A Mom's Creative Caregiver Daughter Isn't Giving Up But Needs Help
Jeffrey is helping raise support for Mare (and her dog Skittles) who has shared her gift of Art with the world for decades bringing hope, joy, and positivity to others, through acting, sculpture, djing, her events, filmmaking, music and also creating jobs and opportunities for hundreds but she needs help now after suffering a string of extraordinary losses.
Just as her filmmaking career was taking off with the acceptance of “Techno Diva” into national film festivals, including a win for best comedy, Covid hit and decimated the entertainment industry, especially for independent producers like herself. At the same time, her mother was entering the throes of dementia, a slow-motion horror that saps the mind, body, spirit of those who suffer from it, and their caregivers often having a violent component. Enter Mare, the only family member who would assist. She had to subvert and contort herself into caregiver first, Mare-the small business owner and actor/filmmaker, second and begin a journey of becoming a caregiver to a parent with severe dementia. It became more than a full time job, and every time Mare thought she had stabilized the situation for her mother, and journeyed back to L.A., she had to make another u-turn, and return to Michigan for her isolated and suffering mother.
In order to manage her mother’s care
Despite the sale of Mare and her mom’s house, the proceeds were quickly exhausted, and in order to afford the $5000-$6000 per month required for dementia care in those final years, Mare incurred many debts. Meanwhile, Mare's own debts, which she began accumulating during Covid, along with the lack of time and mental bandwidth to pursue additional income, made affording everything even more difficult to handle. Mare's mom passed March 22nd of 2025 and since then Mare works four different jobs, from 70-80 hours per week, including turning her learned skills from taking care of her own mother to caregiving for folks who also have cognitive ailments. I've watched throughout her mom’s end-of-life journey, and ever since Mare has been hustling non-stop just to keep the lights on in the house she rented to care for her mother and has not been able to leave to return home to California. She’s not even had time to properly grieve her mom’s loss, just one thing after another. It's heartbreaking to watch a friend so gifted try so hard, only to be sinking, and time is running out for her to right the ship. But I'm excited and hopeful for her now that she is attempting to get back to California and get back on her feet even though the clock is ticking.
Funds raised will help bring her debt down to avoid homelessness and a bankruptcy, find and pay for a new place to live back in California, and rebuild her life, relationships, health, and career. She needs our help now to make the next leap forward. Co-organizer | Jeffrey L., California | Family Friend and Creative Collaborator
