Support Tom and Kyle's Journey to Stability

Hi there my name is Tom Johnstone I’m disabled 56 yo guy that lives with my 30 year old son Kyle Last night we were thrust from starting an exciting new chapter of our lives into being beaten and homeless. For the the last 3 years we’ve been renting a great little house in Santa Fe, Nm near the plaza. We liked the house and loved making it into home we planned to live in forever. Several month ago my son told me that we needed to let his friend move into our guest room for a few weeks because he we getting divorced and couldn’t stand living in the same house with his wife and their young daughter. He is a psychiatrist in town and portrayed himself as not only successful in his practice but that he “was fucking rich”. We opened our home to him and were grateful to have help with the rent and groceries. Very quickly the situation changed to Rich being part of the family and this would be a permanent living arrangement. Kyle and I wanted Rich to feel welcome , at home, part of a family. But by the second week at his new job he announced that his business partner was insane and his partner had broken their contract. Rich said he was confident in his ability to win a huge settlement from the breach of contract suit he claims to have filed. He convinces Kyle to go into businesses with him so now Rich is Kyle’s boss, and our roommate that we now depend on him not only to cover a portion of rent, utilities and food but Kyle’s salary Rich I began to have problems but all minor roommate issues that seemed to be quickly resolved. But soon any discussion where i did anything but agree was met with him responding with shouting and insults. When I would tell him to stop yelling I got back oh that’s right you can’t handle conflict. What conflict I was simply quoting an article I read in a research journal about the side effects experienced by patients on a drug he wanted to put me one all while driving erratically on the way to doctor’s appointment so I would show up visibly upset and shaken. Not the best state to be in when discussing a serious injury ( a lisfranc injury to my right foot) and wether or not to have surgery. Kyle was experiencing similar problems at work. So it was decided by Kyle and Rich that Rich would move back to his house he owns with his ex-wife. That way Kyle and Rich could have good working relationship not colored the normal friction that occur between people living together.

No issues where ever addressed in any form or fashion not even a quick discussion. Things were tight without Rich covering a portion of our bills. I receive a small fixed income through SSDI so have little to contribute and Kyle took a huge pay cut because the business hadnt had anytime to build up. I don’t know that he was ever paid the agreed upon salary. But Rich was always promising that things were gonna be great once the practice was up and running. Rich often told me how much he appreciated me making him part of the family that between the money the practice would bring in plus his law suit against his former partner it would ensure that we would be okay I would always have a roof over my head. Things were not working for Rich sharing the house with his wife so once again Kyle and I took him in. Kyle and Rich were working so hard and I contributed by keeping the house clean even though with having suffered a lisfranc injury to my right foot and had been warned repeatedly that my right food could not handle any weight at all I felt I had to do my part. Have you ever tried to vacuum while on crutches ? We bought a knee scooter which proved to be basically useless in our house were every room is at a different level creating what amounted to speed bumps between each room. It helped somewhat when stationary while chopping veg or loading/washing dishes. Rich told me that he wasn’t using any drugs but he was abusing prescription drugs writing prescriptions as if they were for me. He wrecked his cars , and couple of rentals. Then his wife got a rental home and Rich and Kyle decided that we could all live at his house but only for six months because that’s how long it would take to finish the remodel. and that was necessary to get the kind price that was deserved and desired. So we gave noice to our landlords, committed to being out of the house by the 15th giving Kyle and I two weeks to get the house really clean by September first while working everyday so we could get our cleaning deposit back. There was one incident where I noticed that Rich’s car was still parked outside 8:30 so I lightly knocked on Rich’s door asking if he was okay he told that it was a late day for him and fucking let him sleep. At the same time Kyle texted that Rich’s nine o’ clock was running latte so I banged on Rich’s door telling him to hurry up that Kyle would stall his first patient for me to make sure he got up and moving. I continued knocking on the door with Rich responding with cursing me out saying it was none of my business to which I said”none of my business ? my life depends on your successes ,get the fuck up” I made a fresh pot of coffee and made him a big go cup he hadn’t brought home the milk I had asked him to get the night before so I offered him the big drink saying” I’m sorry it’s black “ he sneered at me and said I don’t want your coffee if you want to help me find my keys I can’t find them so I started looking when he said he would walk I offered him a freshly laundered shirt to change into he ignored me and walked out. I continued looking for his keys I once I made it into his bedroom I was met with a disaster of plates covered in leftover food , empty icecream containers stuffed between the bed and the wall along with half pints of vodka. a bowl full of gnawed on chicken bones . I finally found his key chain clipped to the handle of a vase in the living room and covered with a eyeglass cleaning cloth. This is the behavior of a man abusing drugs or prescription medication. When he came home he told he was sorry for being rude to me that he set his watch for the wrong time. So not only was he much more than rude he insults me with an insincere apology and lies right to my face as if I’m too dense to realize either. I tried to be excited about the move I was feeling much better on my new medications but had certainly become physically dependent on them and have stayed abstinent from all street drugs and alcohol since April that along with taking my meds as prescribed I’m much more clear headed, emotionally stable, free from the psychosis that showed up for me as auditory hallucinations(hearing someone call my name repeatedly, sounds of people talking in another room when I was the only one home) fairly mild as psychosis goes but a true joy to be free of. It was my job to do most of the packing Kyle did the all moving while working full time so Kyle was really exhausted but it seemed to be worth the effort to have a safe and beautiful place to leave with someone who frequently voiced his affection for us. At times I worried about dependent I was on Rich and how vulnerable I was to him. He had control over my medication and knew all about my mental health issues which could easily be turned against me.But I pushed those thoughts aside and got on with preparing to move. We got all our furniture in the house by hiring movers for a few hours. That turned out horribly as they didn’t move eevrything that we needed help with and we found out later that they had stolen Kyle’s PS5. I was responsible for all the cleaning and most setup while Kyle and Rich were working hard at their cute little casita style office space. Rich decided to apply for a part time position where he could do tela-visits. He had to turn in his rental car so the only vehicle we have is Kyle’s motorcycle so with them off to Rich’s interview I worked my ass off cleaning, polishing and buffing the four huge leather pieces that make up the living room set. The kitchen was a disaster after Rich being there alone for a week it took a couple of hours of scrubbing a multitude of pots and pans, scrubbing walls and getting the fridge into a sanitary condition. By late afternoon I was exhausted physically and with no one to talk to I had brought myself to a state of mental exhaustion as well. I had gone over in my head all the conversations, comments and actions of my roommate, landlord, boss( via Kyle) , psychiatrist, friend, member of family of choice. My conclusion was “ I’m owned”. One mentally and emotionally unstable man that has in the last year divorced, moved homes a few times changed jobs and gone from seeing his beautiful, ultra intelligent , genuinely kind hearted little girl everyday , being daddy every day to a week-end dad. Thus one man held my well being completely in his hands. This a big deal, a massive deal for anyone to experience just one of these life events can break a man, all together at once it’s a recipe for disaster. So this one man under an almost unimaginable circumstances has more power over me than I would give to anyone. I can empathize with him to a point but I don’t and won’t give him any sort of a pass for his treatment of me. . I know what he is going through because I’ve experienced them all plus the death of a loved several times all at once in my life. In just the last 4 months, my best and truly only current friend had died of an overdose, a dear friend from my past died tragically and my Aunt Jackie died, and truly in someways the worst was my little kitty Lucy dying unexpectedly and decided to quit doing meth after frequent use since2012 to none at all since April I had also been on opioids through prescription most of that period until 2018. Then when fentanyl fully entrenched itself into the opioid supply I don’t use any street drugs and carry narcan with me just in case I come across someone nodding out. I give him no quarter because he doesn’t deserve it. I never have beaten the shit out of anyone because my life was in a bad place. So they got home they were tired and seemed in bad moods so I was in bed reading. Rich popped his head in made some crass comment and said a vegetarian meal would be ready soon. I was famished as i only drank one Soylent all day. The food was delicious I actually had two plates I rarely eat all food I’m given. I complemented his excellent meal praying that perhaps this evening given that although the kitchen was still being set up it was very clean I wouldn’t have another huge mess to clean Rich made some crass sexual comments about me sucking his dick but I’d had normalized it as his normal attempt at humor, think drunken frat boy, that I endured everyday. I ignored his comment took my plate into the kitchen to rinse it off and saw that all my work was for naught I had another over the top mess left for me to clean again I went to my room and noticed that Rich was coming out of his room with another full glass. He was drinking vodka after having told me that it was a house rule for there to no drugs or alcohol in the house. Nothing in my room had been set up my matreesss was on the floor but still comfortable to lay on and read which I did planning on spending a couple hours reading before tackling the kitchen so we wouldn’t have to deal with it in the morning. Which I did, clean the kitchen and saw that’s in addition to the usual use of multiple pots pans and utensils Rich I burned some grasses he picked from the garden for what reason I don't know all it meant was that ashes covered the huge range and had been left for me to clean. I went back to my room pissed and frustrated knowing that I wouldn’t be able to even broach the situation without causing more friction. I don’t know how long I was reading for but at some point Rich jumps into room tells me has taken ten Valium and drank a fifth of vodka to come hang out with him. I said no way, absolutely not why would I want to hang out with your fucked up, drunken ass. a few moments later he jumped into my room nude from the waist down holding his penis with the foreskin retracted and told me that there was a clause in the lease that I had to preform oral sex on him once a month but it would be okay if this time I just kissed the glans. I responded completely dead pan well that’s never gonna happen and then smiled and said you need to go lay down dude your too fucked up and are going to hurt yourself, now leave. I wondered if he really had taken so many Valium and thought I would probably go check in on him later after he passed out. But he didn’t pass out he kept coming into my room nude wanting me to hang out. I was getting more and more frustrated and angry I shouted at him to leave me the fuck alone. He left screaming that I was a lousy friend. I went back to reading. I did hear some banging the sounds crockery or maybe a planter breaking but I ignored it. All of the sudden Rich’s little dog Vito jumped onto my bed, this is rare he is a very good little dog usually doesn’t come into my room unless invited and will immediately leave if told no. I told him to get down I don’t want you in my bed but he just snorted and snuggled up to me so I said okay come here baby and gave him a goood back scratch and told him he was a good dog he licked my hand and snuggled up tight to my belly. I hear a loud crash and bang then Rich comes into my room brandishing a tall standing lamp without the shade and says give me two subutex I said no he said then just one. I said no I'm not giving you anything. You see he had a habit of asking me for my meds a VYVANSE, a valium, a Subutex…theses are controlled drugs with strict dispensing guidelines you can only get so many a month with Rich always taking some of mine so I woulda always run out earlier than pharmacy can legally refill so as I’m physically dependent on vyvanse which a is a form of amphetamine I go into withdrawals which mean I’m very foggy in the head, easily confused and sleep almost constantly. even though Rich knew that this would happen he would accuse me of taking extra Valium and keep waking me up. This happened every month It felt like torture so I have a fear of running out of my meds which Rich used as a tool of manipulation. On a couple of occasions I angered him because I disagreed with him on some random subject he would threaten to not refill my prescriptions or punish me by dropping the dose on prescription always saying it was the only way he could get my meds earlier than normal due date and as there is a country wide shortage of amphetamines I had good reason to fear fear upsetting him and suffering the consequences. He had told earlier in the week to never give him any of my meds and that he promised not to get weird about it. As I told him no he charged into my room he fell and I got out of bed and out of room so I wasn’t unite as trapped and vulnerable. I yelled at him to get up and go to bed to pass out and leave me alone . He screamed in a rage that if I ever refused to give him my drugs he would destroy me that he would make sure that I was living under a bridge in Albuquerque. I said how could you say that you made promise not to give you anything. He was up using the that lamp stand for support calling me a worthless faggot that I deserve to be under a bridge . I told him he was humane garbage to threaten for not giving him my prescriptions. He told me to shut up and give him the drugs or he kick my ass. I yelled you’ll me if you hit me I can’t believe you’re such an asshole that’s when he began punching me saying that I deserved to live under a bridge. I don’t know why I didn’t turn around and run but I just stood there as he punched me it was like I wasn’t in my body as if imsomehow stepped out of myself and watched him hit me thinking of all the times my ex boyfriend had hit me for not giving him whateverver it was he wanted drugs or money or whatever. Rich stood looking at me I said you’ve broken my nose. I went to Kyle’s room thinking he was still home but he was gone. I took my phone out of my pocket and made a video of my face . Rich was across the room in front of his bedroom door I told him to look at what he’d done. He said nothing , I dialed 911 but didn’t press send. I went my room and saw that the door didn’t lock. I’m called Kyle and told him what happened he said he would call the police, I begged him to hurry to house we kept calling one another as the line kept going out. He said he’d called the police did want an ambulance I said yes I wanted a to be checked out . The police took what’s seemed like forever . I kept Kyle on the phone finally the police arrived and told them what had happened I watched as they tried to wake up Rich they had trouble getting him to wake up and la tear said he probably would not remember anything he was so wasted. The police asked me if I had a knife I said no, why. They said Rich maintained that I had attacked him with a knife and he simply protected his self. I did here a cop say to him well he is covered in blood and you’ve only some marks on your fist. The police asked if I wanted to press charges I said yes of course. I heard Rich say that he wanted us out of his house as they had him get dressed. I watched them lead him out of the house in handcuffs or I guess actually he was zip tied I heard later they didn’t arrest him. The laws are weird in NM. They examined me at the hospital, took a couple of CT scans and said my nose was broken in 2 places. So that’s my deal. My face is a mess, Kyle and I are broke ill get my disability benefits on the third but Kyle doesn’t have a job, we have no home because we let a malicious manipulator move into our home, who repaid our kindness with violence, all of our belongings are at a house in Nambe occupied by a man that beat me because I wouldn’t give more dugs when he and already taken a dangerous amount of drugs. Kyle doesn’t have a job. Of course I’m grateful to have not been hurt much worse and we’ve been shown so much kindness from Kyle’s friends. I’m grateful that Kyle wasn’t there because he would have gotten involved and there is no telling how the violence would have escalated Kyle has a big heart and generous spirit but seeing me being hurt would have been enraging to him. Rich many promises to Kyle and beyond financial ones. We had a stable living arrangement one we loved and Rich convinced us that it would take him into our home, our lives and treat him like family he could provide us with an even more stable life if Kyle partnered with professionally and would contribute by managing our home. He knows all about my mental issues and used that knowledge to cause more pain and put is financial ruin. Oh yeah get this the movers we hired stole Kyle’s PS 5. It just seems like adding insult to injury. We are going to have money to eat but even though one of Kyle’s friends gots a great rate on a little motel room my disability benefits won’t keeps here for more than a couple nights and we have got two cats. We definitely don’t have the funds to get us into a place, get Kyle’s car running which needs to happen super quickly with shape my foot is in a

motorcycle is not going to cut it. Now,we,can barely cover the do copays on all of my doctor visits much less the copays for surgery and a home health aid to get me through 8:weeks of recovery. That can be put off a little longer getting into,a safe place to live and getting Kyle’s car running can’t happen fast enough. Please help us as you are able.