Jana Morris family

UPDATE 8/30/2022: We met our initial goal of $500 and the repair work is scheduled to be done! Thank you to all who helped us reach that so quickly! I'm setting a new goal to encourage ongoing contributions that will go directly to Jana and her family.

My name is Alan Wessman and I met Jana this last July while I was going door to door for a political campaign. Jana came outside to chat with me and was super friendly, and she shared her situation with me. I'm setting up this fundraiser to help this wonderful family through some incredibly difficult times.

I learned that Jana is taking care of two special-needs children, Fenix who has Down Syndrome and Bryton who has a severe chromosomal disorder. Bryton is blind and developmentally at the level of an infant, unable to do much more than groan loudly. Fenix recently finished high school at Salem Hills, where he had many friends. Jana also has two teenage daughters, Skylee and Breah, who are a great support to their mother.

When I met Jana, her situation was already tough. Her garage door had been damaged by a car and could not be closed, leaving her garage vulnerable to theft or intrusion. Her husband was living separately from the family, leaving Jana and her daughters to care for their household on very little income. And Fenix was scheduled to have surgery in a few weeks.

And then tragedy struck. That same week that Fenix was to have surgery, Jana's husband passed away suddenly. This was devastating to Jana and her kids. And to make matters worse, as they were mourning his loss, they contracted Covid, and are just now starting to recover from that.

This family has seen incredible hardship and they need our help. Jana has kept up an optimistic and grateful attitude but this hardship has taken a toll on them all.

My intent for this fundraiser is twofold. First, I want to help Jana get her garage door repaired so that her home and vehicles can be secure. I've called a local repair company and their estimate is $400 for the repair. They also indicate that the motor is old and may need to be replaced soon, and if we raise enough funds then it would be good to take care of that too.

Second, any funds raised above the amount needed for garage door repairs would go directly to Jana as a source of extra income, to help alleviate her tight financial circumstances and offset costs of caring for her children.

Note: My name appears as a beneficiary of this fundraiser, but in no case will I use any of the funds for myself. Every penny raised (minus fees charged by GoFundMe) will benefit the Morris family either through the repair company or direct transfer to Jana's bank account.

Your generous contributions will be of immense help to Jana, Fenix, Skylee, Breah, and Bryton. Please help them out.