My name is Roberta Frampton Benefiel, and I am a Canadian-born mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother currently living back home in Labrador, Canada, after spending over 23 years as a resident of Tennessee in the USA. I have always worked and managed to provide for myself and my family as a single mom (in fact, I am still working even at 77 years old). My son Frank grew up in the U.S. and was always provided with a safe home and the basics of a decent life under my care. He has been on his own and managing to the best of his ability since he was 18. However, Frank’s health has deteriorated recently, and he is now unable to work and it’s unlikely he ever will again. Meanwhile, I have exhausted my small savings over the past year trying to help him. Beneficiary: Meet Frankie William F. “Frank” Benefiel was born in 1967 shortly after I moved to the U.S. We made our home in Memphis, TN, and he grew up there. At 18 years old, Frank signed up for the Army National Guard and spent 8 years as a volunteer. His group was active one weekend a month (they were called “weekend warriors”). When Frank became sick, I hoped he could get some veterans’ benefits. However, since he was not called for ACTIVE DUTY during WAR TIME, he was not eligible. The photo below was taken during training. I always thought he looked like a young Elvis. Such a handsome young man. Frank has lived his life like so many of us in the US and Canada, pretty much paycheck to paycheck, never really able to accumulate any real wealth. His whole life has been a series of challenges, likely exacerbated by undiagnosed mental illness and neurodivergence. He has always worked hard but with little impact on his or his family’s future. Without a formal education and with mostly on-the-job-training, both Frank’s boys are doing well enough to keep their own families fed and housed, and while the oldest, Aaron, did try to take care of Frank at his home, it really got to be too much for his family, and I had to find other accommodations. Challenges and Illness Just before the pandemic, Frank lost his wife, Amy, age 49, to pancreatic cancer. This began a downward spiral into depression which, not living near him, I wasn’t truly aware of the extent and seriousness of. I had no idea of the depth of his physical and mental despair until I discovered that he had been hospitalized in a diabetic coma. As it turns out, he had been forgetting to take medication for diabetes and was not eating well, which led to a series of strokes. He hasn’t worked since June 2024 and was evicted from the rental home he and Amy and their blended family had lived in for 15 years (this happened in November 2024). Shortly after being made aware of the situation with the eviction, I knew I had to intervene. I left friends in charge of my kennel business and travelled to Memphis, spending about 6 weeks there in November and December last year, trying to figure out how to help Frank. The list of avenues I have explored is a long one, and we are out of options at this point. Frank has (a) lived in a temporary free apartment for 3 months, (b) lived at his oldest son’s where he was having huge bowel issues and was taking a bedroom from my great-grandson, which caused the relationship to deteriorate to the point that Aaron and his girlfriend said they couldn’t take care of him anymore as they both work and Frank needs daily and consistent care, (c) returned several times to the hospital, (d) stayed in hotels for 6 weeks (which depleted the final bit of savings I had), (e) applied for Social Security disability benefits (still being processed and we’re not sure he’ll even get them), (f) been turned down by a pastor who runs a Christian homeless shelter for men because of Frank’s bowel problems, and (g) is currently in a rehab center, at least until they discharge him which could happen at any time, (because his insurance has stopped paying for it). I have called every agency in the Tennessee–Mississippi–Arkansas area trying to find a placement for him, to no avail. Frank is homeless and very ill. He does not remember to take his medication; he does not always know where he is or who his family or friends are. At one point, the charity hospital discharged him without calling anyone and he found someone outside the hospital to give him a ride “home” as he called it. He ended up on Blacksmith Drive in NorthHaven at the house he grew up in… a house I sold 30 years ago. That night I was frantic. His cell phone went dead because he didn’t remember to charge it, so I couldn’t track him. I called the Shelby County Sheriff’s department, who went looking for him but was unable to find him…then, I called the Memphis City Police, who put out an All-Points Bulletin to try to locate him. He was finally able to convince someone to charge his old phone and called his friend Bubba at 2 a.m. At that point, he had ended up at the house where he and Amy had lived for 15 years—the one he was evicted from. Right now, Frank is still at the rehab centre, where staff won’t allow him to walk around because they are afraid he will fall and have called me asking me to pay because the insurance has run out. He is losing weight rapidly and seems to have given up on living. In addition to his diabetes, he also has stage 3 kidney disease and issues with his prostate. His long-term memory is hanging in there, but short-term is pretty much gone. He can’t care for himself. He has one friend, Bubba Williams, who helps out and visits when he can (usually every Sunday). But Bubba lives in Mississippi at an RV park, so he can only visit about once a week. I live 3,700 miles away in Canada. I cannot come back to the U.S. to live; customs took away my green card after I moved back home to Canada. I cannot bring Frank to me; he has no passport, and because he has no ability to work, the Canadian government would turn down his visa. It has finally come to this: I am desperate to find a more permanent solution for my son, who needs daily care. The federal government or Social Security is a very slow process; the State Government can’t look after him because he has absolutely no money coming in. The city of Memphis doesn’t have any place to house him where he will get nursing assistance, and I have gone deep into debt and depleted my savings putting band-aids on this problem. I am terrified that my son will die on the street or simply give up and pass away while in “rehab.” What we are asking for We are hoping for a semi-permanent solution for my son where he can feel alive again. His only real friend, Bubba, lives at an RV park, as mentioned. Lots are available next to him; if we could raise enough money to buy a used RV for Frank, he would be able to live next door to his friend and at least have his medication on a regular basis and some human connection in the world. Please help me to help him in likely these last few years he (and I) have left. I would like to purchase a used RV for Frank to live in and have it set up next to his friend Bubba at Tunica Lake in Mississippi. I completely trust Bubba to take care of Frank as he has done, to the best of his ability, for well over a year now, apart from the 6 weeks I spent there. After researching available options in the area where he lives, I estimate that $10,000 CDN would be sufficient to get a decent used RV where he can sleep, take a shower, make a simple meal (if he still can), and simply survive. Frank is not someone who can live under a bridge or sleep on park benches. He will be dead in a matter of weeks, if not days. Please help us put a modest roof over his head so he can work on getting well again. I can’t thank you enough for anything you can give. Thank you for helping to ease a mother’s anguish and a sick man’s despair. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for whatever you may be able to donate. Most sincerely, William F. (Frankie) Benefiel and Roberta Frampton Benefiel
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