James’ starting over fund

(****If you are reading this your help is needed more then you know.

(See picture attached of my friend James with the most caring Suffolk County police officer I could have ever met; P.O Metty. (James and P.O Metty both approved this picture for publication and sharing on all platforms of social media to get the word out to help James.

Your donation might just help us save a good hearted fun spirited soul who no matter what always finds a way to make me laugh when I come in contact with him.

I’ve had some pretty testing days in my life for the past few months and no matter what my frame of mind is when I see James he always manages to make me giggle.

His name is James Joseph Blakla and he’s Lindy allumni and he’s in serious danger.

I would definitely want nothing more then to stop James from freezing to death and not having a stable roof over his head and food when his belly is hungry.

But, alas; I am only ONE person in a world of many helping hands who can assist.

Going forward I am calling this fundraiser ‘project help a fellow neighbor’ and if it pans out the way I think it will I vow to do the same for anyone else who is also in a detrimental situation like James and who contacts me privately on messenger and truly needs an advisor for their life to get back on track.
I don’t know everything about everything but I know a little something about most things and I can be extremely useful and resourceful.

I will charge not ever a penny for this service.

My pay is simply helping another fellow neighbor/ good human being to remember that life was once amazing to live and not always a struggle and wondering where your next meal is coming from or even when it’s coming or if it’s even coming at all.

I’ve always had anything and everything I’ve ever wanted. Plenty of food, a stable home, clothes, toys, video games and whatever else I ever voiced that I may have wanted.

I grew up an only child and I was very well compensated both by my mother and father who are both retired NYPD.

They both unconditionally showed me how to work hard for your money, love to the fullest, cherish every second of life and instilled the importance of sharing what you do have with with others who are in need.

Because of my parents I know how to love selflessly and not expect anything in return. They always taught me to do what is right and follow my heart. I thank them ever so much for teaching me those amazing values and for raising me to be myself and love with all my heart even though that means I have learned to live life with my heart on my sleeve; sometimes this is a wonderful thing because you feel things so deeply and intense ; but sometimes it can  also backfire to care this much at thesame time. 

For the past month and a half whenever I go to chase bank on wellwood Avenue right next to OLPH church I have always seen who has become a friend to me, James

James wasn’t always homeless. In fact he worked 30 years as a sheet metal worker and he just lost his way due to a lot of traumatic events in his life.

Due to everything being online or digital nowadays; James does not have the tools or enough technical education to begin picking up the pieces to his life.

He’s owed a pension from being a sheet metal worker and he is also owed all of his pandemic funds (due to being homeless he has no mailing address)with James’ approval  I would like to use some of the funds collected to get him a P.O. Box so this never happens again.

Does anyone have any ideas on which service provider has the lowest rates?
not to mention his food stamp card has been declining him for the past 5 months.

I’ve been helping James little by little get a meal when I see him 2-3 times a week. But tonight we sat down and had a heart to heart.
While this heart to heart was happening in came Nick Brunie and he knew James too!

Nick wants to help just as much as I do so we decided that we would start up a go fund me for James and we both vowed to share the ever living crap out of it.

James, Nick Brunie , Shaq (James’ private driver who was contacted by me to escort James to the hospital and then when James is discharged Shaq will be picking him up from Good Samaritan hospital. I KNOW for a fact that we all were meant to be in the same spot tonight  so that All of could team up to help facilitate james to go through the process of getting back on his feet and have somewhere to call home again; heck, maybe even get a cat as a little pal!

**James’ DSS benefit card has not been usable for over 5 months. He’s skinny and he needs help to buy food and warm clothing immediately/ and possibly a few nights at very inexpensive motel until DSS gets his permanently placed!or until we can assist in helping him recover his owed pension , cash benefits from DSS and also his covid-19 pandemic pay that he has yet to receive. Once he is discharged from the hospital ; I am thinking Monday or Tuesday (once confirmed negative for COVID-19 then He just needs a bed and a shower and somewhere to keep some non-perishable food until DSS can step in and physically help him. We ALL know this is a very lengthy process; it isn’t nearly as easy as they make it out to be and it takes nearly forever. Sometimes a week or two and sometimes it could be up to a year before housing is secured; especially with the pandemic right now. There are not a lot of placement options due to everyone staying put in their current living situations for safety protocol. 

I’ll be waiting to hear from James once Good Samaritan releases him after  he is deemed covid negative-

when I told James I was going to go public with his story and reach out to as many community members and elected officials that I possibly could; he had tears in his eyes and he must have thanked me over 100 times.

No one has ever sat down with this kind man and given him the light of day to find out how and why he ended up on the streets after having a very promising future and a great job trade when he was younger.

Remember people; everything you have is trivial , fighting
With you family or friends is trivial. What you need to keep close to your heart is your roof over your head, the food in your refrigerator and the sweet love you get from your family and friends. No one will ever love you the way they do.

James’ girlfriend passed away just about 2 years ago. Unfortunately they were not married so James did not get any assistance while he was/ is still heavily grieving his horrific loss.

DSS said step one was having James brought to Good Samaritan hospital in Islip to get covid tested and give him a warm place to sleep for a few nights, 3 meals a day, medically checked out from being out in the freezing cold all winter and possibly getting help from the social worker on staff to contact the government to get James his COVID-19 pandemic funds that he as an American citizen is entitled to but due to having no home or mailing address he has yet to receive ANY help.

Look, I know these are sh*t times for everyone financially BUT if you can spare $1, $2 , $5 or maybe even more if you are able to without causing any financial issues for yourself or your family then YOU WILL impact a poor souls life more then you could ever even imagine.

I spent 6 hours tonight in the freezing cold to help him get this far. my wife was so angry with me until I came home and really explained why I was gone for so long and how very important this is to me to help My friend James. Once she knew everything she understood because this is a definitely not the first time I have mentioned my concern for James well being.

Is anyone willing to join team ‘ get James Joseph B. From lindenhurst back to feeling human again and not shivering outside?
Who’s with me? Share share share!

Thank you for listening and remember people; you never know how easy it can be to fall into a hole like this.
We all at one point or another have had it too good for too long and we tend to forget that in an instant it could all be gone and we could all be exactly where James is right now.
Karma will be on your side if you think selflessly and do what you can to assist our local friend.

If anyone has any positive stories about how they know James, please comment in the post and then  send me a private message. News 12 will be tagged to get the story out to as many viewers/ Facebook followers as we possibly can.

I would like to extend the utmost gratitude to private driver Shaq Ashraf- he drives a 2017 Nissan Sentra privately and he’s local to deer park- he’s the most caring individual and he dropped James off at Good Samaritan hospital at 10:30pm and made sure he arrived safely.

Please use him for any rides you may need. You will not regret it. His rates are so very reasonable and he is so courteous and kind and most of all on time and extremely professional. Best part is that he knows James as well! So they both feel extremely comfortable spending time together to get James where he needs to go and helping James go shopping for clothes and food items once we can generate enough pooled funds to withdraw and give to James in moderation until he can learn how to money manage again.

I feel like that skill needs to be slowly re-introduced after getting accustomed to living on the streets for so long.

So I beg all of you, please help. Please share if you can’t afford to help, share if you can afford to help.

Talk to your friends and family and have them share it too.

If anyone has any extra resources or local lindenhurst businesses who would like to make a cash or check donation or PayPal donation to avoid the fee on go fund me instead of donating online- I will come to you and give you a cash receipt or check receipt and show credit where it’s due by posting a very detailed review of your business showing how caring and selfless you and your business have been in this poor mans worst time of his life.

I will ensure that it will go directly to buying warm clothes and food and temporary motel stays for James (and will provide receipts if requested)

From now until DSS is able to step in and reinstate his food stamps and he until he receives his back pay for the pandemic funds/pension we need to band together and help.

When James finally gets the help from DSS and the money he’s entitled to James will be set up with a good friend of mine who is not only one of my dearest friends but is also a very good realtor , Elise Mancusi of lindenhurst;  she will look diligently for a very reasonably priced studio apartment with utilities included that is somewhere safe for James to reside long term.

Well that’s the story! Thanks for the read.. stay tuned for updates Or direct message me with any questions. 

As I said you will be properly compensated by an extremely positive review of your business’ generosity and if your a regular civilian just looking to do the right
thing I promise to give you a huge  Shout out on your Facebook wall for donating. 

(Picture posted of James & Police Officer Metty (shield#6432) James and P.O Metty both gave me verbal approval to use their picture for blogging, fundraising and any donations needed. 

I have tagged ;News 12 Long Island
,Lindenhurst Moms,
Mercy Soup Kitchen
,Town of Babylon Shopping Local
,Babylon Moms
TOB (Town of Babylon) Buy & Sell Keeping it local!!!, 
Lindy youth cares,
Buy, Sell, Trade or Donate: Long Island!,
Angels of Long Island,
News12 Long Island Meteorologist Rich Hoffman
,Major Mike Lavorata
The People Of Lindenhurst,
Lindenhurst, NY, Uncensored,
Lindenhurst N.Y. My Home Town,
Shopping Local in Lindenhurst.

if you know any other pages or groups that would help generate more foot traffic to this fundraiser please do share it to said groups or pages. 

thank you for reading and have a blessed day!