Childhood Trauma can have devastating effects on a person's life. One of the most well-known is addiction. While my daughter, April, has been clean and sober for several months, the choices she made while self-medicating her unaddressed emotional pain have landed her in County Jail and on the verge of losing her home of 30 years. Though I do not have the needed funds to meet all of her needs myself, I intend to help her get her basic survival issues handled so that she has the opportunity to address the trauma of being taken from me when she was two, and heal these unaddressed issues once and hopefully, forever.

The most pressing need right now is $800 to have the water service restored to her home, where a young couple is staying to care for her dog while she awaits a postponed preliminary hearing in county jail. After that, there is the February house payment of $839, and we hope also to raise an additional $4851 for a bail bondsman, car insurance, and food and gas so she can find work while she awaits her hearing and potential trial. (I have already made her December and January house payments, and other family members have pitched in what they could afford for legal expenses as well.)

April is willing to take responsibility for her choices, and for her recovery, but she is going to need some help. We're working together to prevent the additional tragedy of becoming homeless on top of the childhood traumas, Complex PTSD, losing her wife to cancer, the horrors of addiction that followed, and the resultant legal battles she is now facing. It will be a long journey, but she says she is ready.

We all recognize that the justice system is rigged against people with no money, while allowing well-to-do criminals to walk free by virtue of their often ill-gotten wealth.Or to avoid charges altogether. This is not new - it has always been this way.Here’s one opportunity to tip the scales away from the corruption of the system by money, and towards justice.The proper response to addiction is rehabilitation and mental health care, not cruel incarceration.  

April also has Type II Diabetes, but does not receive any special food consideration in jail. She is given clean clothes once a week.Messages and mail are often not delivered when they arrive, and she is treated as though she is a hardened criminal, though she has yet to even have a preliminary hearing.

I have written to the judge and asked that she consider rehabilitation rather than punishment, but this will only be presented by her attorney if it gets as far as a sentencing phase, which we hope it does not. Meanwhile, there are expenses that must be paid to keep her from becoming homeless as well.

April has a good heart, and part of what has landed her in this situation is her willingness to help others who are in need. Combine that with the mental impairments caused by trauma and addiction, and it's a recipe for trouble. And now she is the one in need. If you can help, it could save her life, and we will be so grateful. Thank you.