Emergency Housing
Donation protected
This is my second time making a GoFundMe account, but it’s the first time I’ve made one for myself. I admit, I'm embarrassed and uncomfortable. Although I am generous with money when I have it, it's been a long time since I was the one in a position to give. I don't like being a burden. But I need some help.
As many of you know, I moved to Philadelphia with my best friend, and roommate of more than three years, Justin, in May. We stayed with a friend for a few days and then moved into an extended stay hotel, where we’ve been for five months. We all live in one room: two adults and two cats, with a lumpy full size bed, a closet, a sink, and a television. We don’t even have our own bathroom: it’s shared with the room on the other side of us.
The building is in a bad area with a lot of drug dealing and use both inside and outside the property. The same goes for prostitution. The low quality and dangerous nature of the premises is, of course, the way we can afford to live here.
Staying here has definitely diminished the quality of our respective lives. As happy and grateful as we are to have escaped Florida (Gainesville in particular), and as much as we enjoy the city of Philadelphia, our actual “home” is a challenging place.
And amazingly, two days ago, the Parker got worse. One of the tenants set a fire on the ninth floor. It was quickly contained and extinguished, but the routine inspection performed after the incident apparently indicated neither the emergency sprinkler system nor the fire alarm itself was working any longer (knowing the facility as I do, I wouldn't be surprised if they were both built for one use only). Licensing & Inspection is working on bringing the building up to code, but needless to say, there's probably more wrong with the place than what the fire revealed. Every day we're told we're not allowed back yet, and to call the next day. Meanwhile, the staff is getting so abrasive and abusive it's bordering on intolerable.
The facts:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20141021_One-alarm_fire_at_Center_City_high-rise_displaces_dozens.html
With a twist of humor:
http://philly.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/21/there-was-a-small-fire-at-the-sketchtastic-parker-spruce-hotel.php
The time to get out is now.
Even back in Florida, Justin and I were sharing a one bedroom open plan loft, because he moved in with me almost a year after I rented it by myself, and I wasn’t expecting to share it with another person at all, much less long term. He moved into that place under emergency circumstances in March 2011, and we ended up clicking so well not only as roommates but also as devoted friends, he was still there when I moved out in April this year and we decided to take on this adventure together .
I LOVE Justin. I love him more than privacy. But I actually do also love privacy...which I haven't enjoyed in three and a half years.
We’ve been searching for permanent housing since we arrived here in Philly, and we’ve looked into, and at, a lot of places, but the standard apartment complex won’t rent to us since neither of us has good credit (medical bills) and both of us are low income. We’ve looked into everything: Section 8, sublets, friends of friends, and nothing has worked out. In fact, our experiences apartment hunting in the 215 have been rather unusual -- like when a leasing agency gave me the keys to a unit in exchange for my ID and a $20 deposit, and Justin and a friend and I barged into the established home of a woman with a young child. It turned out the owner had rented the place himself without informing the agency. (Nobody was shot: we did, after all, successfully escape Florida.)
Right now, we have the opportunity to move into a three bedroom, two bathroom house. It’s being rented by the owner, so a lot of the credit and background check paperwork that precludes us from being accepted other places doesn’t apply.
(These units are duplexes: we would be living in the right half of the building on the right.) The monthly rent fits smoothly into our budget, and we can afford the cost of moving.
What we don’t have is the security deposit.
When we first discovered this opportunity, we thought if we missed out on it, we might be stuck at the Parker Spruce for another five months – or longer. Not only is this house an improvement on the living conditions in an extended stay hotel, it’s actually better than what I was hoping for. It’s a dream come true, and if everything works out as anticipated, we wouldn’t have to move again for years.
This isn’t just a house for rent: it would be a home, and a new lease on life. Our move to Philadelphia would be complete.
And if things don't work out with this property, we'll be able to budget savings for moving again while affording the rent. Renting any new place involves taking a chance, but this is worth it. Life is meant to be lived, not dreaded in a crack den.
Speaking, or rather typing, of the Parker, we don't even know when we'll be allowed back in. We can't indefinitely burden the dear friend with whom we are staying, and quite honestly, we don't want to live in a Red Cross Shelter and board Jovi and Eris with Red Paws. We need a home.
One last thought, regarding money: I do freelance writing and editing for extra cash, and recently I was offered another job that requires Internet access. Part of the reason I can't make money right now is because I can only access roaming wireless at the Parker. I'm totally grateful to have it, but it's not reliable.
Any help, from the smallest amount to the largest, is greatly appreciated. I wouldn’t ask if I had another choice. I spent years chasing academic dreams and youthful indiscretions. Home was a place to pass out in between space science classes, ill-fated modeling gigs and feminist protests. Now I am older, and I am not successful. I never made it. My mother is dead, my dreams are gone, and all I really want is a home in which to feel safe.
Thank you for reading.
As many of you know, I moved to Philadelphia with my best friend, and roommate of more than three years, Justin, in May. We stayed with a friend for a few days and then moved into an extended stay hotel, where we’ve been for five months. We all live in one room: two adults and two cats, with a lumpy full size bed, a closet, a sink, and a television. We don’t even have our own bathroom: it’s shared with the room on the other side of us.
The building is in a bad area with a lot of drug dealing and use both inside and outside the property. The same goes for prostitution. The low quality and dangerous nature of the premises is, of course, the way we can afford to live here.
Staying here has definitely diminished the quality of our respective lives. As happy and grateful as we are to have escaped Florida (Gainesville in particular), and as much as we enjoy the city of Philadelphia, our actual “home” is a challenging place.
And amazingly, two days ago, the Parker got worse. One of the tenants set a fire on the ninth floor. It was quickly contained and extinguished, but the routine inspection performed after the incident apparently indicated neither the emergency sprinkler system nor the fire alarm itself was working any longer (knowing the facility as I do, I wouldn't be surprised if they were both built for one use only). Licensing & Inspection is working on bringing the building up to code, but needless to say, there's probably more wrong with the place than what the fire revealed. Every day we're told we're not allowed back yet, and to call the next day. Meanwhile, the staff is getting so abrasive and abusive it's bordering on intolerable.
The facts:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20141021_One-alarm_fire_at_Center_City_high-rise_displaces_dozens.html
With a twist of humor:
http://philly.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/21/there-was-a-small-fire-at-the-sketchtastic-parker-spruce-hotel.php
The time to get out is now.
Even back in Florida, Justin and I were sharing a one bedroom open plan loft, because he moved in with me almost a year after I rented it by myself, and I wasn’t expecting to share it with another person at all, much less long term. He moved into that place under emergency circumstances in March 2011, and we ended up clicking so well not only as roommates but also as devoted friends, he was still there when I moved out in April this year and we decided to take on this adventure together .
I LOVE Justin. I love him more than privacy. But I actually do also love privacy...which I haven't enjoyed in three and a half years.
We’ve been searching for permanent housing since we arrived here in Philly, and we’ve looked into, and at, a lot of places, but the standard apartment complex won’t rent to us since neither of us has good credit (medical bills) and both of us are low income. We’ve looked into everything: Section 8, sublets, friends of friends, and nothing has worked out. In fact, our experiences apartment hunting in the 215 have been rather unusual -- like when a leasing agency gave me the keys to a unit in exchange for my ID and a $20 deposit, and Justin and a friend and I barged into the established home of a woman with a young child. It turned out the owner had rented the place himself without informing the agency. (Nobody was shot: we did, after all, successfully escape Florida.)
Right now, we have the opportunity to move into a three bedroom, two bathroom house. It’s being rented by the owner, so a lot of the credit and background check paperwork that precludes us from being accepted other places doesn’t apply.
(These units are duplexes: we would be living in the right half of the building on the right.) The monthly rent fits smoothly into our budget, and we can afford the cost of moving.
What we don’t have is the security deposit.
When we first discovered this opportunity, we thought if we missed out on it, we might be stuck at the Parker Spruce for another five months – or longer. Not only is this house an improvement on the living conditions in an extended stay hotel, it’s actually better than what I was hoping for. It’s a dream come true, and if everything works out as anticipated, we wouldn’t have to move again for years.
This isn’t just a house for rent: it would be a home, and a new lease on life. Our move to Philadelphia would be complete.
And if things don't work out with this property, we'll be able to budget savings for moving again while affording the rent. Renting any new place involves taking a chance, but this is worth it. Life is meant to be lived, not dreaded in a crack den.
Speaking, or rather typing, of the Parker, we don't even know when we'll be allowed back in. We can't indefinitely burden the dear friend with whom we are staying, and quite honestly, we don't want to live in a Red Cross Shelter and board Jovi and Eris with Red Paws. We need a home.
One last thought, regarding money: I do freelance writing and editing for extra cash, and recently I was offered another job that requires Internet access. Part of the reason I can't make money right now is because I can only access roaming wireless at the Parker. I'm totally grateful to have it, but it's not reliable.
Any help, from the smallest amount to the largest, is greatly appreciated. I wouldn’t ask if I had another choice. I spent years chasing academic dreams and youthful indiscretions. Home was a place to pass out in between space science classes, ill-fated modeling gigs and feminist protests. Now I am older, and I am not successful. I never made it. My mother is dead, my dreams are gone, and all I really want is a home in which to feel safe.
Thank you for reading.
Organizer
Dysmonia Kuiper
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA
