A majority of Americans are one paycheck away from the streets. One disaster away from losing everything. It's a precarious balancing act we all carry out, flailing our arms to keep from falling.
I had a nice apartment. A great job. A cute little car. My three little darlings the loves of my life and I was engaged to their father. Life was pretty much going amazing.
Then the disaster that changed our lives struck in the form of a young buck. He leapt in front of my car one night, on a 55 mph road. The car was totaled, and the insurance did not pay out enough to cover the loan.
My job was nearly an hour drive away. Suddenly I couldn't get to work, but I still had to pay the daycare for time the kids weren't able to be there for. I couldn't pay for the old car loan AND start a new car loan. It piled up so quickly, in a month we were evicted. The children's father decided to move to Kentucky to be with a girl he had met online. Nice.
I found a place I could work off the rent. A man who wanted his unused property to be converted into a blueberry farm. I was willing to do the work, and stupidly on my part, a verbal agreement was struck.
A little short of two years later, he remarried. We were forced to leave, Christmas Eve of 2016, because she wanted to use the property more.
I had saved up a little, but with my eviction was unable to find a place willing to rent to us. I used the money to purchase a little R.V. figuring I would be able to save enough from not paying rent to eventually purchase a small place of our own.
There are huge problems with that plan. Various repairs have drank down the savings. The alternator has been replaced, twice, the belt, the coil pack and other issues. Not to mention the prolific amount of gas it takes to run that beast. Not a dollar saved.
I have a full time job. The kids are in school. Halloween of 2017 there was a knock on the camper door. Someone got nosey and contacted child protected services. The kids were clean, fed, warm and loved. No abuse, no neglect. Our only crimes were being poor and living in an RV. But CPS threatened to take the three pieces of my soul I would die without unless I found immediate housing.
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As I said above, the eviction from 2014 has made me a "risk" for renting to. Nothing saved up. 211 offered zero help, the Salvation Army and the County are out of funds.
So, we went to the homeless shelter. Taken from our solitude we are among fights, violence, drug abuse, domestic violence issues, fear and some really decent people.
There was literally blood on the walls when we arrived. Our RV was clean, quiet, safe and our own. The shelter a frightening den of chaos. The depression I have is crippling, anxiety attacks have sen me by ambulance to the hospital.
Child Protective Services never even came here to make sure we are where I told them we are. But they closed our case. They came, made threats, bullied us into the homeless shelter and struck absolute terror into the depths if my soul and the disappeared. But we're just homeless people, so nobody cares. Oh yeah, they did offer me some bus passes. #ThanksButNoThanks
I work hard, I am TRYING and saving once more. But we have been here since November, I have viewed dozens of rentals and nobody will have us. I will get us out of this mess, somehow.
But, if you think to judge those in this position, to stereotype, remember, you could be just one disaster away.
This post has been Resteemed and Upvoted by @familyprotection
are using "Child Protection Agencies"
to take children away from loving families
and place them in foster care or group homes
or put up for adoption.
THESE FAMILIES NEED PROTECTING.
Upvote This Comment TO HELP US HELP FAMILIES IN CRISIS.
You are AMAZING! Thank you for being fundamental in building supportive community on the Steem Blockchain so everyone who has gone through these terrifying circumstances, and is going through them now, can grow stronger knowing they are not alone! I have so much hope because of you all!! <3 <3 <3
Keep up the great work! I will always support YOU and all of the victims being terrorized by "child protection agencies".
Thank you @lyndsaybowes!
With tears in my eyes and a raging feeling in my heart! We have to help this family, I personally will do what I can, And I hope the rest of the @familyprotection community are behind me.
What do you say People?
Sure Mark, I just sent her 10 Steem, not much I know, but if more people could do that, the family could be helped.
I have also brought it to the attention of ecotrain in our slack group, we have some passengers in the US, let´s see if they can come up with something to help.
I believe the @familyprotection community is behind you, Well I am strongly behind you Mark. Heading over to my wallet!
Awesome that Steemians can help.
Can you help everyone though? What about Delusional Landlords and more verbal agreements?
Yes, we will always get everything in writing from now on. What a MESS!!
Thank you so very much for your help, it is amazing.
if it's any help to you, our thoughts are with you and you have an incredibly courageous heart: we are in this all together, good luck
so sorry to hear that you had to go through this experience. it actually reminds me a bit of @arbitrarykitten's story, "10 Things I Learned From Being Homeless".
this is really so great work proud to have you on steemit buddy keep helping families out there i hope your comment could get 100000$ so there would be home for poor people and homeless families even with little rent they can have roof upside there heads .. lots of love ..
I do tend to believe the intention and purpose with the CPAs around the world is good. I know almost nothing about the US CPA, but I have had some experiences with the Norwegian child protection authorities (barnevernet) - both first hand, second hand and through media reports. Let me assume for a while that this applies to "CPA"s everywhere. Some thoughts:
We only hear about one side of the story - when some parents tell their version to the media, they can claim anything and hide whatever. The government officials have no rights to comment on the cases. I believe that at least here in Norway, a child would not be taken away from the parents without a very good reason (usually violence, alcoholism or drug abuse). Whenever there are cases like this in the media, probably there are some dark secrets that we haven't heard of. Even close friends may hide or understate their darkest secrets. Truth is, some people simply aren't fit for being parents - and they may not even realize it themselves.
Perhaps in most of the cases the agency does the right thing, in some few cases they do really terrible things, destroying families and only making things worse for the children they are supposed to protect. Of course, only the worst examples gets through to the media, so when reading stories ... one is to believe the CPA is all bad and nothing good. (every now and then there are also cases reported in the media where the CPA absolutely should have intervened, but didn't - in the hindsight it's always easy to point out that someone haven't been doing their job).
Quite some of the employees at the CPA are young ladies, without any life experience and without any parental experience. They may do terrible things, still believing they do what is best for the child.
Children have very different personalities. There has been a report in media recently here in Norway - and it's our experience as well - that the threshold for personnel in schools and kindergardens to file a report with the CPA is very low for children that are outside the "normal" (i.e. ADHD), this can cause conflicts and problems.
Cultural differences - what one party may think is completely OK may be very not-OK for someone else. On the extreme, there are quite many immigrants here in Norway that thinks it's completely ok to spank naughty children ... but that's an extreme no-no here in Norway, if there is a significant risk that the child may get spanked it will be taken away from its parents. I'd actually side with the CPA in such cases, that's not the way to raise children ... at least not in Norway! Weather it's OK to live in a caravan or not, that may also be sort of a "cultural difference". In this case, I'd side completely with the poster, as long as the children are healthy and happy, it's completely OK to live in a mobile home! It even looks very cozy from the pictures!
The CPA does have a quite awkward job after all - damned if they do, damned if they don't. The solid evidence is often missing, but still they have to do what they believe is the best for the children. It's for sure not a good situation.
Bureaucrazy! (misspelling intended). Create a simple rule like ... "parents need to be registered with a permanent address of residence", and cases can be decided without involving belief, feelings or personal opinions ... it also saves time, effort and taxpayers money, it's not even needed to visit the family and check how they are living. Unfortunately such rules does not always make sense, and there may be many reasons why the rules don't fit everyone (in Norway we even have natives that have been living a nomadic lifestyle for a countless number of generations ... still, one is very much supposed to be living permanently on one address in this country, particularly if having children).
Do you really think that this post of an obvious abuse of power, and a family put in despair by this wretched system, is THE PLACE to give your very LONG comment about how great the system is? Jeesh.
If you really want to discuss this do so on another @familyprotection post where a debate on these issues would be more appropriate.
You are not respecting this poor mother and her children.
I agree with you about that
If you read my comment that way, I think you should read it again. In this case I absolutely side with the poster.
The post was about a family put in despair - but the part about being harassed by the CPA was just a small part of it all - and the poster got through with it. Still the most upvoted and visible comment on this post is one attacking the CPAs around the world. That's also not quite right in my opinion.
I absolutely believe there is a lot of wrongdoings done by the CPAs of the world, but still there may be a need for such agencies.
Not everyone is a kind hearted person. The agencies; enabled by the personal choices of their employees are vile, and there is plenty of evidence to support the fact. You could start with looking into Former Senator Nancy Schaefer's work if you truly want to comprehend what is happening on a large scale all over the world right now with these agencies. I've seen it myself, so I know. Brick by brick they are isolating families in a methodical manner so that the masses won't put two and two together in time to help eachother. There's a lot of documentary work on the horrors being perpetrated by these agencies. If you really believe what you have said above, I would implore you to look a little deeper into the issue. I'm not trying to offend anyone (unless you steal babies for pedo's for a living) with this comment, but we've been lied to people. It's about control, domination, and is part of that big picture everyone is trying to suss out. The dots are all there to be connected.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's a case in some countries, with commercial entities running big orphanages and bribing officials. In other countries and time periods, maybe the CPS is abused for political control, i.e. targeting parents by their political views. I wouldn't be surprised if "someone told us the parents are socialists" would be sufficient reason for the US CPA to react under the McCarthy age. But if you're implying that all the CPSes around the world has some kind of shared agenda ... then I must say, that do sound like one of the more crazy conspiracy theories to me.
Parkinson's law may be relevant though, any bureaucratic organization do have some internal growth pressure.
Such a system can only be based either on personal opinions from their employees or on stupid rules (like "you must be registered on a permanent address of living"), both things may be equally bad - yet, what are the alternatives? While for some the obvious answer would be "kill the whole agency", I do believe it's important with such an agency; children do have rights, and they are not able to look after their rights all by themselves.
Hi I ask that you check out my blog. I was ripped from my family at the age of 12 and never returned. so I spent my teenage years in foster care. I know many others that had the same life. As an adult I became a foster parent wanting to help out and found even more corruption. Than I became a Guardian Ad Litem and got to know the system even more. So I have made it my mission to spread awareness of what exactly CPS is and why I call it a beast. Like for instance 61% of the cases children are removed from their home are considered Neglect and not abuse. Neglect is a VERY wide category and is VERY open to interpretation. Please go check out my current posts and some of my past posts and you will see all the information I have laid out so far. And there is much more that I plan on telling.
I downvoted this comment, I don't agree with the reward you gave yourself for it
@tobixen.
Fair enough
This is exactly what happened to me. Mom sold weed to get by, got caught, and me and my brother went through the system. I was heavily medicated and cant remember most of my childhood.
I never understood the desire to medicate kids in the USA. In Europe medicine use is a fraction, I can't imagine our kids have more ''adhd''.
All for the Money and Gangster Corporations.
They breathe co2?
Ok. What does that have to do with anything?
I agree the opinion of adan @familyprotection. How much better would our children be treated themselves?
what if the foster parent or auxiliary,
then the character of our child will be affected as foster carpenters.
because our children are more valuable than possessions.
Thank you @hickorymack for your great post for protecting your family.
I love it.
Thank you @familyprotection and thank you @hickorymack for being brave enough to share your story. It's very true the theme that many people are just one check /one disaster away from situations like yours. Hopefully you will bounce back and also be an inspiration to others.
is there a theory on why this is?
This story really touched deep inside of my soul. I shudder at the fact that this can happen to anyone of us.
Can you imagine a simple car accident can change someone's lives so quickly?
Hey @hickorymack you are shining example of a real woman, mother, solider.
Hang in there with all your might, you will find a way. You will have a home for your family again..
Your dreams are much closer to you than you think!!
Thanks for sharing this story with us @familyprotection
Thanks for sharing your story and for being so unbelievably brave. Have you shared this with @familyprotection? They may be able to help you reach more readers to gain more support here. Blessings to you and your little ones. So sorry to hear this.
I am not totally initiated into the ways of Steemit. I'm very much a newb and feel so losat, until this post i had no idea there were communities and groups and such within Steemit. Pretty awesome, the power of people!
Thank you for sharing your struggles with us!
I hope now that you have found steemit that you will not have to struggle alone!
I'll start off by sending a little donation, expect more to come!
Check your wallet :)
Bless.
A little?! My gosh man, I'm in tears, thank you. I can't be coherent at the moment. Just... Thank you.
Wow Mark! That's one of the most exceptional acts of sharing, caring and generosity I have seen in my time on Steemit. Just wow...
@markwhittam, I want to say thank you on behalf of my faith in humanity :)
I told your story on MSP Radio, and people started a fundraiser for you!!!! OMG, I am blown away at the loving generosity... If you wish to join us on the radio, click this discord link!!
https://discord.gg/47dcj6
Holy wow...
They have a chat room, you can just come type stuff...
I'm sorry, I'm trying. I'm not very tech savvy. I have installed the Discord App but cannot get it to open. :\
That's awesome @occupywallets! I've been trying to think ways to give this post some traction-- taking it to the airwaves is brilliant, Bless you!
You should come join! It is very low threshold, as far as expectations... And hurray, look what we accidentally did for this beautiful soul in need! I am as impressed by my community as anyone...
Awesome work!
Thank you, your responses are overwhelming, it's incredibly humbling to see such a response to my story.
I will continue making updates and bringing light to the goodness I see in others as well.
Blessings, thank you.
Hey! I am just a member of Minnow Support Project, not an admin or anyone important... So what happened last night, for me, was my new tribe coming together to reach out and help a stranger, you... I am still blown away at the authentic generosity I witnessed...
So I wanted to follow up and not just disappear, after all this loving anarchy... Discord is the place where we hang out, cuz it is a functional chat platform where we can evolve in real time... I imagine you have your hands full, but if you get a few moments, just know that you will be welcome there if you want to come meet us... We don't see you as a charity case, more like a peer and a future friend who we had to sort of rescue before we could frolic a bit...
One thing you could do that will help everybody, including you... First, check this post out... It is a fundraiser report about this whole thing... Go meet people and leave comments, I bet folks want to meet you and hear if you are okay... Then, make a new post today from your perspective, and maybe the latest update? I suggest that because it will be yet another fundraiser, one which EVERYONE can celebrate... Let me know if you want editing help or whatnot...
https://steemit.com/news/@mfxae86/msp-waves-pirate-radio-on-pal-spontaneously-raises-funds-for-homeless-woman
I see that the community is really stepping forward to help you.
Please keep sharing your story with us.
When you feel like you can give further details about the CPS part of it, please tag your post #familyprotection to make sure that we see it.
Thank-you for sharing with us and give those precious children a kiss and hugs from your Steemit friends!
Keep writing about your story; Steemit is a very supportive community and it DOES have the ability to make a difference in your life. I'm glad to see @davemccoy and @luanne have reached out. @richq11 might also be a good resource; he's one of Steemit's CPS corruption experts. You can also reach out to @familyprotection.
Meanwhile, to everybody else reading this: You can help @hickorymack immediately by also spending a little of your voting power (remember this doesn't COST you anything!) to upvote all of her RESPONSES on this post! Remember, if enough people come through here and drop 20c, 50c and $1.00 upvotes on a number of comments, it quickly can add up.
@hickorymack if you have the ability to, you can help yourself by responding to as many of people's comments here as possibly, which will enable others to come through and upvote your comments. These may seem like very small things, but I have witnessed this community rally and greatly help those in need.
(Upvoting my own comment ONLY to give these suggestions more visibility)
Just a suggestion, but people can use a voting bot to send some money to this post also; I'm going to since my vote is only worth 1 or 2 cents. @hickorymack deserves it and then some!
That is also an excellent idea @lynncoyle1!
One of our witnesses @yabatmatt created the handy "Steem Bot Tracker" which lists most of the current voting bots: https://steembottracker.com/
Thank you...I love that site. I actually used it to upvote here already :) Unfortunately there are always people who may not understand the process fully and transfer money in the last few seconds which brought down the total for @hickorymack. But any little bit is helpful I guess :) Cheers!
Done. <3
I second that motion to reach out to @familyprotection!
Thank you so much for helping her @denmarkguy. Its awesome to see the people responding to her situation and the advice and guidance she is seeing. I also appreciate you bringing in far more experienced steemians because while we will do our best, the group I'm working with is made up of many smaller fish and our options are limited. Its all about helping @hickorymack, so we will be happy to do our part and either lead or support based on what works best for her and her children.
I'm going to write up a post of my own right now and see if we have anyone with a working smartphone they could donate to her so that we can get her connected and help her to learn steemit and maybe earn some extra by writing about her life experiences.
Thanks again, its nice to see so many awesome people assemble in one place to truly come to the aid of someone who really could use a break!
This is why CPS pissed me off, you are trying to take care of your kids and you want them. Yet when someone doesn’t want their kids, lives in a very contaminated home, and uses food stamps to buy drugs they don’t care. They say well they are in a home, even though the house is infested and their parents do drugs. If I had the money I would help you but all that I can do is say I hope your situation gets better. 😔
It's very worrying. I read stories about heartbreaking deaths of children in the hands of CPS, and they had their sights on us. I have constant nightmares about it.
The system is broken.
Yes it is! There was someone that lives in the same town as me and my fiancé. They strangled their 4 month old because he wouldn’t stop crying. Come to find out they were visited 4 times by the CPS. It is sickening.
Oh my gosh, that's so awful!!! That poor baby.
Yeah, the world is pretty messed up.
And I checked on who liked your post, you seem to enjoy stroking your own ego. So why don’t you go fuck yourself quietly in a corner somewhere.
First off what? Next thanks for assumptions I don’t like democrats nor republicans. I don’t vote, and it really does sound like you’re just spouting bullshit.
What?
Thank you for sharing your story. All beings deserve to live free and have their basic needs met. I believe open source solutions will help. I'm grateful that Steem is able to be a stepping stone of liberation for people. It's really inspiring. Wishing you peace, freedom and abundance. The best is yet to come. <3
Thank you, you being a part of the food is free project is one of the many great things people can do to help one another. Thank you for being out therr, getting it done.
God Bless you @hickorymack! Thank you so much for being so brave to share your story with the community. I am so glad you found Steemit and my heart is overwhelmed with all of the generosity that has been shown toward you and your family. To add on to that I have sent you a donation as well. I have also Upvoted and Resteemed your post to help get your story out.
I’m praying that the good Lord leads you to a place where they will accept you for better shelter and safety for your children. I have 4 kids of my own and can’t imagine if I had to have them in a cruel environment such as the one you described. I’m so sorry to hear about your fiancé leaving you all, hang in there you are strong! I’m glad the CPS has dropped your case and I hope they NEVER mess with you all again. Many Blessings to you, I’ll be following you to get updates on how you all are doing~ ❤️😊
Thank you so very, very much. 💙💙💙
I empaphise with this story so much. I know of this stress only too well. I am threatened with eviction at least twice a year because money is so tight. The authorities do not help people in debt(when it's over a certain amount). This is happening all over the UK right now and we have a huge Homeless problem. This post makes my heart sink. Especially now you are being persecuted by the cps. I write for a group on here that you may want to get to know. They will help your cause for sure. It is @familyprotection and they help families in your situation. I hope this message finds you well and I wish you and your family good health for the future. Just thought of something that could help you out a lot. If possible you should change one of your tags on this post to 'familyprotection'. It will then appear in their group page and you will be in touch with a group that will be more than glad to help.
Thank you dear, I will keep you in my thoughts and hope you are able to find what you need to remove that threat from over your head. You deserve better.
You are welcome and I am so pleased to see @familyprotection in action. This response is heartwarming. Good luck for the future. Bless you all.
Would happily swap a million migrants for 10 crooked politicians. Your blaming the issue on the wrong people. Are the poor to blame for the false theory of Austerity that is being placed upon us? apparently it is because the poor are draining money through the welfare system but as far as I can see it is those at the top who are stealing all the money and abusing the system. Don't fall for the hate trap/race trap buddy. You should know better than that by now.
I have read your story and I'm glad you wrote it here. I received this from @luanne and she is reaching out to see if we can help you. I'm with #newbieresteemday intitiative. We are a good group of people from all around the world that have one thing in common, we want to help others in our own way. If you would be interested in working with us to have your story told, I think @luanne is right that our people might find a way to develop a plan with you. We are not a charity or even an "official" organization, we are just a group of people that might be helpful.
If you are interested, please contact @luanne or me @davemccoy and we can see how this develops.
Best wishes and keep your spirits up... And I believe everything in life happens for a reason.
Thank you very much. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to be of use.
Hey @hickorymack! Its nice to get you. Your story and those beautiful children have really touched quite a few of us here.
Of course there are many things you can do that would be awesome. First, I would suggest that you get in touch with @luanne as she is the person that brought your story to my attention. She has some contacts in your area, so she said she would see what could come of that.
Also I think there are many people that would like to "help you" to "help yourself" get through this. So there are many awesome things about steemit that just might give you that opportunity. First you can tell a very good story. That is a natural talent that can be refined and help you earn some additional money.
Next, I think it would be good if we open your story up to our members and let them get to know you and we can essentially all put our heads together. You certainly did a good job with your introduction, but I can set up a more extensive Q & A type format where you can communicate directly to questions that people will have.
Finally, I think your story places you in a position to appeal to many out there that are sick of the rules of big government and how we are losing/if not have lost our liberties. I think that you could do well as an advocate on these issues.
Most important right now is that you get ahold of @luanne and let her and you get to know each other. And if you both can set up a time that works for you, then we can get together by phone or internet or whatever form of communication works for you.
I think there are many people that want to help you, so I'm so glad that you joined steemit and told us part of your story. You got the attention of me and @luanne, but you also got the attention of many of the bigger players on steemit like @abh12345 who saw my post and jumped immediately to let his network know. He is a member of a club called #stewardsofgondor that are truly great people with a huge heart. Also there are others that are far bigger than me that also might want to help like those will real clout that upvoted you like @hendrikdegrote @acidyo and @runicar. (Note: if you bigger guys/gals want to take the lead, we would be happy to support you and follow our direction)
I will be going to sleep now, but I am usually on steemit around noon est. and don't worry if you don't get me instantaneously I will continue to look for your reply. ;)
Give those adorable little girls a big hug tonight. And we will be in touch with you very soon!
The story above is not very detailed, just a simplified overview, but I am willing to be very open about our circumstances.
I will contact @luanne, she seems like good people. I am not able to be on Steemit for long periods at a time due to having an elderly phone that cannot handle the platform.
Thank you for taking time to help us, it's incredibly humbling.
here is a post that will hopefully solve that problem for you!
https://steemit.com/newbieresteemday/@davemccoy/do-you-have-a-useable-smartphone-to-give-for-a-great-cause-this-is-a-must-read
Ok we have a smartphone coming to you so that you can view your steemit.. We had a very quick reply to my post from @crystalize and she offered to immediately get you one shipped. Staying connected and being able to learn how steemit functions is very key going forward. This phone should help you to speed up your learning process, so I'm very excited for you!
I will also find a way to put it on a "straight talk" pay as you go plan from walmart so that you can use a phone plan that is 30 days at a time. We will also work with you to afford that plan, and will get you started by getting you the first phone card which will get you 30 days. From there we can work with you to do different things and hopefully help you to earn enough money to take care of all of your needs.
So I need your address to be able to have the phone sent to you. You might not want to put it here online. So you can either contact @luanne and tell her, contact me via email or call me by phone if you have access to one. Just tell me which you prefer and I will get you the proper contact info!
As soon as I get your address then @crystalize will ship you one of her phones. I'm so excited for you to get this because you have a wonderful path ahead of you once you learn how everything works!
I'll go to sleep now, but I will be back around 10am est tomorrow morning
its ok about not being able to be on for long periods of time because of your phone, we can work around that. I will let you and @luanne connect first and then either of you can let me know that you have done so.
I have one question for you right now though, what is your schedule like? Do you work a 9 to 5 job or anything like that?
I work 7-3, though the last couple of weeks have been hit-or-miss due to illness striking the trio.
I'm going to write a post right now and see if we can get you a workable phone so that you can stay connected to steemit on the days that you aren't at work and we can teach you how to earn extra money.
And I see that there are far bigger fish here that have come to your aid... I think they know more than I do, so I hope you follow through with their advice...
We will do our best and hopefully do our part to help you and as @denmarkguy says, do your best to respond to everyone that commented to you. Its is a way they get to know you better and it will help you in the days and weeks ahead as you make these connections. Everyone here is here because they feel empathy for your situation.
Ok I will write my post now and I'll come back and put it in the reply section when I'm done so that you can be introduced to even more people!
God bless @hickorymack, we’ve all read her story and are touched by it. Show your your glory now, and relieve her worldly hiccups.
Thanks for sharing this story @davemccoy! (great initiative by the way).
I agree @friendly-fenix! And I found it from @luanne bringing it my attention.. Its nice how steemit works, you never know what each day will bring and who you might be able to connect with! I see you resteemed it too, good job!
Hopefully we can all get together and come up with some good ideas and help!
@davemccoy
Maybe there should be a separate type of site for charity, called like "dgive" or "dhelp" or "dfund" or something...? It feels a bit like these type of posts tend to "drown" a bit in memes and other posts... Or maybe I am wrong, still quite new here...
Dfund me!
thanks @occupywallets... it awesome to have people helping. If you would like to get involved with @friendly-fenix and set something up, I will be happy to support that through our network!
great idea @friendly-fenix... I see that you got a reply from @occupywallets and if you want to run it down for us and tell us how it works, that would be awesome. This is how it is supposed to work, people pitching in with ideas and getting things done for others! If you have the time to do this, let me know... If not, tell me that and I will find someone else. (I like to have the person with the idea take the lead if they are able and willing) ;)
I am a brainstorming genius, not a coder... Sorry!
lol... love that description! ... well good job at pointing us in the right direction! I appreciate the help in knowing what to look for... Cheers and have a great weekend :)
Hey @davemccoy ...count me in !
@hickorymack, this is a story worth repeating; there are unfortunately so many people in your shoes. I don't get the issue with the RV?? They are simply a home on wheels! Of course bureaucratic bs; too bad people don't use common sense and treat people like people instead of treating them as yet another 'file'! Best of luck to you and your sweet little kiddies:) internet hugs
hugs back
Two people showed up at my camper door that day, a man and a woman. The man was the one throwing threats around, he kept asking about how I was keeping it warm. Well, with the camper running and a heater going it isn't all that difficult to warm it.
He kept telling me that "wasn't good enough in his opinion."
From someone who has lived in an RV, he's an idiot :)
Looks like people are rallying around you here...just another reason why I love steemit! I'm going to resteem this post; but will you please do an update later also?
My upvotes are worth so little, so I sent a little love your way with the help of @minnowhelper upvoting bot. :) I'm hoping some others may do the same, but this ball is sure rolling now!!
I absolutely will, thank you. 💜💜
my pleasure :)
This post has received a 4.73% upvote from
thanks to: @lynncoyle1.
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You're in @lynncoyle1... Feel free to recruit others to this cause. They can be inside and outside of our initiative, this is a case where I think most everyone would want to pitch in!
And you as usual are awesome and caring... so just keep being you!
That sucks royally.. I've been homeless several times in my life... mostly my choice because I chose to travel and live out of my truck.. but other times there was no choice.. and it sucks.. when I was doing it there was only me and a girlfriend (A ex now) ... no kids... no dogs.. kudos to you for keeping it together this long..especially in Minnesota... I'd definitely head south if I could lol... keep being positive and positive things will happen.. keep on blogging and maybe Steemit can help..
It's heartwarming to see the response here...
I agree with that statement very much @occupywallets. I'm blown away by the speed and genuineness of the responses!
yes, it is!
@hickorymack Thank you for sharing your story, we see great strength and courage in you. I am here through @canadian-coconut and so pleased to have found your post before the payout window closes so that I can add my support. I will share about you in my post today too to do my part to help. Please continue to keep us posted on next developments and thank you for being a great example of STEEMIT IN ACTION! 🙏🏻
https://steemit.com/community/@kenistyles/steemit-in-action-and-practicing-less-judgement
What a strong, brave momma you are <3 Thank you for sharing, I am so sorry you are going through so much right now. I believe you will persevere, you have so much determination. Nobody should ever pass judgment. I think you and your babies are incredible. Much love to you and yours.
Thank you. The stigma is very, very strong. People look at you differently, speak to you differently. I can only hope sharing our story will open some minds and hearts.
I know it is. So very strong, and that is so wrong. Those people don't matter, they don't empathise <3 I have been homeless with my tribe once....and spent 6 years moving 13 times avoiding evictions due to lots of setbacks (physical, mental and money problems) along with CAS interference, but never help......it is hard when you have no support system but when you find your tribe and your strength, amazing things can happen <3<3<3
We live unfortunately, with a government that doesn't want to help, only hurt. Good Lord if the number of people here living in RVs with their kids had CPS on their butts, there'd be absolutely no one able to get into the shelter,!! Some just don't know when to leave well enough alone! There's a program here that's sposed to be a transitional housing program for homeless families however they charge rent of like 400-500 and for some families that's just not doable!! Then there's all sorts of rules and expectations they place on the families that make it almost impossible to achieve independence. It just blows my mind!
Hi @luanne... I thank you very much for bringing this to my attention. If you would be interested, I would like you to be the person in charge of seeing what we can do here. I have reached out to @hickorymack and hopefully she is willing to work with us. You did a good thing by bringing it to all of our attention!
Thank you... and let me know what your thoughts are.
And thank you Dave for resteeming this one, I've done the same.
This lady sounds like a trooper and to me, is where our votes should be going.
I agree with you 100% Asher... And I'm glad you saw this one... I was alerted to it by @luanne and I've reached out to both of them to see if we can put together something to reach out to the steemit community at large. Your resteem and upvote is certainly awesome and I will keep you in the loop if we can move the ball forward!
Great stuff @luanne, and you also.
Good luck with the community plan and let me know if anything arises.
I will keep you in the loop and let you know how this situation turns out! Thanks for bringing it to another level, you are a truly great guy Asher :)
A pleasure to do my bit here, thank you and everyome else for raising the awareness too!
I think the first step that we can do is get her more connected so she can tell her stories and we can help her grow. She shows natural potential. I know others can help with big donations and connecting to legal institutions, but I think we can help her get to be a major contributor here and change her life (what a great role model she could be if she could succeed) ... Here is my article if you want to read it... (not for your upvote) but if you want to spread the news around since you have more reach than me.
https://steemit.com/newbieresteemday/@davemccoy/do-you-have-a-useable-smartphone-to-give-for-a-great-cause-this-is-a-must-read
Cheers and hope you have a great weekend Asher!
Hey @luanne! @davemccoy suggested that you and I get together to keep an eye out for @hickorymack.or just help her out if she needs it. I'm on Discord as lynncoyle1#4299. I will be in touch with here and will watch for your comments also. Cheers:)
I'll add you on discord @lynncoyle1 as it's hard finding you on this roll there are so many comments! Lol @davemccoy any news on the phone? I got a message from hickory early morning but was still asleep. I dunno if she looked into the program I info'd about yet or not. Will keep u posted
@luanne, somewhere I read @hickorymack say she was gifted a phone:)
Hi @hickorymack
I'm sorry for your bad luck and really terrible chain of events.
The move from your cosy camper to the shelter sounds forced on you by Child services sounds ridiculous and dangerous for you and the kids. I do not understand this at all.
Thank you for sharing your story, I have resteemed in the hope of some support from others.
Take care and good luck to you.
Asher
Thank you very much. I still don't understand it myself. As i said there some really good people here, and it helps temper the worst of things. But there's still that fear. Hurrying to stay a block ahead of the man behind you screaming obscenities at... No one at all. It's a strange world to be so suddenly thrust into the middle of.
Thank you for sharing.
I am resteeming your story. This is a story of many and it takes more than one to fight back when there are many fighting against you. Know your rights, dig deep and keep to it. You have proven yourself strong and great. Even though the fear has been placed into your soul and those of your daughters, use that to give you strength. Find the people that know how to help you. Love is binding and strong, use that to your advantage. Be strong kind lady. You can and will make it through! XX
Thank you for sharing our story @foxyspirit. There are so many in similar situations. I'll keep your thoughts in my heart. 💙
You and your children deserve the right to live properly. Stay strong, you will get there xx
Hi, I’ve upvoted all that I could of yours. Be sure to add more comments so that people can upvote those as well. Best to you. I hope you’re able to get the help you need. I’ve resteemed your post in hope that more will come to drop some upvotes to you!
Thank you very much for your help.
Good luck to you. No one deserves to be treated like this by the authorities or to have some nosy statist butt into your family.
Thank you. I often wonder who it was. Who felt that they needed to do something so vile, without even bothering to come to me with their concerns, first... I don't know if I do want to know, I feel such anger toward an unnamed person.
I've had people call Inhuman Services on my family before over the dumbest shit. One time my now 18 year old daughter who is mildly epilileptic had her first seizure in the bathroom f a fast food place. Her grandmother called the ambulance and she ended up going to a follow up doctors visit. This was just weeks after I was in a car wreck where I lost my wife(their mother) and I was not able to walk, so their grandmother took her to her appointment. I forgot to give my mother in law my daughter's insurance, which we had more than adequete insurance. So the receptionist decided to report us to children services because she thought my daughter didn't have health insurance.... Humans like that aren't worth anything IMO. Funny thing about your story is that is a nice RV you have them in. Most summers, my kids are camping and we're traveling and they either live in a tent or in an RV all summer. Even living in a home is little more than glorified camping. The authorities need to get a grip.
if we all try to even save little pennies for homeless people believe me there would be no homeless left in the world yet we are just enjoying our own lifes by trying to get fordgt audi mercedes bmw .. and the ones are lying outside the home on the street .. believe me it kills inside me to see people homeless imagine yourself instead of them what would be your feeling to see yourself there .. 😢 may God save everyones home ..
Following, upvoted and resteeming this!!! I am chronically unemployed and spent half of 2016 homeless... It sucks so badly, and your kids make it even harder.... Maybe you can get free martial arts lessons for them? Just in case?
My boy took Metavvi (sp) classes before we had to leave the Blueberry farm in progress. He was unable to continue after that. Mostly I just keep them with me at all times when they are not at school.
Thank you for your upvote and resteem!
Hey, some good folks at MSP Radio are fundraising for you RIGHT NOW... If you want to join us, click here!
https://discord.gg/47dcj6
Check it out!
@occupywallets, holy cow, I don't even know what to say!
I installed Discord but so far no icon has appeared on the Kindle to open it. I'll try it from the Library after work tomorrow, it's possibly because my phone is hot spotting the tablet and nearly out of data, so it slows down.
Please send along my deepest heartfelt thanks.
No worries, the funds are yours... Here is where we are at right now, and MSP is matching every donation...
You will hear from MSP... <3
Wow, people are so amazing and kind. 💙💙💙
You are an incredible woman, and a great mother. It's very clear in the photos those are happy kiddos. <3
And seriously, that RV is a much better environment for the kids than the homeless shelter. That is so infuriating.
They're super great kids, the laughter rings all day. And, yes, it is infuriating. Not even an apology from CPS for their meddling.
Agreed contact @familyprotection. Best of luck. Thanks for being so honest.
Somebody has contacted them, thank you very much. 💙
A tough journey. You'll get out of it and steam will help. Wishing you all the best :) 💯🐒
It is tough, definitely not what I had in mind when I bought the camper, that's for sure. A head full of dreams I suppose.
Hold in there good things are due to you! Reiki energy your way 💯🐒
This needs to be upvoted to the moon.
I feel like it has been, holy crow this is so moving!
10x what I saw yesterday, not bad everyone!
Oh wow @hickorymack. I wish you all the best and I hope you could join our group. We are a community of new and veteran steemians who support each other.
Link: https://discord.gg/yH3Yxh
I do not know how to join groups, but I would be happy to, thank you!
that is cool @futurethinker. I hope she takes you up on that. And if you want to help or even take the lead in helping her, we would be glad to either partner with you or support your efforts. We are a new group with no clout, just made up of good people trying to help. So we will support anyone who does good and helping @hickorymack with her situation would certainly qualify. Please let me know if you are interested.
You are strong and keep staying strong i believe what you went thru will ripe more in future. Government only want to take benefit from civilians not helping, bank only know get profit from what we loaned. If all those multi billionare is aware that not all people are born fair even for their hardworks.
I think there should have a plan for people like you at least to have a shelter and fair safety with good education for your kid. For single mom or dad fighting alone is very stressful.
Yes. Down in Minneapolis there is an occupy houses movement. There are six houses sitting empty for every man, woman and child experiencing homelessness. It is completely unnecessary greed of the coorporation.
@hickorymack, sorry this had to happen. Your 3 angels will remain with you as a Triangle!. Please, Keep an eye on your wallet. Stay Blessed
You are so incredibly brave. Don't give up on your babies, they are counting on your continued protection and loving presence. You are showing them what tenacity and perseverance looks like. Mad respect, girlfriend. ✌️
Sometimes I wish I could give up. All those memes out there of needing an adultier adult? Yeah. Sometimes that's me.
This story is absolutely heartbreaking. I admire your persistence, and the fact that you continually keep trying. It seems like you have had your share of bad luck, and I genuinely hope, with everything I have, that your luck turns around. You and your kids deserve it.
Your message speaks loudly, and I hope it is read by everyone in this community. Much love to you and the children.
Thank you, I would be lying if I said I never wanted to lay in a hole and give up through this. It is only my trio that keeps me going. They're my everything.
You can do this! You have come so far, and as I was hoping, it looks like the Steemit community is going to be with you along way. You are an amazing person, and your kids probably look at you with such awe because of that.
I have three girls, and they are my drive, as well. I have never walked in your shoes, but I will tell you... I can, 100%, see how most of us are one paycheck away from being homeless. If not for family, I’m almost positive we would have had times without food, electric, and even a home.
I wish I could do more for you because I would. Hell, if I had the money, I would do everything in my power to get you and your children in a home.
You are in my prayers, and I’m following you on your journey. I can’t provide much, but if you need a friend, I’m here, and I’m rooting for you. You WILL see better days.
Sad to hear your story filled with such unfortunate series of events. Hope this upvote and resteem help.
Keep blogging and I'm sure the good hearts of steemit will come together and help you out.
Wish you all the best, cheers!
Thank you, so many have responded my head is whirling!
I am so sorry you're dealing with this. We lost our house and raised our kids in a converted bus for almost three years. We were so often one step away from homelessness and the thought of CPS during those years were terrifying. I hope you are able to find a better solution soon.
Thank you for sharing a bit of your story. I have always thought converted busses were the neatest homes!
So much for the American Dream...
Never answer the door if you don't know who it is ever again. If they have cops with them ask to see the search warrant. Don't open the door if they don't have it.
So unfortunate that even a small chain of events like this can cause complete turmoil in someones life. I'm guessing there was no family to turn to? You are strong and you will come out of it okay, just keep your head up and stay positive. Good things come to those who know it will! Please keep us Steemians updated! You got a FULL upvote from me!
The sun will come out !! You can send me a message as maybe I can help you out ..
Thank you, I am still unsure of how to send messages, I have yet to find a "message this person" button.
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by occupywallets from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
Thank you! I have only been on Steemit for a few days, so I'm not yet 100% on how it all works. Thank you for your help.
@hickorymack I was moved by your story!
Thank you for reading it. 💙
I have personally been homeless before. I have made it a point to convey just how easy it can happen in the blink of an eye, and many people in this world have a hard time accepting and believing it. It's the human condition to assume that you must be a flawed individual who put yourself there. I believe this to be the case because no one wants to think about this shit. It's hard to prepare for something, when financial instability isn't always the easiest thing to fix. I commend you for being brave enough to share your story, and the fact that your doing your damndest to keep those little rug rats fed and healthy, shows your a good mommy. I'm really happy to see this post has gained recognition. You deserve it honey.
Thank you. I think a lot of people really, REALLY want to believe that hard work pays off, and hearing the opposite really messes with their world view.
Thank you for sharing a bit of your story, too, and for spreading reality.
Verbal Agreements!
Glad to hear you're making it, though the system is so messed up.
We have verbal agreements with some seriously delusional landlords and they've begun eviction proceedings.
Keep tough, you'll make it. :D We made it out of being homeless in L.A.!! lol
Keep steeming and Go BE Awesome! :D
Oh my God. Those fuckers. Sorry, I am usually more eloquent, but knowing what I know and then reading this, all I can think is THOSE FUCKERS.
Heartbreaking, but you have absolutely come to the right place. People CARE here. I care.
Do you have a way to move steem or sbd? Sign up for a bitpay card if not, make an online wallet I recommend https://wallet.mycelium.com/ Once you've done that you can go to https://blocktrades.us/ And really easily transfer steem or sbd's to bitcoin, then bitcoin to USD.
When you get it set up, or if you already have it set up let me know, I will drop you a donation :)
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
stay strong woman! i'm sure someday you will get out of this mess and live a better life. here's to a better life in the near future!
Thank you. 💙
what sweet child
I know how you feel. I was married for 16 years had a job, money every thing, but love was gone and i was abused for all that years. I got divorsed and i have no job, no money and a baby of 15 months. I am exited to follow you
A little angle with her mom,
We can create good group of people from all around the world that have one thing in common, we want to help others in our own way,if we wish. but many times we can't find humanity in modern world. and that cz many times we scared. We need always helping hand for help each other. If we help each other then we can make a digital world.
@hickorymack
Hope your luck changes soon!
You are doing your best,
Keep it up!
• Upvoted
• Resteemed
• Following
Thank you for your help. 💙
Thank you for sharing, lets hope you get loads of help!
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