Team Ralph

My name is Becca, and along with Kristine, Angelique, Jessica, and other members of our Austin community, we are fundraising to help our friend, Ralph, through a challenging time.

 

Ralph, a 64-year-old man, was evicted from his home in Austin several weeks ago. He had been living out of his car with his dog, Max, until his car got repossessed at 4 am. The repo man made him take all his belongings (that he still had) out of the vehicle and Ralph began living in a tent for the first time in his life. This snowball of lousy news started for him when his insurance was cut two weeks before he was due to have cataract surgery.

 

Ralph's friend, Jessica, reached out through a group on Facebook to seek resources for Ralph to find housing for him and his pets. From this group, several folks banded together to assist Ralph by donating monetarily towards a hotel room for temporary shelter while he figured out his next steps. Ralph is partially blind, so accessing websites, phone numbers and addresses to resources is not so quickly done. In addition to needing cataract surgery, Ralph has a distended hernia that he has been unable to have looked at by a doctor due to losing his health insurance, his home, and his means of transportation.

 

Ralph is staying in a hotel in South Austin temporarily and figuring out his next steps, which include getting signed up for unemployment, social security, and other services for the unhoused that are available to him. Many of these services have a major backlog of waitlists and hoops to jump through to access them. Our hope through this fundraiser is to assist Ralph with the jumpstart he needs to get back on his feet.

 

Ralph's story spoke to so many of us for different reasons. For some, he reminds us of a family member we have lost. For others, his kind and humble heart and devotion to his pets are what stood out. Either way, his story reminds ALL of us that our lives are one catastrophe away from changing forever. Everyone needs help at some point in their lives, and too many don't receive the support they need early enough to prevent them from falling deeper into houselessness.

 

Ralph is a kind, resourceful, and resilient man. He has insisted on doing as much legwork as possible on his own, only accepting help when he needs it but ALWAYS with grace, humility, and a smile. I have referred to him as my Uncle Ralph to those I share his story with because I feel that Ralph is a long-lost member of my family with his warm heart and big bear hugs. He has touched our hearts forever, and we hope that his story also touches yours.

 

Please consider donating and making a tangible difference in Ralph's life.