Hi my name is Alyssa, and I’m a 35 year old mother of two daughters who has been diagnosed with PTSD since the fall of 2023.
I have had multiple psychological evaluations, and a neurological evaluation that all have the same diagnosis of PTSD, as well as ADHD, and at times anxiety disorders.
Ive been in a very contentious litigation for approximately 3.5 years now, and have had to pay with assistance from family members & friends as well close to 100k in litigation costs thus far.
My PTSD is rooted from the trauma of being a domestic violence survivor, and the stress of the litigation itself.
I have been in DV group therapy for over a year, I meet with a psychologist regularly, have had multiple rounds of EMDR therapy sessions.
I am in the right direction to being able to manage the current trauma that is still ongoing in the legal system, and being able to let go of the trauma that has occurred in the past.
I’m also in the process of applying for disability benefits as well since my mental health is an priority for my children, and myself.
I’m impacted financially by my disability due to the therapy schedule at this point in the healing process. Those benefits if approved will help us in the interim as we can move forward with our lives with the support we need in all aspects of my healing.
To heal effectively, and efficiently only positively helps my daughters as well to have the most loving, healthy mother who has the tools to recover from the trauma.
To be able to maintain the proper quality of mental health care, and to be able to utilize the right resources a service animal can provide more benefits in the healing process than other human health care services can in between receiving care, and follow ups on a daily basis.
At this period of healing in my life ive also had a change in my employment status & income which is another stressor for the situation for me to be able to invest in a psychiatric service animal at this moment in my life personally without it being a financial burden, or not even possible.
I also have other financial obligations that may drastically impact the time frame for me to be able to do something like this independently for many years.
To be able to afford continuous litigation fees is a major stressor, on top of the daily costs of living as a independent mother, and to be able to attend therapy my schedule has been challenging to find employment that would allow me such flexibility. As well as the financial benefits that could allow me to purchase a psychiatric service animal, and the training on my own behalf.
Despite the adversity of the last few years, I am now reviewing programs to be able to use my own life experiences to be able to find a meaningful way to educate myself as well as to be able to pay it forward for other victims of abuse in a professional manner with the appropriate degree.
That process will take a long period of time to complete which could alapse allow me to have the capability of a more financially stable income to invest in a service animal for my PTSD myself.
I found a program based in Chicago that can assist in choosing the correct dog breed; and puppy as well as all of the training that would be needed for the dog to be able to assist with any PTSD symptoms such as “grounding” or emotional assistance.
This will be an actual service animal, and not an emotional support animal. Which means all the protections under the ADA for myself, and the dog.
This animal not only will help myself but also my daughters who have gone through this trauma in their own way to have a companion in their future.
To be privileged to have this resource tool for my family would be an absolute blessing.
Not only would our dog be a therapeutic tool but also a member of our family.
My love for animals has not ended with myself but has been passed down to my children, and this could be one of the most important things that can shift the mental health healing process in a way that will change our whole lives.
The amount that I am asking to fundraise includes the average price of a full breed dog from the general dogs used for psychiatric service animals.
As stated before it would also include the costs of this type of assistance from the dog trainer company to select the best breed, and temperament as well as all the training, and certification required for our dog to be apart of our daily lives if necessary in a public setting.
Healing is not linear but to be able to have an trained animal companion in anticipation of any hard moments is very important.
If you have any financial contribution that you would be willing to contribute that would help tremendously.
Once the funding is fully funded then I will continue forward with the process on working closely with the dog trainer, and give updates all the time as a way to show gratitude for the blessing of another tool to heal.
In return to be able to pay it forward to others will always be the goal, and I won’t forget or be ungrateful for this gift.
I’ve looked into programs for disability animals, and the waiting list is years for some. Then others the applications are not even being accepted anymore.
Thank you for your time in consideration, and any contributions that you may make.
