Let’s Get Nick Out Of The Nursing Facility.
UPDATE!!!! Nick has been awarded a Medicaid waiver that will support his desire to move from the nursing facility to a home in the community of his choice! Much like a marathon runner, Nick is in the final mile with only a few more humps to get over so his move to the community is both seamless and successful. Nick's move being seamless is based on his wheelchair-accessible van being operational and ready to roll come the day he discharges from the facility. To learn more about Nick's final mile, visit his Instagram or his STABLE Account.
Letter from Nick
‘My Present’
written January 25th, 2021
I’ve lived in a nursing home for the past four years and I’m only forty-three years old. Sure, I have cerebral palsy and have used a wheelchair for the past decade but there’s a far better quality of life within reach. I just need a little help.
Across my home state of Georgia and the entire US, people with disabilities have faced challenges getting and keeping suitable housing. While working at the Center for Independent Living, I helped other people with disabilities explore their housing choices.
Then I got sick. Unable to work, I was evicted from my home and faced the same crisis I was helping others navigate. My only option at that time was this nursing home.
Every day in the nursing home is a burden. Budget cuts have led to a reduced quality of life for the people who live here. With simplified care, we often have to wait hours for assistance with my basic needs. In this nursing home, most of the fellow residents I’ve befriended are in their seventies and eighties. Even they’ve struggled in this unstimulating atmosphere. I’ve witnessed friends deteriorate, emotionally and physically, over mere months.
State regulations have made it impossible to contribute in any way to society. I’ve thought through many way to work from within the nursing home, but, the state can claim that I’m financially independent if I do and discharge me out of the nursing home without services. So laying in bed, vegetating, is all I can do. This was my world prior to COVID. Now in the pandemic, I’m sequestered to my room. My only human contact is with nurses and staff who are paid to assist me.
Though I’ve been here for what feels like forever, memories from my life prior to the nursing home remain vivid. I used to travel, go out with friends, make a living. Even the joys of going down to a corner store to grab a snack is something I miss. I never realized how good my life was until I wound up here.
My Request
Thanks to the tireless work of loved ones and disability advocates, I can see a way out of the nursing home. I’ll soon be receiving a Medicaid waiver that will allow me to live independently. The Medicaid waiver for me means nothing less than my freedom.
However, there will be a short transitional period between obtaining the Medicaid waiver and being fully set up in my life outside of the nursing home. In order to plan for this transitional time, I’m asking for help to set up a reserve fund that will help get me established in the first 3 months. This reserve fund will cover things like the apartment deposit, caregiver hours, activation fees for utilities, and basic kitchen setup and food.
I’ve started this STABLE Account in hopes that you can help with the financial support I’ll need for the transitional three months of independent living before my medicaid waiver fully kicks in. The total I need to raise is $15,000. The typical costs of living for three months in Atlanta— including rent, damage deposit, food, utilities, transportation, and a small allowance for miscellaneous furniture — totals $5,000. To get set up in my new place, I'll need a patient lift and miscellaneous medical supplies which costs $2,000 I’ll also require a support person 24 hours a day, which for three months will cost $8,000.
So three months of living comes to the sobering sum of $15,000.
What $15,000 Means To Me
$15,000 is a lofty fundraising goal but it is the cost of my freedom. It’s the cost to reclaim my old life but, with that money, I hope to do so much more. In the nursing home I’ve had nothing but to think about exactly what I will do should I reach my goal.
If you have questions or would like to join us as we work to get Nick out please call 404-735-2705.