Help Hayes Stay Housed

I am currently living every day with stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and am in month 23 of managing post-viral illness. It means I am consistently fatigued, I sleep/rest for 12 hours to be functional, and my joints are in constant need of being stretched or moved so I can be mobile. It has been my full time job (since November) managing my health and I am here today because of that time.

On Saturday, July 22nd, at 6:58 pm CST I will be 42 years old. And for the first time in my adult life, I need financial support from my community of friends and family. After leaving my job on Nov. 1st, I have been completely away from working jobs for the first time since I was 11 years old. I knew I would likely not make it to my next birthday without giving my body, my mind, my heart, and my spirit a true break from distress.

I can offer a list of all the ways I've been serving my community and others in my life, and I'd rather say that I am understanding deeply why my body broke down into deep sickness almost 2 years ago. While trying to stay alive, I went through the dissolution of a longtime partnership and my mother unexpectedly died. I tried to keep my life business as usual throughout all of that and hit a wall of grief. I truly believe I am alive and awake in my life because I've been away from constant stress in my home and my jobs. My body is still recovering and adjusting to frequent exhaustion. I walk with a cane more than ever and am no longer ashamed to be seen in my disabled body.

I am hopeful that my community will see me in this moment, pushing past everything in my brain that says don't say this out loud: I need support to have more time to rest and find work that I can say Yes to without compromising my health. I don't have relatives to call for help and I've exhausted all of my savings. Your offering will help me be housed in the best home I've ever had and will help me feed myself and my 12 years going companion pup Sampson. Help me celebrate my 42nd year on this earth. I can honestly say I am so glad to be alive and believe the best of my life is about to unfold.