# Former Whiteclay advocate faces financial crisis caring for 14 disabled children  
**Published:** 2026-05-04T10:30:54.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/04/former-nurse-who-drew-public-attention-to-victims-of-whiteclay-needs-help/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/former-whiteclay-advocate-faces-financial-crisis-caring-for-14-disabled-children

Nora Boesem, the [former nurse who became instrumental in closing Whiteclay's beer stores](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/04/former-nurse-who-drew-public-attention-to-victims-of-whiteclay-needs-help/), is struggling financially while caring for 14 children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, many adopted from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Boesem, 53, moved to Houston two years ago seeking better medical care for her children and due to a personal setback. Now facing a combination of financial hardships—including an $11,000 van repair bill from an uninsured motorist, $43,000 in unpaid medical expenses, an overdue mortgage and her fiancé's $30,000 in medical debt—she has launched a [GoFundMe campaign](https://www.gofundme.com) that had collected only $1,373 as of Friday.

The situation was compounded by dramatic cuts to a Medicaid caregivers program. What once provided up to $60,000 annually to hire outside caregivers has been slashed to approximately $900 per year under congressional budget cuts backed by the Trump administration, Boesem said.

Despite doubling her caseload as an online therapist with a master's degree in counseling and teaching three online classes through Walden University, Boesem said she cannot qualify for traditional loans and knows of no aid programs for her situation.

Boesem's role in [exposing the plight of fetal alcohol syndrome victims](https://www.johnmaisch.com/fasd) proved transformative to the Whiteclay debate. When [the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission voted to revoke the beer stores' licenses in April 2017](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=whiteclay+beer+stores+closed+2017), officials cited her advocacy as a turning point in shifting public attention from street drunkenness to the unseen victims—children born with lifelong disabilities.

Retired Lincoln attorney Dennis Carlson, who led the push to close the beer stores, credited Boesem with changing hearts and minds. "She was the one who really touched the hearts of a lot of people," Carlson said. "The public was able to see that these beer sales impacted innocent lives."

The beer stores had sold an estimated 3.5 million cans of beer annually, primarily to residents of the adjacent Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol possession is illegal. On Pine Ridge, [one in four children is estimated to be born with some form of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder](https://www.healthcarebiz.com/healthcare-business/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-on-the-pine-ridge-indian-reservation/), compared to national rates of 1 percent to 5 percent.

Boesem has fostered more than 200 children over her career and adopted many of them. Among her current children are two hospitalized this week—one being evaluated for deep brain implant surgery to treat severe seizures, another receiving mental health treatment.

Deb Evensen, a therapist and FASD educator based in Alaska who created the GoFundMe account, said Boesem exemplifies selfless dedication. "This is an example of a really good person who is trying to live her best life, who is giving children who didn't have a chance at life, a chance at life," Evensen said. "Sometimes, life just throws you too much."

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/04/former-nurse-who-drew-public-attention-to-victims-of-whiteclay-needs-help/)
- [Background on Whiteclay and fetal alcohol syndrome](https://www.johnmaisch.com/fasd)
- [History of Whiteclay beer stores closure](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/02/new-book-details-the-fight-to-close-the-beer-stores-in-whiteclay/)

---

This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/04/former-nurse-who-drew-public-attention-to-victims-of-whiteclay-needs-help/.