An Army of Normal Folks - Will the Army Act?

Episode Date: June 30, 2023

Our episode with Erin Smith and Thomas already inspired one listener to become a volunteer with CASA! But what if the Army could pay off Thomas’ college debt? After a childhood of physical and sexual abuse, this foster youth deserves to be free from a burden that the state forced upon him.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/support-1See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody, I hope you enjoyed our episode earlier this week with Aaron Smith of Kasa and Thomas That episode really affected me that interview really affected me and I really haven't gotten it off my mind since we did it and produced it To summarize Thomas was abused To summarize, Thomas was abused. He was tied up by his mother with electrical cords. He was one through an institutionalized system that really didn't serve or care for him and certainly offered him no love. He was adopted. And in that adoption with provided him hope for the first time in his life,

he found a brother that sexually molested him. And then in defending himself by just trying to reach out for help and speak up, he then gets taken out of his adoptive home and put back He then gets taken out of his adoptive home and put back into state institutionalized care. And weeks later, two orderlies that he didn't know anything about, gives him $150 and drops them off on the campus that Ole Miss and says, Hey, good luck and ride off. There's just no love there. There's just no care. And the fact that this kid is still trying is an amazing testament to his character and his spirit. The other thing I want you to remember is, despite all of this, this kid made a 35 on a part of his ACT and got into college and even had a full ride to Fisk, which is in Tennessee, but he couldn't go there because he was under the care of the state of Mississippi.

And so we went to Ole Miss having been told by the state of Mississippi that they would cover the cost above and beyond his pail grants and all of that. And then they informed this kid who's been screwed by basically every adult in his life that they were wrong, funding wasn't there and you need to take some loans. I just don't know what I would do if I was Thomas. I just don't, I don't know how to handle that. I don't know that I would want to wake up in the morning, yet this kid wakes up, has two jobs, goes to class, makes his grades, and through his relationship with Aaron is finding his way to be a productive adult, and once to major, in psychology and criminal

justice to keep the very people that abused him off the streets. So no other child has to live what he lived. What a testament to this kid. But he's got a $20,000 debt. He never expected to have didn't earn. Could have been without had he been able to go to Fisk and was tossed on him at the last minute kind of like all the other stuff that's been tossed on him and I think it's wrong. He doesn't have family, he doesn't have a mom or

died or grandparents to call to lean on for help. He's doing more than most his age do. So Alex, our producer, had an idea. We want to raise the money. This is not a handout. It's not even philanthropy. It's just hopefully showing him there is love and care in the world for a kid who's been shown very little of it. So Alex's donate $1,000, at least in our donate $1,000. So that's 2,000 bucks. We're $18,000 away from paying off Thomas's debt that he incurred through no decision or fault of his own. My hope is that

you'll join us. Open up your pocketbooks and give a little money to help the kid out but more importantly show hims.org and click on donate. And when you go to donate, there's a little field there. And all you got to do is type in Thomas. We've spoken there and she's ready to receive it. 100% of ever dollar that goes to this will go to pay off Thomas's debt. So again, it's Kasa, C-A-S-A-M-S, Kasa-M-S.org. Type Donate, put in some money, type in Thomas's name. And let's see if we can't give Thomas a little something that he's not expecting. If we can't give Thomas a little something that he's not expecting.