Hello there. I’m Jessica, a 31 year old mom of two boys. As of last July, I lost my apartment and my oldest son, Julian, had to go stay with his aunt so that he did not have to be homeless with us. In August, we found out I was pregnant with what would become my second baby, Case.

Here we are a year later, and still in the same position. Not from lack of trying by any means. Case’s dad and I have been working to better our situation and there was a few times there that we thought we finally got it right or were headed in the right direction, only for some unforeseen circumstance to come and rip it from us.

Many have been generous to us in our time of need and we will forever be grateful for all that everyone has done for us, collectively and individually. However, we do not have a place of our own and getting one is so far off, it’s heartbreaking.

Once you become homeless, with or without a car, life becomes different. People look at you differently, you look at yourself in ways you never imagined you would before. Now, add in a 4 month old baby into that mix and it’s downright crucifying. We lost our van last September when it was towed and we were unable to pay the fees to recover it. For a while, I had my late grandmother’s car, and was set to inherit it until circumstances changed and the vehicle was then sold. In February we bought a truck that required more work than we had anticipated and it broke down, got stuck in mud, and was also towed (within 2 hours of getting stuck.) We didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of retrieving it before they came for it, and the fees started at $770 plus storage fees of $30 a day. Knowing that we could not afford this, we had to also let that one go.

So again, we found ourselves homeless and without a vehicle, and very very close to bringing a newborn into this world that I hadn’t gotten to prepare for him in any substantial way.

We didn’t have a baby shower for Case, we had nowhere to store anything we may have received for him. Before we knew it, after some not so pretty events leading up to it, I was induced into early labor due to a small placental abruption and spiking blood pressure. Case was born March 22nd, 2025 and initially, he and I had a place to stay. However, our stay was short-lived and we had to move out on Easter Day. Case was just under a month old.

Ever since, life has been hard and unpredictable for us. Case’s dad and I have been a united force in keeping a roof over his head, no matter how short the stay may be. We have had to leave so many places, some due to circumstance, some due to hospitality running thin, some even because of a major indifference amongst us, to put it nicely.

We are now in the same position, only, we truly have no other options. Everyone we know has either opened their door to us at one time, or helped the best that they could for us without jeopardizing their own lives. The most recent person we stayed with for the month of June was a perfect stranger. We didn’t know him from a can of paint and he didn’t know us. However, that came to an end and we find ourselves with the very heavy burden of where do we go next?

HUD has closed all of their waiting lists, which when open, span anywhere from 1 to 2 years. We’ve called churches, had them call back just to tell us they aren’t able to help. We’ve called shelters, and unless you are calling 211 every hour on the hour, you don’t stand a chance at being placed in a shelter, because after all, first come first serve. I’ve been down to the St. Partricks center trying to get help. They’ve explained to me that the center is only a step towards a potential placement in a group home. And while this is better than outside, we desperately need our own place.

our own place or a car. Both give us opportunities to grow. I just need some people, whoever you are, wherever you may be, to take a chance on me. On us. On me getting my oldest back and life returning to some kind of normality. My 10 year old has only met his baby brother 3 times. One of those was in the hospital.

please, if you find it in your heart to donate, please do so. Anything helps at this point. Our starting goal is $1,800 in hopes that we will end up getting enough to move into a mobile home or apartment. Having a car would be a game changer. However, a roof is more important right now.

thank you very much for your time and for reading this. Love you all.