Living Expenses
Donation protected
After a year of struggling, my daughter graduated from massage therapy school, got a wonderful job in a great massage studio and we were finally catching up on bills and rent and felt that 2014 was going to be a great year thanks to so many of you!
Then, in January, my daughter's sister-in-law's 3 special needs children were removed from their home by the state and we were asked to take them as a "kinship" placement, since it is believed that being with family is in the best interests of the children. Unfortunately, because things were already tight for us, this put a huge financial burden upon us. We believed then, and still believe it was the right thing to do for these children, and the state told us they would help provide for the children, so we thought it would work out. Unfortunately, the addition of these children tripled our expenses, and although the state was "processing" a request for assistance, since we were not a certified kinship family placement they were not required to fund us, as they are when someone is a certified foster parent. In addition, January was a slow month in the massage business, and my daughter only gets paid by the massage, so her paycheck was much smaller then we had anticipated. Long story short, while we were waiting on funds from the state that we had been promised, our rent for February came due (and we were still behind late fees from the previous couple of months) and the state determined that because we received a 3 Day Demand for Payment of our rent on February 5th, that we were not providing for the "basic needs" for the kids and they removed them from our care yesterday. Now, any funds we might have had access to through several agencies that provide emergency funding for kinship placement families is out of the question, and we find ourselves, again, in need of assistance. My heart is breaking that they have taken these children, but I have to believe that they will be alright and in the mean time, I have to make sure that my daughter, my grandson and myself are ok.
Any amount you can help with would be greatly appreciated. We have a couple of days to stop the eviction proceedings, and although it is a process and could take a couple of weeks, it still is a frightening possibility, as well as it looks terrible on our record and will make it hard to find anywhere else to go.
Thank you for any consideration, any prayer, any good thoughts, holding space, or donation.
May you be sincerely blessed.
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Well, here we are several months down the road and we have been blessed by sooooo many folks. My daughter has finished school and is now waiting for her license to come through so she can begin working as a massage therapist. I have started working small part time jobs as a virtual administrative assistant. Unfortunately, now that my daughter is done with school, we have no more funds coming in for living allowances, my spousal support is minimal, and the VA jobs pay a small amount for a great deal of work. At this time our October rent is due and we have no income to pay it. I hate to even post this update because so many have been so incredibly wonderful and I know that others are struggling too after the floods here in Colorado and that life is hard in general. But, if anyone can help us with even a small amount it would be so awesome. Please continue to hold us in prayer and love and light as we trust in God that He will again provide.
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On December 23, 2012, my world fell apart. My marriage had been failing for sometime, but on that day, my husband and I got into an argument. My husband got verbally abusive and my daughter (who lives with me with her 4 year old son while she finishes massage therapy school) defended me. The fight escalated into a domestic violence episode, the police were called and my husband was escorted from the premises. My husband then had our phones turned off, took my car, my debit card and turned off our internet and cable.
Since then, my daughter, grandson and I had to vacate our home, find another place to live, and try to support ourselves with very little income.
I have no income since I have been disabled for more than 5 years, and while applying for disability SSI, I have been denied twice, and am currently in my second appeal. My daughter gets student loans every quarter, but they are only sufficient to pay for her tuition costs and part of our living expenses. I have over $200 in prescription co-pays every month. My daughter does receive food stamps, but they don't cover non-food items like toilet paper, soap, shampoo, etc.
We have applied to every organization and charity possible and although we have received a great deal of help from friends, church family and charity organizations, they cannot continue to help us indefinitely. With the help of our church, and my daughter's school loans we have been able to make it till now, but we are out of money and have nothing more coming in until mid April. Our March rent was paid by charities. I am eternally grateful for all the help that we have received.
Also, my husband filed for divorce and I cannot afford a lawyer so I am attempting to handle it myself. In the meantime, although I have filed for temporary support, he is refusing to assist us in any way until he is ordered to. There is a hearing on April 16th to determine the temporary spousal support.
We currently need money to pay my phone bill, the electric bill, my prescription co-pays, doctor co-pays (I usually see my migraine doctor every 6 weeks, and I need to have several tests done), and for basic sundry items. We will need money to pay the rent for April, since we won't have funds until mid April after my daughter's next school loans become available. The money will also be used for transportation since we have no transportation and are relying on friends, charity organizations and RTD (the local transit system). My daughter's trip to school on the bus and train takes her over an hour each way. Fortunately, my grandson's school picks him up in front of our residence, so that is not an issue. However, basic things like going food shopping and to the pharmacy are difficult. Getting to the courthouse for filing papers and hearings is difficult also.
At some time in the future, I would really like to be able to donate to the charities and my church that have helped us so much to "pay it forward". I think there are a lot of people in difficult situations that stay because they are afraid to leave and have no idea what would happen if they do. When this all occurred the shelters (both domestic violence and homeless) were all full, and even if they weren't, they would not take a three generational "family" unit like us. I hope that someday I can find a way to fill in some of the gaps that exist in the system to help others that find themselves in a situation not of their choosing.
Please help us to get through the next few months while I try to find a way to earn a living, and while my daughter finishes massage therapy school. Thank you for anything you can do to help. Blessings to all of you.
Then, in January, my daughter's sister-in-law's 3 special needs children were removed from their home by the state and we were asked to take them as a "kinship" placement, since it is believed that being with family is in the best interests of the children. Unfortunately, because things were already tight for us, this put a huge financial burden upon us. We believed then, and still believe it was the right thing to do for these children, and the state told us they would help provide for the children, so we thought it would work out. Unfortunately, the addition of these children tripled our expenses, and although the state was "processing" a request for assistance, since we were not a certified kinship family placement they were not required to fund us, as they are when someone is a certified foster parent. In addition, January was a slow month in the massage business, and my daughter only gets paid by the massage, so her paycheck was much smaller then we had anticipated. Long story short, while we were waiting on funds from the state that we had been promised, our rent for February came due (and we were still behind late fees from the previous couple of months) and the state determined that because we received a 3 Day Demand for Payment of our rent on February 5th, that we were not providing for the "basic needs" for the kids and they removed them from our care yesterday. Now, any funds we might have had access to through several agencies that provide emergency funding for kinship placement families is out of the question, and we find ourselves, again, in need of assistance. My heart is breaking that they have taken these children, but I have to believe that they will be alright and in the mean time, I have to make sure that my daughter, my grandson and myself are ok.
Any amount you can help with would be greatly appreciated. We have a couple of days to stop the eviction proceedings, and although it is a process and could take a couple of weeks, it still is a frightening possibility, as well as it looks terrible on our record and will make it hard to find anywhere else to go.
Thank you for any consideration, any prayer, any good thoughts, holding space, or donation.
May you be sincerely blessed.
**************************************************************************************
Well, here we are several months down the road and we have been blessed by sooooo many folks. My daughter has finished school and is now waiting for her license to come through so she can begin working as a massage therapist. I have started working small part time jobs as a virtual administrative assistant. Unfortunately, now that my daughter is done with school, we have no more funds coming in for living allowances, my spousal support is minimal, and the VA jobs pay a small amount for a great deal of work. At this time our October rent is due and we have no income to pay it. I hate to even post this update because so many have been so incredibly wonderful and I know that others are struggling too after the floods here in Colorado and that life is hard in general. But, if anyone can help us with even a small amount it would be so awesome. Please continue to hold us in prayer and love and light as we trust in God that He will again provide.
***********************************************************************************
On December 23, 2012, my world fell apart. My marriage had been failing for sometime, but on that day, my husband and I got into an argument. My husband got verbally abusive and my daughter (who lives with me with her 4 year old son while she finishes massage therapy school) defended me. The fight escalated into a domestic violence episode, the police were called and my husband was escorted from the premises. My husband then had our phones turned off, took my car, my debit card and turned off our internet and cable.
Since then, my daughter, grandson and I had to vacate our home, find another place to live, and try to support ourselves with very little income.
I have no income since I have been disabled for more than 5 years, and while applying for disability SSI, I have been denied twice, and am currently in my second appeal. My daughter gets student loans every quarter, but they are only sufficient to pay for her tuition costs and part of our living expenses. I have over $200 in prescription co-pays every month. My daughter does receive food stamps, but they don't cover non-food items like toilet paper, soap, shampoo, etc.
We have applied to every organization and charity possible and although we have received a great deal of help from friends, church family and charity organizations, they cannot continue to help us indefinitely. With the help of our church, and my daughter's school loans we have been able to make it till now, but we are out of money and have nothing more coming in until mid April. Our March rent was paid by charities. I am eternally grateful for all the help that we have received.
Also, my husband filed for divorce and I cannot afford a lawyer so I am attempting to handle it myself. In the meantime, although I have filed for temporary support, he is refusing to assist us in any way until he is ordered to. There is a hearing on April 16th to determine the temporary spousal support.
We currently need money to pay my phone bill, the electric bill, my prescription co-pays, doctor co-pays (I usually see my migraine doctor every 6 weeks, and I need to have several tests done), and for basic sundry items. We will need money to pay the rent for April, since we won't have funds until mid April after my daughter's next school loans become available. The money will also be used for transportation since we have no transportation and are relying on friends, charity organizations and RTD (the local transit system). My daughter's trip to school on the bus and train takes her over an hour each way. Fortunately, my grandson's school picks him up in front of our residence, so that is not an issue. However, basic things like going food shopping and to the pharmacy are difficult. Getting to the courthouse for filing papers and hearings is difficult also.
At some time in the future, I would really like to be able to donate to the charities and my church that have helped us so much to "pay it forward". I think there are a lot of people in difficult situations that stay because they are afraid to leave and have no idea what would happen if they do. When this all occurred the shelters (both domestic violence and homeless) were all full, and even if they weren't, they would not take a three generational "family" unit like us. I hope that someday I can find a way to fill in some of the gaps that exist in the system to help others that find themselves in a situation not of their choosing.
Please help us to get through the next few months while I try to find a way to earn a living, and while my daughter finishes massage therapy school. Thank you for anything you can do to help. Blessings to all of you.
Organizer
Joyce Hansen
Organizer
Littleton, CO
