Help for Tammy

This is what I do ^^  I make yarn.   Handdyed, handspun yarn made from breed-specific wools and wool blends.  I'm planning to do a few giveaways during this campaign to say thank you to those that supported me.  Being able to move into a quiet space is essential to my spirit and ability to be creative.  This was supposed to be my last move. Forever.  Unfortunately, through no fault of my own, what I received instead was an eviction notice due to the sale of the property.  

Follow my story below:

This is really hard for me to do, but my friends have encouraged me to give it a try.  Here goes...

My name is Tammy McDow, and I live with my companion dog in a lovely single-story rowhouse with a view.  I moved here about five months ago because I was looking for a nice little place to spend the rest of my days in semi-retirement.  The landlord told me this space could be mine for as long as I wished to stay here and rent it.  It's a beautiful quiet suite with about 700 square feet in total.  Not a lot of room, but enough for my needs.  Although I'm considered legally disabled and unable to work in a traditional environment, I do enjoy spending my time working with wool and usually spend several hours a day creating colorful handspun yarn for others to enjoy (and it helps pay the bills, which is a nice bonus).

My family and friends know that I am a very self-reliant and independent person.  I'm not one to ask for favors, but the time has come for me to humble myself and ask for help.  I'm on a very limited income, and before moving here I saved my pennies for a long time so that I could cover the cost of moving into this adorable little place.  Once moved, I started to unpack, settle in and slowly but surely fixed up my new home.  Fast forward two months later, and my landlord has issued me an eviction notice stating they sold the building and the buyer wants to demolish it and create a residential care facility in its place.  I was devastated, brought my case to the Residential Tenancy Board, a hearing was scheduled and I won.  Great news, right?  Not so fast.  Yes, the landlord issued an illegal eviction notice and it was deemed invalid.  But the company that bought my building wants to turn it into a long-term residential care facility (big $$ income) and is determined to put me out one way or another.  They've done everything from setting off the fire alarms at random, shutting off the electricity and heat, doing demolition right next door (even though they don't even have a legal permit to do so), operating excavators and basically tearing the place down around me, all the while I'm being exposed to asbestos because they're not properly containing the fibres as they do the demo.. but that's another story entirely.  I've already contacted the appropriate officials and they are "investigating".    

In the meantime, the constant level of noise and disruption has become a very stressful and exhausting part of my daily life here, and as much as I would love to stay and continue the fight to hold them accountable for their wrongdoing, I just can't take it anymore.  I'm so emotionally and physically exhausted that I can no longer create and support myself while living here amidst this racket.  My emotional and physical health are suffering, and my chronic pain levels are at an all-time high.  I just need out.  

Legally speaking, I am entitled to seek compensation from the landlord, but that is a long slow process that involves several more months of waiting, more paperwork and hearings, more time and more money, and no guaranteed outcome.  In the meantime, I need to move out of here and into a place where I can hear myself think and get some much-needed rest and recovery.  I have found the ideal apartment (a ground floor unit with a small yard) that accepts my companion dog, rent that is manageable on my small income.  It's Co-op housing, meaning everyone that lives and pays rent there is considered a part owner of the property... so no more worries of being evicted by a greedy landlord.  The only downside is that it requires a one-time share purchase of $1500.  That plus the deposits, the expenses of paying someone to help me pack up and move (I cannot do it myself due to health reasons), the cost of getting everything transferred and /or in some cases paying a deposit (for things like heat, lights, phone, internet, mail, etc) and I'm looking at about $3000. If by some crazy fluke I manage to raise more than that amount, I would love to put the extra towards the purchase of new equipment so that I can continue to create my handspun goodies for others to enjoy.

And that's about it.  I know it was a lot to read, but I thank you very much for reading my story.  If you can find it in your heart to contribute to my fundraiser, even a single dollar, I offer you my thanks and appreciation for your kindness and generosity.  No amount is too small; every single dollar helps get me to my goal of being in a quiet new home for Christmas. XO