Please check out my GoFundMe:
Donations, less GoFundMe fees, go to Tomas and Leigh Hood.
Support for a service-connected disabled veteran and his family in crisis.
Donations, less GoFundMe fees, go to Tomas and Leigh Hood.
Support for a service-connected disabled veteran and his family in crisis.
See the latest update
The core of my story starts here: I am a service-connected disabled United States Army veteran. My wife, Leigh, and I never expected to find ourselves homeless, but a sudden combination of medical emergencies, unexpected job loss, and a broken system has left us fighting for our survival.
We are currently homeless, living out of a hotel, and trying everything under the sun to get back on our feet. We need a bridge of support to keep us safe until we can secure a new home and I can secure my next job.
The Perfect Storm: Health, Housing, and Job Loss
In November, Leigh was hospitalized on her deathbed fighting sepsis. She battles aggressive advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis alongside several other auto-immune diseases and medical disabilities.
While fighting for her life, we lost our forever home to an auction by an uncompromising mortgage company. We didn't lose our home due to negligence; we lost it due to a systemic policy gap. When the government abruptly canceled the VA's mortgage rescue program and ended pandemic protections, it stripped away the safety net for veterans. Aggressive mortgage companies capitalized on this to issue rapid defaults and profit off the equity. Leigh and I are among the roughly 90,000 veterans nationwide who are facing foreclosure because of this crisis. To massive companies, we are just a statistic.
To compound our housing loss, I was laid off from my Senior Software Engineering contract at the exact same time. The tech industry is facing a historic employment crunch—in just the first three months of 2026, over 55,000 IT workers were laid off nationwide to fund AI restructuring. With the market suddenly flooded with tens of thousands of highly qualified engineers, securing new contract work is incredibly difficult. I am highly employable and eager to work, but it is nearly impossible to work as a computer programmer without a stable home base.
Our Current Reality & Expenses
Being a homeless disabled veteran is a profoundly challenging endeavor. We are taking things day by day in a hotel, paying $500 a week.
Thankfully, our two younger felines—both service animals—are able to stay with us at no extra charge. Heartbreakingly, we couldn't keep all three with us. Our older cat, Ernie, is currently being boarded at a feline hotel. His boarding costs $250 a week, plus $40 a week for his necessary medications. Keeping Ernie safe and cared for until we can reunite our household is an absolute priority, but the costs are draining our nonexistent resources.
The Path Forward
We are applying tirelessly to property management companies and private landlords. The corporate world often turns a blind eye to homeless veterans, so we face frequent refusals. However, we are making headway with a few private landlords and hope to have some positive answers this week. We are not picky—the home just needs to be healthy enough for our disability requirements.
How You Can Help
Any funds you might be able to spare will help us immensely as we navigate this nightmare. Your donations will directly fund:
- Temporary Housing: $500/week to keep a roof over our heads at the hotel.
- Basic Survival: Groceries, gas, and keeping our phones active for job and housing applications.
- Future Housing Costs: Securing a deposit and first month's rent once approved by a landlord.
We trust in God, and we are endlessly thankful for our friends, family, and kind strangers who are praying and helping with even the most meager of donations. Someday, we will pay this forward and help others going through the nightmare we are facing now.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Please share this page if you can.
Click here to help out: Support for a service-connected disabled veteran and his family in crisis
Updates (latest first)
Update on 26 June, 2026
URGENT UPDATE: Terrifying Medical Setbacks, New Diagnoses, and Our Fight to Survive
Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,
First, we want to start with a profound thank you. Because of those who recently donated to our GoFundMe, we were able to afford the immediate medications Leigh's emergency room doctor prescribed. Your generosity was a direct lifeline during a terrifying week.
Leigh is doing just a little better, but she is far from well. As anyone familiar with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) knows, "normal" is not very nice—RA is hell. Unfortunately, the last few weeks have tested us beyond our limits, and we are coming to you with an urgent update on our situation.
Harrowing Medical Crisis
Leigh recently came down with a violent, aggressive upper respiratory infection and severe bronchitis. Mixed with her advanced, systemic RA, this put her in an incredibly vulnerable and dangerous place.
- June 18: We rushed Leigh to the ER for severe bronchitis. Tragically, the care she received was entirely dismissive. The doctor did no significant testing, ran no blood work, and barely examined her before sending her back to our hotel with basic antibiotics.
- June 23: Unsurprisingly, Leigh's illness escalated rapidly. We were forced to return to the ER, and this time, the news was deeply concerning.
During this second visit, extensive scans and testing revealed an entirely new set of worries we must now navigate. Scans showed definite lung damage with scarred tissue, as well as nodules on both sides of her lungs caused by the RA. Her blood work raised flags for potential kidney disease, and she is becoming severely anemic. She lacks sufficient plasma, putting her at a high risk for blood clots.
She was sent home with heavy prescriptions to knock out the respiratory infection and reduce the body-wide inflammation, including steroids like prednisone. Living in a small hotel room with absolutely no comfort makes battling these severe illnesses so much rougher. To make matters worse, I am now feeling the early signs of this same upper respiratory illness. I am hunkering down, resting, and taking in as much nutrition as I can muster so I can remain strong enough to care for Leigh.
The Mathematical Reality of Our Survival
We are fighting on multiple fronts right now, and the financial toll is mathematically impossible for us to conquer alone. To be fully transparent about why we so desperately need your help, here is what our current reality looks like:
My VA disability income provides us with $1,566 a month.
However, our bare-bones survival costs far exceed this:
- Temporary Shelter: We are spending roughly $1,800 a month just to live in this hotel room and stay off the streets.
- Basic Living Expenses: It costs us about $1,000 a month for our absolute essentials. This covers our modest food budget, keeping our cell phones active (critical for job hunting and doctors), car insurance, feline care, and the storage units holding the last of our earthly belongings.
This means we are starting every single month in a $1,234 deficit just to exist, before we even factor in Leigh's mounting medical bills, specialist visits, or the medications she urgently needs to stay alive.
Healthcare Catch-22
To make matters worse, we are trapped in a devastating bureaucratic gap. We were recently denied Medicare/Medicaid because my VA disability income, combined with the incredibly helpful GoFundMe donations we've received, puts us strictly "over the limit" to qualify. Yet, we do not make anywhere near enough to afford the monthly premiums of Obamacare (ACA). Leigh has no healthcare coverage, the VA does not cover her, and my fixed income cannot even cover a basic roof over our heads.
- Medical Costs: We desperately need to raise enough funds to pay out-of-pocket for a General Practitioner and a specialist RA doctor for Leigh, along with her ongoing medications. We are currently applying to hospitals for sliding-scale payment plans, but this is a long process. We need to have the funds raised and saved now so that the moment the hospital approves our plan, we can immediately pay and schedule her life-saving appointments.
- Feline Care: We are endlessly thankful that our cats are with us and we no longer have to pay exorbitant boarding fees! However, two of our three cats require daily medications that must be administered twice a day, which remains a strict ongoing cost.
Looking Forward: Employment and VA Progress
Despite the darkness, we are pushing forward with hope. I have officially filed for additional disabilities with the VA. While it could take months for them to assess my claims and reach a decision, it is in motion.
I also have several promising job leads. Since my work as a Senior Software Engineer is typically completely remote, I am working with my recruiter and contract management team to figure out a way to work part-time right here from the hotel, as we have reliable internet. I want nothing more than to get back to work and provide for my family.
You Can Help Us Today
We trust in God, and we are endlessly thankful for the friends, family, and kind strangers who are praying for us and helping with even the most meager of donations. What a journey this has been.
If you have the means, please consider donating today to help us cover Leigh's upcoming doctors, her medications, and our massive monthly survival deficit so we can make it through this transition.
The GoFundMe page, direct from here, is: https://gofund.me/8250bafdb
Please share this update far and wide. Someday, when the dust settles, we will pay this forward. Thank you, again, to every single person who has helped us.
Update on 14 June, 2026
Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,
We are reaching out to you today with heavy hearts but an enduring hope. As we continue to navigate this incredibly difficult chapter here in Nebraska, our family is facing a new wave of overwhelming challenges. We are fighting with everything we have to keep our heads above water, but we have reached a point where we must ask for your urgent help once again.
First and most critically, Leigh's health remains our deepest concern. Her battle with aggressive, advanced stage Rheumatoid Arthritis is taking a severe toll on her daily life. Her pain is immense, and the visible changes to her bones are terrifying. We still urgently need to raise the funds for her to see a specialist Rheumatologist, complete vital laboratory tests at specialized facilities, and purchase the life saving medications she desperately needs. Because we fall into a devastating gap where she does not qualify for Medicare and the VA does not cover her care, these staggering costs fall entirely on our shoulders. To make matters even more critical, Leigh is now facing a severe dental emergency that requires immediate attention. The combined medical and dental costs are simply beyond our reach right now.
Our beloved feline family members also need your help. We are so grateful to have Ernie, Munchkin, and Willow under one roof with us, but Ernie and Willow both require essential medications to stay healthy. These monthly medication costs are necessary for their wellbeing, but they are stretching our already exhausted weekly budget to the breaking point.
At the same time, the reality of our displacement continues to weigh on us. We are falling behind on the essential bills that keep us connected and protect our remaining livelihood. Both our cell phone bills and our storage unit fees are now past due. Without our phones, we cannot communicate with doctors, potential landlords, or the veteran assistance programs we rely on. If we lose our storage units, we will permanently lose the last of our earthly belongings.
We want to completely reassure you that every single dollar you donate goes directly and immediately toward these specific, critical needs. Your generosity will directly pay for Leigh's doctors and medicines, her emergency dental care, our cats' vital prescriptions, and the past due bills that threaten to cut off our lifeline.
Please, if you have the means to spare even a small amount, your donation will have a profound and immediate impact on our survival. If you are unable to give financially, we humbly ask that you share our campaign with your network and keep our family in your prayers. Thank you for standing by us, for your endless compassion, and for helping us fight for Leigh's health and our family's future.
With deep gratitude,
Urgent Update: A Critical Fight for Leigh’s Health, Good News for Ernie, and Our Path Forward
Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,
We are reaching out today with a deeply critical and urgent update on our situation. While we have a mix of hopeful news and major breakthroughs, we are also facing our most daunting hurdle yet -- and we need your immediate help to get through it.
1. A Lifesaving Battle: Urgent Medical Care for Leigh
As many of you know, Leigh has been fighting a brutal, uphill battle with aggressive, advanced-stage Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The reality of her daily life is incredibly harsh right now. Her pain levels are through the roof, and the disease has progressed so aggressively that her bones are becoming visibly deformed.
We have reached a critical crossroads. Left unchecked, this aggressive progression is entirely life-threatening. The medical reality is clear: she needs her essential RA medications to slow this down and save her life.
There is a sliver of hope -- we finally have her scheduled to see a medical doctor to get re-prescribed the medication she desperately needs. However, the mountain of medical costs ahead of us is immense. We must raise funds immediately to cover the cost of upcoming specialist doctor visits, intensive lab work, and the expensive prescriptions themselves. The physical toll this is taking on her is devastating. We cannot afford to wait; we are relying on our GoFundMe campaign to cover these immediate, lifesaving medical expenses.
2. Some Wonderful News: Ernie is Home!
Amidst the heavy trials, we have a beautiful piece of good news that has brought immense comfort to our household. Our beloved cat, Ernie, is officially back with us! Having him home is a massive boost to our spirits, and practically, it is a tremendous relief to our budget. Having Ernie reunited with us is saving our family nearly $300 per week in boarding costs. We are so grateful to have him back where he belongs.
3. The Reality of Our Current Housing Situation
Despite the positive steps forward, the stark reality is that we are still living out of a hotel. While we continue to work daily alongside veteran programs and the VA to secure a stable, permanent home, the daily and weekly costs of hotel living are draining our limited resources. We urgently need your continued financial support just to keep the bills paid and a roof over our heads while we navigate this transition.
4. A Major Breakthrough for a Permanent Home
We have some incredible news regarding our housing search. We recently uncovered significant errors on our credit reports that were actively holding us back. We are currently in the process of getting those errors completely removed! Clearing this hurdle is a game-changer. It will fundamentally repair our records and drastically improve our chances of being accepted by rental companies and private landlords. We are closer than ever to securing a front door of our own, but we just need the safety net to survive the hotel costs until a lease is signed.
5. Watch Our Video Update
We want to share our journey directly with you. We have recorded a video update sharing more details about where we stand, Leigh's health, and our path forward. Please take a few minutes to watch it here:
How You Can Help Right Now
We are fighting with everything we have to stabilize our lives, get Leigh the medical intervention that will save her life, and cross the finish line into permanent housing. But we cannot do it alone.
* Donate: If you have the means, please donate to our campaign today. Every single dollar goes directly toward Leigh's medical appointments, her life-prolonging medication, and keeping us safe in our temporary lodging.
* Share: Please share this update and our video link with your network, on social media, and with anyone who might be moved to help a veteran family in a time of critical need.
* Share: Please share this update and our video link with your network, on social media, and with anyone who might be moved to help a veteran family in a time of critical need.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your ongoing prayers, love, and generosity. We are keeping the faith, and with your help, we will get Leigh the care she needs.
With deep gratitude,
Tomas and Leigh
Tomas and Leigh
UPDATE ON MAY 20, 2026:
Your generosity has been the actual ground beneath our feet during this long storm, and we are profoundly grateful for the love, prayers, and support you have poured into our family. Every donation and kind word has kept us moving forward, and we hold that kindness close to our hearts. This morning brings an entirely new chapter in our journey, and we are reaching out with this fresh update because we are standing at a critical turning point today, and we urgently need your help to cross the finish line.
NEW HOTEL AND ERNIE CAN COME HOME!
We have just moved into a different hotel that costs roughly the same as our previous one, but it comes with a beautiful blessing. In this new location, we are finally allowed to bring our beloved senior cat, Ernie, back to live with us. Starting today, our three felines, Ernie, Munchkin, and his sister Willow, can all be under one roof. Having Ernie back with us will save us just shy of three hundred dollars per week in boarding fees, which changes everything for our daily budget. However, there is a major catch, and we are running out of time. We have a current bill of just over five hundred dollars for Ernie's boarding up to this point. We must pay this bill in full today in order to release him. If we cannot clear this balance immediately, they will keep Ernie and begin the process of adopting him out to strangers. We absolutely cannot bear the thought of losing him, especially now that we have a safe place for him to stay. This is an urgent, heartfelt call for quick donations today so we can protect Ernie and reunite our family.
RENEWED HOUSING SEARCH STRATEGY
At the same time, the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program , along with the VA, are actively working with us to find a private landlord or landlady who will work with our specific situation. We are clarifying our history as there are mistakes that were made last year by our medical insurance provider, and those mistakes have impacted our ability to get housing. We ask that you please pray with us that this door finally opens so we can transition into a permanent house. Moving into a real home will allow so many of our crushing temporary expenses to vanish, including our storage units. Right now, we owe six hundred and fifty dollars on our storage bills. Because of this, we currently have no access to our things, and we are at risk of losing all of our earthly belongings permanently. We are fundraising today to clear this debt so we can protect our property.
LEIGH AND HER HEALTH UPDATE
Additionally, we are raising funds to address critical medical needs. We have found a doctor who will see Leigh for a cash payment to represcribe her necessary medications. If we can raise the funds for this appointment and the subsequent prescriptions, it will drastically improve her health situation as she manages rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.
PLEASE HELP TODAY!
We are asking you to please consider making a donation as soon as is humanly possible today to help us rescue Ernie, protect our belongings, and get Leigh her medicine. If you cannot give financially, please lift us up in prayer and share this campaign immediately with your entire network of family and friends. Your fast action today can change our lives by this evening. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for standing by us.