DONNA - A Friend In Need

01/21/2010--We are in desperate need to help Donna raise a minimum of $1070.06 to pay a past rent bill in order for Donna to keep her current housing and to prevent her from becoming homeless again. Your donated monies may go directly to the source which is KCDC of Knoxville. They will even take your payment right over the phone. We want to raise more then the $1070.06 for Donna so we may increase her quality of life. You will see why when you read her story below. Please call me for details on how to help Donna and KCDC payment info. Call me anytime, 24/7 on my cell: 865-964-1461-Thank you, Lance Greene.

***UPDATE - 2/21/10 - As of today we have raised $570.00 towards helping Donna reach the $1070.06 needed to keep her housing secure and prevent her from becoming homeless again. We NOW only need to raise a minimum of $500.06. THANKYOU to those who have given so generously!

****UPDATE: 2/22/2010 - We received another $50.00 Donation today to help Donna keep her housing secure and improve the quality of her life. We NOW are only $450.06 away from our goal!

*****UPDATE: 3/12/2010 - Since we started raisding funds for Donna in 2009, her original Past Due rent amount was $1170.06. In 2010 we began the year with a balance due of $1070.06. Since december of 2009 as of today we have raised a total of $785.00 on Donna's behalf and we THANK YOU ALL. We NOW are only $385.06 away from our goal!

******UPDATE as of 3/27/2010: We have received notice that we will be receiving a $100.00 Donation next month to help Donna keep her housing secure and improve the quality of her life. We NOW are only $285.06 away from our goal!

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You may go to our BLOG at: www.homelesscrisis.blogspot.com and click on the PayPal DONATE button.

Donna was evicted from Cagle Terrace on 10/31/07 with Adult Protective Services (APS) present watching others steal her personal belongings. Mayor Haslam helped place Donna here after the request for assistance from Donna's Father.

Soon after, Donna was admitted to a drug rehab/detox center as it was believed by her caregivers who knew her, that she may be drunk. Actually it was just her slurring from her disability of a brain injury.
Donna was released after 3 days and left on the sidewalk in front of the local mission/emergency shelter, KARM.
Donna has a brain injury and physical disabilities from a 1990 car accident. She was 20.
Donnas' brain injury also gives her a level of paranoia.
Donna is wheel chair confined and utilizes an electric wheelchair
Donna is very smart. She is stuck in the late 80’s mentally and emotionally. But she is very bright.
Donnas' family had been estranged from her including her Father & son. Donna has no contact with her Mother who lives in Maryville and worked for Blount Hospitals evidently.
Donnas’ violence, anger, paranoia and outbursts comes from the willingness of others to treat her like she is a vegetable, with no mind of her own.
Donna slept most nights in Market Square in downtown Knoxville as she was too afraid to stay at the local mission/emergency shelter KARM. She would however from time to time stay at KARM.
Donnas’ wallet and all her important IDs’ were stolen while at the emergency shelter.
Donna was part of the Critical Case Management list involving the local HAO’s.
We, Lance & Pat of STA took Donna off the street July 6, 2008 and brought her to our home.
We provided continual care and support for Donna in our personal residence from 7/6/08-10/10/08 and continued our support until 12/15/08.
Housing could not be obtained through KCDC , or any other avenue at the time, due to her history of non-payment and domestic violence done by and to her.
APS advised STA they had “lost track” of Donna.
CAC Advised STA they had lost track of Donna.
Donnas’ routine on Market Square:

1. 5:30 am – Unplug her wheelchair and Make her way from in front of Tomato Head to KARM for breakfast

2. 7:00am-7:30am - Come back to Market Square and plug into the electrical tower located near Tomato Head to charge her wheelchair and sit and talk to people and smoke.

3. Sit the whole day on the Square or possibly go to KARM for lunch or just wander around downtown.

4. 4:30pm – Make her way to KARM for dinner.

5. 6:30pm - Return to Market Square and plug into the electrical tower located near Tomato Head to charge her wheelchair

6. 8:30pm–Go to Preservation Pub where they did not charge her a cover charge and gave her free soda and let her use the restroom. Donna would sit here until they closed and listen to music. Lance sat with her a couple times here.

7. 3:30am or whenever Preservation Pub closed, sometimes earlier, Donna would return to plug into the electrical tower located near Tomato Head on Market Square to charge her wheelchair and sleep.

8. 5:30am–Started this same exact routine all over again.

STA Spent numerous nights in Market Square for hours outreaching to Donna in June.
STA Requested Ambulance assistance to take Donna to St. Mary’s to treat her injured foot.
On July 6th 2008, Pat Mishler of STA, found Donna crossing Gay St, “hysterically” crying due to a chain of events catching up with her. She was depressed and inconsolable.
It had been almost 9 months since Donna was evicted from Cagle and had been living in the streets.
That night, July 6th 2008, although skeptical, Donna agreed to allow STA to remove her from the streets and bring her to our personal residence.
STA, (Lance Greene and Pat Mishler) set up a queen size air bed in our living room; this became Donnas’ home for the next 4 months.
STA provided care and support from 5:00 am (approx) until 9 –10:00 am and often times later. Then from approximately 4:00 pm through the night, as required, 7 days a week.
Lance Greene would get up at all hours of the night, 7 days a week and speak to Donna one-on-one out on the porch as she would wake us up screaming at the top of her lungs.
Lance worked intensely with Donna to get her to turn around and be cooperative. We succeeded in this.
STA, Pat Mishler, provided the service of doing Donnas’ laundry twice each week.
STA, Pat Mishler cooked meals nightly for Donna out of our groceries.
STA worked to get Donna back in with her original doctors but were unable to do so.
Donnas’ doctors had ceased seeing her and outright refused our pleas to see her again. She had missed too many appointments, of course she did. It was problematic for her to get to those appointments – someone ‘supporting her’ should have seen this.
STA located new doctors , made appointments for and accompanied Donna to, all doctors’ appointments.
STA provided all transportation to grocery store, smoke store, all doctors and therapy appointments, including to and from therapy in Oak Ridge before she moved into her new apartment there.
STA coordinated the repair of Donnas’ electric wheelchair (dropped off & picked up wheelchair for repairs via our personal van) which required a Dr. prescription and turned into a 2-month process.
STA obtained a manual wheelchair for Donna while waiting for repairs. This meant we had to be on hand more often to take Donna in and out of our home onto the porch as our home was not wheelchair friendly as far as the entrances.
STA transported Donna to the West Knoxville SS office to obtain her Social Security ID as it was stolen from her at KARM. Our address was used as her address.
STA obtained Donnas' birth certificate from CAC as they were previously the Case Managers but had lost track of Donna.
STA contacted Jon Lawler of the City of Knoxville Ten Year Plan Office /Community Development Office as we were attempting to get Donna into the Summit Towers downtown. After initial phone call, no response was ever received.
STA worked with Donna daily for 4 months to build her confidence around the home doing dishes, etc. and to be socially cooperative.

STA decided to seek housing options outside the City of Knoxville for Donna.
STA after much mental and emotional struggle, was able to have Donna cooperate in obtaining HBE as “PAYEE” for her bills. This was the only way housing could be secured for Donna.
STA met with and set everything up for a local Payee Representative company to be “PAYEE” for Donna with Donna present at the meeting.
After intensive daily searching we settled on Oak Ridge and met with Debra McElhaney of the Manhattan Apartments in Oak Ridge.
STA secured Donnas’ housing at the Manhattan with Debra’s assistance after roughly a month and a half of effort. Donna moved in October 10th, 2008.
STA helped Donna apply with ORHA for housing assistance for her apartment in The Manhattan Apartments which she cannot receive until her past due rent of $1170.06 at KCDC is paid in full.
STA obtained all furniture needed for Donnas’ apartment from Craigslist, Dollar General and Wal-Mart. These items were purchased by both Donna herself and STA. Additionally, a number of items were donated by the Craigslist sellers themselves.
STA (Lance and Pat) along with Donna, physically moved Donna into her new apartment. She was thrilled.
STA worked with and obtained from Anderson County, Donnas' food stamps, as they had lapsed while in Knoxville. It took over a month as Donna sabotaged the process thinking we were trying to change her nationality and Donna ‘misplaced’ the paperwork from the County.
STA continued to visit Donna weekly until 12/15/08 in Oak Ridge, to launder Donnas' clothing by taking them to the Laundromat, purchasing groceries, toiletries, cigarettes and other needed items.
Through this whole process and one of the most important aspects is Donna had been “lost track of” by the very organizations who were supposed to be case managing her. In the same vain, they advised STA they did not know where any of her family was and that her family wanted nothing to do with Donna.
STA, Lance Greene, did a simple Google search of Donnas' Father’s name and where Donna knew they last lived. Lance drove 7 miles to his home and found Mr. Maynard Flynn to be exactly who he is and where he was supposed to be.
STA also found Donnas' son Chris by finding her Father. Chris lived across the street from her Father. Mr. Flynn and Donnas’ son Chris had not seen Donna for three years.
Mr. Flynn was thrilled, surprised and upset (rightfully so) that someone finally found Donna and made contact with them.
Donnas' son initially avoided STA and our attempts to get him to visit with Donna.
From that point on Lance worked weekly to try and repair this family’s broken connection. This took approx 3 months.
STA transported Donna to Lafollette, TN to spend the weekend with her Father, son and a bunch of relatives for the first time in years for Thanksgiving. It has been nothing but great from there on.
On December 15th, 2008, Lance Greene met with Donna Flynn’s Father, Stepmother and Stepsister and released all paperwork, documents and responsibility to them advising them of such and what they needed to do and who they needed to contact as we were moving back to Florida due to our economic situation.
We, STA, took Donna into our home and provided the time, effort and finances required to settle her down(we made great strides here), get her new doctors, encourage her and provided transportation for her to go for physical therapy, searched high and low to find ‘appropriate housing’ for her and, listened for hours on end to her painful history and angry outbursts.
We did this as long as it took. And it took 4 months of 24/7 support to help her acknowledge her strengths and abilities and locate permanent housing for her.
She does and will continue to require significant, ongoing support. If STA is not able to follow-up and provide long-term support for Donna, and/or others just like her (including those not in wheelchairs), she/they will come full circle; returning back into the ‘homeless system’ which will never end for them OR for their community.
STA needs to continue the mental, emotional and physical work they started to keep Donna where she is today and help her continue to move forward. If this is possible Donna could even be able to walk some as she did before she was put out on the street. Also she would be able to work part-time at a job to help assist in her living expenses and keep her from getting so bored.
STA helped Donna apply to Wal-Mart in Oak Ridge online. There was a test and Donna did very well and passed the test for her application online.
STA is requesting separate funds to help make it just a little more livable for Donna in her apartment. After her monthly SSI checks of approx $673/mos. total she has maybe $25 dollars left for any additional needs.

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We THANK YOU in advance.

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