Advice for a Stay at Home Mom That Cant Work Outside of the Home.

For the child who has problems and must have constant care -the mother should contact social services. If she has no money, they will set up nursing care for the child -in home- while the mother works. If she has some sort of permanent disorder, the child can get disability. I'm not sure how all of that works, but plenty of people do it. Why can't the mother get unemployment? It sounds like she's not thoroughly investigating the opportunities available to her for aid. When children are part of the picture, it's easier to qualify for food stamps, section 8 housing subsidies, etc.

Unless she's educated with a background in some sort of technology that offers a lot of telecommuting jobs or education where she could find work with an online curriculum company, she's probably not going to fare very well trying to work from home. She also has to take into account the fact that if the child needs constant care (and what about the other two) -how much work can she get done while at home? I work from home two days a week, and if one (much less both) of my kids are here for some reason -it's very dicey as to how much I can get done. Plus, if the child has a chronic health problem that won't ever go away, some day she's going to have to find care for her. Those situations are very sad, but that's the reality.

There are a few factors that go into getting items to sell on Craig's list, first thing people look at when they are looking to purchase an item is the price and then the condition of the said item then the price verses the condition of the said item, also the more info that is included in the listing the better and adding as many GOOD pics as you can, list them item in a few different catagories for example the reptile cage in pets and then in for sale general so a bigger group of lookers will see the listing, also maybe your friend should consider selling the reptile items seperately as well as a whole set or make a statement will split up items and list a price for each item.. I have to say that I myself have been searching on Craig's lately for a few items I need and I think a lot of people are WAY over pricing their items for example if I wanted to spend $700.00 - $3000.00 for a large sectional couch in good condition I would not be looking on Craig's list I would be paying the high prices in the showroom and that high price would include free delivery of the couch and they would also haul it all the way down in my basement for me if that's where I wanted it, I guess is what I'm getting at is if some one can afford to pay these high prices that a good 85% of people are listing their items for then more then likely they will not be looking for the items on Craig's list and I see it daily when an item is priced at a good affordable price it don't last an hour on Craig's list as I mentioned I'm looking for a few different items on Craig's myself and have called on items in my price range within 30 minutes of being posted and someone was already on their way to pick it up.. I'm not saying saying by any means your friend is asking to much for her items as I have no idea what she is asking for the item you gave as an example I'm just trying to help by telling you my own experience and why I over look certain listings over another.. I also think it depends on the item it's self too.. As far as her friend having a child with health issues I would suggest she apply for government assistance and if she qualifies they will help her with everything she needs help with as long as she falls in their guidelines. Hope I was of some help as I know it is hard to just get by these days without any health issues.. Best of luck to your friend.

What Riley said-- start with the hospital social workers. Also google the child's particular health problem-- there's probably an association or foundation associated with the condition that provides information and support.

Also I think you can apply for social security disability for children

There used to be a program called Division of Services for Crippled Children through the University of Illinois at Chicago; wish I knew if they were still around. They served children with all kinds of conditions up to age 21. Also, has the mom applied for Medicaid and other services for the family? SSI for the child? Department of Human Services Home Services program? It is a lot of bureaucracy but might help. Good luck to her and thank you for posting.

http://www.caringbridge.org for the website

The hospital (if it's a children's hospital) usually has a series of people to help with exactly what you're talking about:

- Social Workers to help with applying for various state assistance and federal assistance... financial, housing, homeschooling (if applicable), case management, insurance, social security, homecare, etc.
- Patient Family Services
- Homecare nursing agencies

Perhaps she can get some state funded aid that will involve someone coming into the home to help. If so, perhaps she could do at home daycare. Does she have a friend who could do it with her and they could roate watching her child and the other kids. There is some good money in that if she finds the right families and has another adult to help. Is the father in the picture or any extended family that could also help.

You don't need to develop any website. Go to caringbridge.com and register them there. That is a site that specifically offers the web service you are looking for for that family.

I suggest she gets some computer skills. With that, she can do everything from creating church bulletins, to being a personal assistant for any type of professional, to accounting, to developing or maintaining web sites...she can even do web design. There are tons of tutorials out there, or she can check out books from the library to learn professional office computer applications, as long as she has a computer w/those applications.

Or she can try to sell homemade goods and sell on Etsy.

start with the child's dr....they will have info on resources.

& as the other moms said....research online for org for the child's condition ++ contact her local social services.

& YES, CaringBridge.org is an excellent resource. When my son had hip replacement surgery, we used CaringBridge.org to keep friends/family updated. It's free & it's a wonderful communication tool.

as for fundraisers: contact your local community service groups....VFW, Lions, etc.....& how about Shriners?

S.:

I will assume that she is getting public assistance if she is a stay at home mom who is single...that's got to be a tough situation.

As to the items not selling on craigslist or ebay? Could be many things.
1. bad pictures.
2. bad descriptions with spelling errors and not enough information.
3. wrong price - could be priced too high.
4. shipping is too much.

Bad pictures, spelling errors and price are usually the top reasons things don't sell. Research what you have to sell and see what has sold and what hasn't sold. A reptile tank is like a 'clique' - it's a limited audience. so find a website that helps reptile owners sell their reptiles and tanks.

As to a website? My husband taught himself PHP and Javascript and did our son's Boy Scout website to include Mulch Sales. If you don't know what you are doing - get help. Facebook is a good place to start awareness. You can get a page together and get people to like it.

You have to get a domain name - go to godaddy.com and buy a domain name. But really - before I did this - I would go to the local chapter of the organization of the disease she has so you are not wasting money and repeating steps.

Fundraisers? Well, depending upon the disease she has - I'm sure there are organizations already set up that help people with this disease. Talk to the doctor, the hospital administrator, search online about the disease and you might be surprised at what comes up. There are a ton of organizations out there that have grants to help people in dire situations.

Go to the public welfare office and get information. The more information you have, the more knowledge you have....