Keeping Our Home

My name is Lisa, I have three children. Two boys and a little girl. Our family has always been your typical family. I've been a stay at home mom while my kids were young, my husband has always had steady work. Family dinners, outings to the park, Sunday morning church services. Some of my best memories are of teaching my children to ride their bikes without training wheels.

About two years ago, my husband came home from work in tears, his work had laid off half of the factory workers, they were sending production out of the country to save on expenses. We qualified for unemployment but as most people know, unemployment only pays a portion of what your income was. We had some savings and a small 401 K which we used to keep our mortgage paid for a while but we eventually got behind. we ended up living in a hotel that charged a weekly rate. We spent hours every day applying for jobs and assistance and trying to find reasonably priced housing. There were days when my husband and I went without food so we knew our children had full bellies.

    To this day, I still wake up in cold sweats terrified that there isn't enough food to feed everyone.

     Eventually, my husband found new work. We found a small duplex to rent and began the uphill battle to rebuild our lives. After a while, my husband was offered a management position in Illinois. At the time we were living in Indiana. We jumped at the opportunity. It was higher income and an opportunity to have a true fresh start. We discovered that the housing taxes in Illinois were insanely high, so we knew we were going to have to think outside of the traditional box in order to make housing work for us.

     We found a three bedroom trailer for a reasonable price. The trailer was in bad shape. The previous owner had been a smoker, had also had dogs that urinated on the carpets on a daily basis. We gutted the floors, laid new flooring that we found on a Craigslist free site, painted the walls and ceilings. Repaired and deep cleaned everything. It took us a while but we eventually got the place move in ready and safe for our children. We owned the trailer but not the lot it sits on. So we still had to pay a lot rent fee every month, which we have managed every month for the past year we have lived here.

     We recently discovered that the previous owner owed some back taxes on the trailer. The IRS had tried taking a lien on the lot itself, so the community property that owns the lot paid the tax debt and sent us the bill to repay them. This gentleman's debt became ours. We were given thirty days to pay the debt or face eviction. We have exhausted every community resource, applied for numerous loans and even attempted to get a tax loan. We have worked so hard to rebuild our lives and I understand that this is a tough time of year for everyone. I can provide proof of the debt owed and receipts of it being paid. If you cant donate, please share our story. 


     Writing my story on Go fund me has been an emotional journey. I believe there are genuinely good people in the world who try and help others and causes as much as they are able. My story is so similar to so many other people and reading through some of these stories and causes has been a heartbreaking experience for me. I don't claim to know why so many people have to struggle so hard every single day, but I do believe that God knows every single struggle of every single human on this planet. I believe that He has a plan for us all, even when it's so hard to have faith and hope. I will say that a life without faith and hope is a cold life to live. So, I choose to keep my faith and my hope and no matter what happens, I will continue to be the best mother, wife and woman that I can possibly be. Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my story. Never lose hope, never lose faith. Some days it may be all you have to hold onto.