These are my kids. Behind them is the house they have called home for the past 2.5 years.


Here is the puppy we brought home 2 days after moving in. After 2 years of renting in Whitehorse and not being able to have pets, they were so excited to have a home that was our own so we could "make our own rules" and have a dog.


They've always been a little odd...


...which is good, because so am I.




But our life has never been a perfect instagram feed. As all humans do, we've faced some challenges.

I have Multiple Sclerosis. It's not something I like to talk about. I was diagnosed in Ontario in 2013, and then promptly ran away to the Yukon where my symptoms weren't as bad. Until this year, I could count on one hand the number of people in my community who knew that I had M.S. I felt like people would treat me differently if they knew. I didn't want anyone to question how capable I might be.

Last April, I was sexually assaulted. I've learned that the debilitating after effects are what is known as PTSD. It triggered a lot of repressed memories and trauma that I had been ignoring since my childhood. I felt high levels of anxiety, experienced frequent flashbacks to mutiple traumas I had not thought about in years, and found it hard to leave the house at times. This too, is something that I felt ashamed of. I tried to carry on as though I were fine.

The stress of this disorder combined with the heartbreaking process of an ongoing seperation and divorce, pushed my M.S. into full relapse. I loved my job as the Executive Director of a non-profit helping youth in our community, but my symptoms made work incredibly difficult, and even dangerous at times. In June I had to stop working under doctor's orders.

.....did you make it through all of that?
Don't worry, it's still me.


I applied for Canada Pension Disability benefits in November, but it is a long process, and I still don't know what is going to happen. Needless to say, I have had to be very creative in finding ways to pay the bills. Luckily, our 5 bedroom home has an affordable mortgage payment and we have awesome long term tenants (friends) who rent 2 of those bedrooms. I have been able to  just barely make ends meet with help from Social Assistance and our local Food Bank.

My Ex-Husband and I are still trying to sort out the details of our divorce. Divorce is a messy business, and I don't want to burden you with the details. But what is clear, is that my Ex-Husband is also facing challenges right now. Because of these challenges, he requires that the house be sold, and the equity divided. The court has given me a deadline of May 1st 2018 to list the house for sale, and for the children and I to move out by August 15th 2018.



The kids and I love living in Whitehorse, but there is a housing crisis here, social housing lists are miles long,  and finding a 3 bedroom apartment that we can afford will take a miracle. Not to mention finding a place that will allow us to keep our beloved 2.5 year old dog.



But if I can raise the money to pay out my ex-husband's portion of the house, or use it as a downpayment of my own before May 1st, I can keep my kids and I in a home, and give them their best chance in this next phase of our lives.

Please help if you can. Every little bit brings us closer to securing our future.

I promise to pay it forward as soon as I can.