
Help WOC Avoid Homelessness!
We are a family of 7 (six of us being women of color.) who are facing homelessness. We have until the end of August to find a new home!
At the beginning of 2016, we moved into a home looking forward to having a fresh start. My sister-in-law's three girls were starting at new schools, my boyfriend and I were getting settled into our life together, and life in our new home was peaceful for a time. That is, until the basement (where the three youngest and their mother lived) flooded terribly during a storm.
After a big clean-up and a few "fixes" that our landlord supposedly made, we believed all was well again. Just a hiccup, right? Wrong. One of the two showers in the basement became unusable due to a plumbing issue. We asked our landlord for repairs. We were told to just not use that bathroom. Three teen girls and their mother sharing a single (tiny) bathroom? Inexcusable!
That was the least of our worries. After the basement flooded AGAIN (ruining the carpet and oven!), and we discovered there were mice, our landlord suddenly told us (yes, all 7 of us) we had to leave. She was selling the house because she could not afford to keep it. My sister-in-law and her three girls had just moved in and had only been living in the home for 2 months before we got the unexpected news that we would have to leave. After she spent $2300 to get moved into the home, our landlord wanted $1200 more as first months rent, leaving her strapped for cash. Not only was my sister-in-law paying outrageous amounts of money to get settled, she has 3 young girls to clothe, feed, and take care of.
That brings us to right now. After our landlord gave us the news, she continues to harrass my sister-in-law for money. Even though we need that money to move out in the time frame she has given us. The landlord (who is a family friend) cries and complains to us as if SHE is the one having to scrape together every penny to try to stay above water. As if SHE is the one with three young children who need to start school in a week!
As luck would have it, we came upon a home just around the corner that is across the street from my boyfriend and his sisters childhood home. After touring the home and falling in love with it, we decided this was a sign. We had to get things moving.
That is where you come in. We are turning to our community for any help that you can provide us with. Even just a dollar would help us reach our goal. After the terrible emotional and financial abuse we have been receiving from our current landlord, we would like to be out of the home as soon as possible! If you cannot donate financially, please feel free to share this campaign on your Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr! Thank you for reading, and for your support!