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ThisClose to Homeless - Help Please

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My name is Karen J, or you might know me as Kharmin (or even Kay, on Facebook).

I'm sneaking up on 60, and I've never felt so helpless in my life! All my life's poor choices are catching up with me: I have no retirement plan, no investments, and now, no savings.
I've done a huge amount of re-learning who I “really am,” what my mental and emotional landscape looks like, and how to live with it “in the real world,” in the last 5 years. But -

I've been “spare rooming it” since the end of June, when I short-sold the house I'd shared with my late husband for nearly 20 years. Everything I kept from there is in 2 storage units.

The logistics of my current living situation have every routine I've ever set up knocked in a cocked hat. I have with me only a fraction of the equipment, paperwork and clothes that I was used to having easy access to.

I was given completely unexpected notice to move and don't have a penny saved toward the costs. In fact, I've been spending down what (very) few assets I had left, since the chaotically non-routine nature of life in *somebody else's household* has kept me from even looking for more paying work beyond the 2 small driving jobs I've had for years.

I've gotten an extension until the middle of January, for a cost - it gives me time, but no more money.

My sewing machine (which is another source of income) is broken and needs the attention of a pro (at a minimum of $100), and I mustn't neglect the car, since that's how I make every other dime I bring in.

I need to have my own space, with “control of the kitchen and the bathroom schedule and the media and the visual landscape”. The 2 places I've lived since June, I felt like a total intruder.

What I know I'll need to get a 'real place' (a studio or cheap 1 BR in the Chicago area) and then a 'real job' of my own:
1200 - 1st and last month's rent
0200 – utilities deposits
0375 – storage
0300 – help, supplies and truck rental
0100 - city sticker (if I stay in Chicago)
0100 – sewing machine repair
0300 – car repair
0500 – fuel, food, insurance, etc. for January.
~ edited to add:
0300 - new glasses. My frames are still good, but I can barely focus, which makes doing everything harder.
0300 - 3 'yup, they got me' red light traffic tickets. (Turns out there's 3 of them - and the cost of not paying on time, is 100%)
0300 - living expenses: food, gas, insurance, credit cards (mostly car repairs) and etceteras.

I will bring in approximately $500 per month from my current work, and once I get out of here and into a place of my own, I'll be able to do right by a proper job.

I am asking for your assistance (of any amount, large or small, please and thank you!) to help me get over this hump. I've learned so much, I'll never get into this situation again.
Even if you can't contribute, please pass this along to your friends and circles.

Bright Blessings to you, and Happy New Year.
Karen Johannessen

Organizer

Kay Emjay
Organizer
Chicago, IL

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