you to consider helping my friend Annie. This is a pay it forward opportunity because Annie will take this masters and put it to use in underserved communities like she has already been doing for decades as a volunteer. I’m telling you this woman is special! And this degree will help her family in profound ways for generations to come.

With my whole heart I believe the world needs more people like Annie. She accepts everyone. She helps people in every way she can. She is deeply good and she deserves help.

Will you help me help Annie? Anything helps. One dollar or a share. Whatever is in your heart and allowance to do. Thank you for reading this and considering.

https://vimeo.com/791676124