A First Chance

My friend suffers from the debilitating symptoms of Complex PTSD and Social Phobia. Because of these diagnoses, he’s very wary of the world outside of his little bubble. For this reason, he wishes to remain anonymous and identified only by the name “Charlie,” the main character of his favorite movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a brief plot summary from IMDB:

“Based on the novel written by Stephen Chbosky, this is about 15-year-old Charlie, an endearing and naive outsider, coping with first love, the suicide of his best friend, and his own mental illness while struggling to find a group of people with whom he belongs.”

The Charlie I’m fundraising for is a 28-year-old trans man, who loves animals, video games, and Bob Ross. He is a kind-hearted, gentle soul who has been unable to effectively function in daily life since March 2021, his last suicide attempt. For more than a year, he has struggled to keep up with household chores (leading to a hoarder-like living environment), take care of his own physical and mental health needs, and be successful in college. He’s never really had a chance to *LIVE* his life, instead of merely *SURVIVING* moment-to-moment. 

Moments that are filled with panic and terror. Moments that should be happy tainted by thoughts that he doesn’t deserve joy or good things. A lifetime of abuse and neglect haunting every aspect of his existence. And that’s where we come in. Banding together to give Charlie his first *REAL* chance to live his life with appropriate services in place and regular medical and mental health care with professionals who don’t just tolerate his being trans, but affirm and celebrate it. Everyone deserves that chance.

Since late April, several impactful events have occurred, leaving him feeling hopeless and unworthy of love (and help). The catalyst was being on the phone with a friend when a domestic violence situation occurred at his friend’s house. He heard everything unfold, triggering CPTSD. He stayed on the line, tho, to be there to support his friend. That incident released a flood of depressed and suicidal thoughts, resulting in his entering an intensive outpatient program, which he’s still faithfully attending. Then he got an eviction notice. Then he got notification from the university that his financial aid was suspended and he had been dismissed because he failed 2/3 classes this semester (the first semester he’s passed a class). While there are processes to appeal those last two things, it was a lot of hits in a short period of time. 

So, while he’s working with DCF and Kansas Legal Services to apply for Medicaid and SSD (now that he *finally* has the necessary supporting documentation), he:

• Is racking up a bill at outpatient
• Has new psych meds that are an additional expense ($200 last fill)
• Needs to pay for professional cleaners/trash removal (estimate came in just under $4K)
• Will need first/last month’s rent, deposit, and pet deposit, possible professional movers
• Has had 2 recent ER visits for physical health concerns, which are several thousand dollars because no insurance
• Needs to get his scooter repaired from an accident (that also left him with a large hospital bill), so he no longer has to rely on transportation services to make it to appointments

The attached photos are from early April when I took him to get his first haircut in two years. He was so happy, “This is the best day of my life.” The other is one he sent me to show he was finally able to set up a new program he installed but has been struggling with. I’ve never done any crowding before and I am super appreciative of any and all donations. I’ll conclude with a quote from Charlie: 

“I think you know this but maybe not, I’m not sure. I am willing to work hard in anyway that I have to, please don’t overwhelm yourself, if I genuinely can’t figure something out, I will reach out for help but that does not mean I want to sit on my ass.”