Casper, my 16-year-old, has spent most of their life homeless.
For the last six years, they have been forced to hide in a locked bedroom just to feel safe.
I am begging people to share our story and help me finally give my child a home.
I never imagined this would be our life.
Casper and I have been part of the hidden homeless since January 2016. We have spent most of their life without a safe, stable home of our own.
I am a domestic violence survivor. What people do not always understand is that abuse does not necessarily end when you leave. Sometimes it continues through financial sabotage, family court, broken systems, and years of trying to survive without enough support to rebuild.
Before I left my abuser, I had started building a successful business with The Pampered Chef as an independent consultant. He did not want me to work. When I refused to quit, he sabotaged my income by making it impossible for me to keep my bookings and continue building the business.
When I finally left because of threats to kill me, the abuse did not stop. It changed forms.
Since 2009, my children and I have been trapped in court-sanctioned financial abuse that has contributed to years of poverty and housing instability.
I also live with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome with hypermobility, a painful connective tissue disorder that causes chronic pain, instability, and crushing fatigue. My body hurts every day. I am exhausted in ways I cannot fully put into words. But I have kept fighting because my child needs me to.
In 2018, with nowhere else to go, Casper and I moved in with my ex-husband. I hoped enough had changed that we could safely share housing.
I was wrong.
After an argument in which my ex pushed Casper, they began locking themselves inside a 105-square-foot bedroom to keep him out. That room is only about 35 square feet larger than a jail cell.
For most of the last six years, that tiny room has been Casper’s hiding place, protection, and prison.
No child should have to live like that.
My ex passed away in January. Even then, the financial damage did not end. He had eliminated most of the life insurance that was supposed to provide security, leaving us with even fewer options.
I am sharing this because I do not know what else to do.
I am tired. I am heartbroken. I am scared. But I have not given up on my child.
I am trying to raise enough money to buy a permanent home for us — a place where Casper can sleep without fear, where we can lock the door and feel peace instead of survival mode, and where healing can finally begin.
If our story touches your heart, I am asking for two things:
- Please donate if you can.
- Please share this page if you cannot.
One share could put this in front of the person who can change our lives.
One share could help my child finally come home.
One share could be the reason our story changes.
If you have read this far, thank you for seeing us. Thank you for caring. Thank you for helping us hold onto hope.
#HiddenHomeless #DomesticViolence #FinancialAbuse #ShareToHelp #HousingCrisis #EhlersDanlos #SingleMom #Hope
