A cancer patient and family living in their van
Donation protected
- Hi, my name is Carla and I am fundraising to help a Maine family out of homelessness. You may have read about their story in today’s (June 24, 2022) Portland Press Herald.
- I have never done a GoFundMe before but I was compelled, as a Maine resident, to do something after hearing of their terrible situation.
- Pictured above: Senior citizens Jeanie (right), her husband, Roger (undergoing chemotherapy) and their daughter, Margaret (left), all of whom have been living out of their van for months - caught in Maine’s housing shortage and rising rent crisis. (Photo by/courtesy of Brianna Soukup, Portland Press Herald )
- Their “Vacationland” - to borrow the state’s long-standing tourism slogan - has been the parking lot of Kennebunk’s I-95 rest stop, the “travel plaza” nearest the Massachusetts border.
What “home” looks like for this family at the Travel Plaza on Interstate-95 in Kennebunk, Maine. (Photo by/courtesy of Portland Press Herald photographer Brianna Soukup).
- I believe we can do better in Maine and I want to show this family that Mainers - including those with vacation homes in our beautiful state - take notice and donate to make this family’s nightmare end, today!
- Like thousands, they are on a waiting list for affordable housing. Meanwhile, they use the public bathrooms at a truck stop and seek an escape from the scorching heat inside the plaza’s Burger King.
- Is this how we take care of our seniors?
- As if homelessness wasn’t bad enough - Roger is undergoing chemotherapy for bladder cancer.
- Is this how we treat our sick and dying?
- These are proud, hard-working Mainers: Both Jeanie and her daughter work full-time jobs. Yet, that still is not enough to make ends meet - and that was before inflation hit.
- Is this how we treat our dedicated service workers?
- Come on, Maine! We can do better than this!
- Let’s show this family a little Maine hospitality and get them a descent roof over their heads.
- I am seeking to raise $24,000 for them.
- Why that amount?
- Because they are looking for a 2-bedroom apartment in the Portland area, within 20 minutes of their jobs in Scarborough. They can afford $1,200/month. That’s barely enough for a 500-sq-foot studio — if any studios were even available.
- With an extra $2,000/month they have a chance at competing for a descent apartment, in a safe neighborhood, close to their jobs.
- The $24,000 is designed to be a safety net — while they wait to be placed in affordable housing by the state but no one knows when that will be. The supply is short and the lists are long.
- If they are placed in subsidized housing sooner than later — fantastic! The money will still be put to good use, to aid Roger as he battles cancer, and to support Jeanie and her daughter, Margaret, for educational assistance and job training to find better, higher-paying jobs and break this cycle of poverty - once and for all.
- What do you say Maine?
- Are you with me?
Roger and Jeanie remain hopeful that Roger will beat cancer and their family will soon have a new home, despite the odds. (Photo by/courtesy of Portland Press Herald photographer Brianna Soukup )
Organizer and beneficiary
Carla Valentine
Organizer
Portland, ME
Jeanie Cannell
Beneficiary
