Chelsie, Gabe & Carson

Hello all. ❤️ please take a moment before donating or sharing to read our story. We want to be as honest and upfront and open with you all… I will post this at the end of this story as well, but we do have valid, legal documentation of everything mentioned in this story and we can provide the proof of our struggles to anyone at all so please do not hesitate to reach out and ask. We will not be offended. we understand a lot are skeptical of donating just because of a “sad story” so we will send whatever documentation to confirm and verify, or put your mind at ease.

So… our names are Chelsie, Gabriel, & our little guy, Carson (9 years old) This is extremely hard for me to do, as no one wants to be in such a bad spot where asking for help is the only option to keeping one’s head above water… so bare with me. I’ll explain as quickly as I can.

Back in December of 2021, I lost my job. A job that I absolutely loved. I put a lot of time and training into this job… but the unexpected loss of the job took a toll on our family. I was experiencing a lot of illnesses that would not go away, I had no health insurance, and was paying quite a pretty penny to go back and forth to clinics, urgent cares, the ER (twice), etc.

We moved into an apartment back in May 2021. Our first “big step” together as a family. We were excited. (At that time, we were both working good jobs). So, at the end of November 2021, Gabe was “terminated” from his place of employment because he informed a supervisor “is it okay if I leave? My wife has fallen in our bathroom and she is unable to move. I have to go.” He was terminated the next day. He went a full month of no check, so I picked up the slack with my job and my check to float us until he found another job.

long story short there, we fought that termination because he left after asking a supervisor, and also, it was an emergency situation in which he provided the accurate documentation that proved I went to the ER and after several tests, they verified I had cracked my vertebrae. So definitely a serious injury. So corporate called him, brought him back on with the sincerest of apologies.

that next month, I lost my job. We pay $600 a month for our apartment, in which our landlord informed us about his busy work schedule, and said if there was anything that needed repaired , we could repair them ourselves and deduct from rent. We attempted that in June/July2022 (this year), and a week later , we received the 1st eviction notice taped to our door. We fought in court, got the landlord and the lawyer of his to dismiss the 1st eviction.

Throughout the entire month of July, we notified the landlord of a not working dishwasher, wiring in the light on the front porch not working, ceiling chipping away in the master bathroom, vent in master bathroom not working, master bathroom toilet overflowing (damaging personal belongings under our bed), and a severe black mold problem. Our air conditioning also went out the first week of July, in which I begged him for 3 days to please have someone come out because financially, we were in no spot to pay for it ourselves or we would have. He beat around the bush, ignored a bunch of messages, and giving us excuse after excuse of why he couldn’t be bothered with it. We went 3 days with no air conditioning. Once it was fixed, his technician informed us of the black mold issue in which we had a professional come out and stated the walls had if, floors had it, up in the air vents had it, etc (doctor verified that the black mold exposure could be the VERY reason I was unable to let go of the severe upper respiratory infection) Not to mention… because of the toilets constantly running and overflowing at different times, our water bill with Dalton Utilities skyrocketed to over $600 (with TWO water shut offs that resulted in us having to lay $75 each time to have it turned back on)

Side note: Gabe has had to unfortunately, bless his sweet heart, continue working while suffering a severe cough that he has daily to the point of vomiting, upper respiratory infection, and not being able to breathe right like Carson and I, for the last year) He never called out. He continued going to work, despite how terrible his health and wellness had gotten due to black mold exposure and how bad he felt every day he woke up. We appreciate him so much for busting his BUTT to try so hard to keep us stocked with everything we needed. We did not expect, guess that’s why they call them unexpected emergencies, but the 3 blow outs we’ve had, the 2 random flats, the accident involving a guy that slammed into us in Chattanooga, injuring my son, the increased water bill, the black mold, the doctor bills, Carson’s sporadic school costs, etc. but Gabe always found a way to send him in with $20 for a book fair… so I do want to applaud this man for all he has done and sacrificed for our little family. He’s an Angel.

Fast forwarding, I begged and pleaded with our landlord to please at the very least, have the black mold problem addressed because myself and my child, Carson, have been sick for MONTHS. He never responded. I sent him letters with rent, never responded. Oh, but he was responding when we hadn’t sent rent in for the month of October. I informed him of my concerns, and that legally, what he is doing is considered extreme landlord neglect, child endangerment, and it makes the apartment uninhabitable. It was not a full week, we received the 2ND eviction notice on our door. We took him to court, yet again, and expressed our concerns to his lawyer and a judge. We were granted the 30 days to vacate (since we are now outside of our lease dates), and the judge wiped everything that we “owed” him as far as rent goes…

It felt like a win? But at the same time, it was a loss. The apartment that we made a temporary home, we are expected to be out of in 3 weeks… we will not be putting up a Christmas tree this year… we will not be able to afford Christmas for Carson, and this… this right here shatters me more than anything else. I feel like I’ve failed as his mom. We have several outstanding urgent care/ER bills that we are trying to handle, a car payment that has fallen behind, and today, right now in this very moment… we paid 2 bills and have $4 left to our name. We have little to no food… gas money… it kinda feels like we literally have nothing… but one thing we do have is each other. And Faith. I have prayed harder than I ever believed I could, because I want my son to be in a safe home, no black mold, no repairs so big that it causes his mommy & “baby Gabe” (step dad) to fall so behind, we can’t afford food.

I was denied food stamps (at the time I applied, it was because of my job, I made too much)

I reapplied and they approved me for $19 a month.

I have documentation to support everything I have said in this long story of ours to anyone who would like to see the valid documentation… because I understand not everyone feels comfortable donating because of a “sad story” they see on social media. So please do not hesitate to reach out, we will not be the least bit offended.

It takes a village they say… well, we’re putting our pride aside and asking for help. Help to catch us back up, put us back on our feet, and allow us as parents to be able to run to Walmart and grab my son a few gifts.

We love and appreciate every single one of you and if you cannot donate, it’s perfectly okay! Just share it. We need help because we are drowning….

Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts, we love y’all.

Sincerely,

Chelsie Reilly, Gabriel Pursley, & little man, Carson Reilly.