DC ExtraTime: Nia and Jake

Excerpt from DC SocialPulse: Real World Go Big - Episode 7 posted on Mother's Day
Sunday, re-posted as a separate post in the interest of MTV Trifecta fans

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

For those like myself who is both an MTV Trifecta fan and is social friendly, I have grown a rapport with most of the MTV family since I joined Twitter some four years ago. This includes a strong bond with each entirely-new cast of the ecosystem - whether it'd be a new set of Real World roommates since St. Thomas or the three previous Are You The One? casts, and just Friday I gave a follow to most of the AYTO Season 4 cast.
   Included in that list is Portland: the last of the traditional Real World seasons with no twist for the seven strangers to worry about. It was the first Trifecta season that MTV Insider and webcast host Brian Cohen got to cover in doing cast interviews, while one of the first DCBLOG posts that I did here was a Forum post on the Reunion. There in the Pearl District, we saw Averey & Johnny's romance, Jordan getting into it with everyone, J-Deezy recording, Princess Jess and Anastasia, and Joi too. And of course, as Brian alluded to on his shows they've become a great Challenge class as well, with finals appearances and a win in their first three starts, and PDX will be well represented this time around.
   There's no doubt who the most-memorable castmate of season 28, and that would be Nia Moore for all of what we saw on that season. And what happened at the end of that stay there in Portland remains burned on our brains, as was what happened on Exes 2 when a shot to be in the final was taken away from her before the last Dome. We will not discuss what happened there in further detail in this ExtraTime piece with respect to sensitivity, as the focus of this story is much more on the positive side. And if you've got a tissue box handy, you might have a tear in your eye after you read this story here on this Mother's Day. So, here it is...

On Easter Sunday, Nia met a homeless person she met on the streets in the Atlanta area named Jake, who's been living without a home for over a year after losing his job and has very little money. Since then, his life has changed for the worse: his mom passed away from cancer, and he himself contracted the HIV virus - and in turn AIDS, as well as leukemia. Despite all this, he still remains optimistic about life and his future with no negativity whatsoever and always having a bright outlook on life in spite of the tough conditions he's gone through recently. Nia says, "I found his courage and optimism to be quite admirable," and she decided to pay it forward and help Jake out by creating a Go Fund Me fundraiser to raise enough money to facilitate his living expenses in the short term towards potentially regaining a more normal life down the road.
   Nia has already helped Jake out with food stamps for groceries and toiletries, providing money for public transport, applying for a new ID and social security card, and given a government-issued temporary cell phone. And the temporary plan Jake has is to stay in a low-cost motel in the Atlanta area for a few weeks and much-needed sleep in a comfortable bed, as well as a safe bank account as well. She adds, "He is a really good kid with a big heart, and he is absolutely committed to picking himself up off the ground and changing his circumstances. I want to do everything I possibly can to help him see to it."
   After she created the fundraiser and got the word out to her social followers, the support for Jake was immediate. Within five hours of the appeal being made, $1,035 was raised - including an $800 donation, accounting for half of their $2,000 goal; which as this is being posted, an additional $300 has been raised. When Nia brought Jake to his motel, he was overwhelmed by the public's support in finally being able to sleep in his own bed, get a much-needed long bath, and having quality food in his fridge instead of the cold food he founds in trash cans. She posted on the page afterwards, "I'm just so grateful that we were able to do this for him, because everyone deserves a little piece of happiness...even when life tells us we can't have it. Despite having AIDS and Leukemia, Jake always reminds me of the countless things he has to be thankful for, and how optimistic he is about his future. His bravery and strength are truly remarkable."
   With new ID cards and a birth certificate now in hand, the focus now have is to now find the appropriate resources to Jake to get medication for his illnesses. Their other goal is to look for permanent housing, all with eyes on regaining employment, and to say goodbye to the tough times he has endured the past year. Nia added in an additional IG post, "It truly shows me how much you guys love and support me, my endeavors and my efforts to sprinkle a little love around this world. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. A million times over. I love you guys to the moon and back, no words can describe what all of this means to me, and especially him. I met him on Easter Sunday, and never thought I even had the capacity to really change someone's life, but with your help it's been proven that together we can do anything."

When you go to work every day, chances are you'll find a person on the streets who has nothing but the clothes on their back and limited resources to rely on to get through their day. Homelessness has remained a major problem in American society despite this being one of the world's richest countries with a quality of life unsurpassed anywhere. And as you read this post, at last count the number of homeless people living in the United States is at over 610,000 people, but there has been recent progress of reducing the amount of people living in the streets of the nation's 9th largest metropolis and a one-time Olympic city with shelters and the like being opened to them.
   Much in the same way that cancer survivor Kasey Harvey has brought a sense of humbleness to the persona that is Johnny Bananas, Jake has brought some sense of reflection to Nia after what we've seen from her on her two Challenges and on Real World Portland. After reading this story, it's likely the opinions you have of her as a person overall, not the Nia that we saw on TV, will have changed after doing something as good as anyone can do: meet a random stranger in the streets who has suffered so much, both emotionally and physically, .
   To do your part to help out Jake, go to the Go Fund Me fundraising site at gofundme.com. Thanks Nia for doing this great deed, I've won more respect for you and hope all's well with you.

- I AM DC