Help Secure a Home for Autumn and Her Child

Hi, I’m Autumn! I was born and raised back and forth between the Tri-Cities, TN, and the coalfields of Virginia. I spent my teen years doing volunteer work at local libraries, children’s summer reading programs, my high school library, county fairs, and a senior center in Western NC, where I had the wonderful experience of helping others and meeting people from all walks of life. Most importantly, my favorite non-profit role I’ve held is being a mother to a beautiful little girl that doctors said I would never be able to have. She is 13 months old and the light of my life but is medically complex and requires many daily medications.

To cut to the chase, I recently found out we can no longer live in our apartment. I went through a long and tumultuous divorce that was finalized this year, and I was granted child support in late August; I then reported that amount to my housing provider once I had the paperwork. Previously, my apartment complex was full-price and also sliding-scale based on income (not Section 8, but a private program through the property owners themselves). I am not wealthy by any means; I make just enough to get by and give my daughter everything she needs to be happy and healthy. However, my apartment complex recently switched to low-income housing only, and my additional child support amount pushed us over the limit. I was given approximately 45 days to find other accommodations. The official move-out date is December 20, and it was too short notice to put aside enough money for rent and deposit on a month-to-month lease.

With the help of my parents, we were able to purchase a 12’x40’ outbuilding (480 sqft) to put on the back of their property, but a lot needs to be done to make it livable for my daughter, me, and my significant other, who is experiencing a reduction in work at the moment as a contractor due to the cold weather. We currently have almost all of the wiring, wall and ceiling insulation, sinks, cabinets, an on-demand water heater, a toilet, a shower, and some other things like flooring and miscellaneous materials. However, we are still in need of building supplies and materials such as drywall, mud, screws, additional wiring, floor insulation, kitchen appliances, etc. We have my daughter’s room framed off and most of the insulation in, so it is now warm at the very least.

I have set a goal of $5,000 to help us purchase the rest of these materials so we can hopefully get this finished before the 20th, potentially the first of the year if it’s possible to push the date out. It sounds impossible, but I have hope we can do it. I’m in the process of selling most of my belongings trying to come up with extra money for this, because whatever I have to do while still being able to take care of my baby, I will do it. I’ve looked into loans, and my income just isn’t what it needs to be to get this amount along with my name being attached to debt that doesn’t belong to me, which was accrued during my marriage.

I understand it’s a large amount, but anything anyone could donate would be greatly appreciated. If anyone is in the Tri-Cities area and has any of the building supplies I’ve listed that could be donated or reduced in price, that would help as well. Or, if anyone is in the area and has the knowledge and experience in construction who could help us get this finished, we would be ecstatic.

I was raised with a lot of pride and the belief that you need to work for everything you have, and I still hold that belief close and practice it, so asking for this help is incredibly hard for me. However, at this point in time, I have no other option but to turn to crowdfunding. Please, if anyone reads this and has any way to help us, it would be so greatly appreciated. I understand that almost everyone is struggling right now, and I wish I could also help all of you; if I came into money, it would be short-lived because the list of people I would support is endless, but maybe someday that will be a reality.

Right now, my child and I desperately need any community support we can get. Just sharing this GoFundMe to your social media pages would help us more than you know.

Thank you all for both taking the time to read this and any support we receive afterward. I love all of you so much.