Five years ago, when COVID hit, my family faced homelessness for the first time. We found refuge in a small trailer park owned by an old friend of my husband. Despite the lease stating no pets, he understood their importance to our kids and allowed us to keep them. Over time, the trailer needed repairs, but they were never addressed, and we were unfairly blamed for the issues, being belittled and berated. We were forced to live in unhealthy and unsafe conditions. Now, the landlord's daughter, who never wanted us here in the first place, is in charge since her dad passed and is trying to evict us by finding excuses that we broke the lease terms, even though we comply with her demands and the rent is always on time. It's very clear no one else is being addressed for similar issues.

We have been here since 2020, and when we moved in, the landlord made certain agreements with us outside the lease in return for us doing the clean-out from former tenants. We were told to write down all repairs that needed to be done, and they would get fixed. After a bit, nothing was addressed. I went to the landlord, who by now had dementia and was ill. Instead of care, he called us names and said we caused all the issues that were here since day one, constantly demeaning and berating us to the point we didn't want to even talk to anyone. So we just let it go as much as we could. At some point, things became unsafe, uncomfortable, and unhealthy. We had large sinking holes in the floors, soft spots in walls, leaking so bad it soaked through the walls and rained inside into outlets. The entire trailer is sinking on angles, we have cabinets falling apart from the way the home is moving and leaking, we have mold which has been here since day one and gotten worse. The rugs were full of tears, dirt, smell, and nastiness. The heating system never worked; only two vents and two bedrooms worked.

We have tried to communicate through emails and letters, but we were yelled at and told it was harassment. We can't make calls here as we are in a very wooded area, so that's the only way to contact them aside from knocking on the door, which then means you get yelled at and demeaned in person. After the dad passed, she began looking for ways to tell us to leave so it looked like a break in lease even though it's month to month. We have a shed we put in that during a storm the door was ripped off, they said that was an issue. We installed cameras after things went missing and men tried breaking into my car, but she says I'm not allowed to have them because I put holes in the house. Fact is, they like to walk around the yard when they want and watch us, but they have been up a few months after we moved in. It only became an issue when we caught the brother staring into my daughter's window and after there was a fire in a vacant trailer across from us. The fire was determined that a propane tank started it and was then removed and thrown under the trailer to hide it. Because my camera clearly gets the road and front angle, they know it was recorded.

As for the pets, when we moved in, we had two chihuahuas that were my first husband's of 19 years that my kids will not part with since he passed away. Later on, we got my daughter a snake and later a rat as support animals. Everyone in the house has mental health issues in one way or another from different things. Later on, I adopted/rescued several birds as they bring a calming sense to the home. We also rescued a beagle-boxer mix who we saved to become my service dog, since I can barely walk and use a wheelchair and thought he could assist. It's still a work in progress as we can't pay to have him trained, but we are slowly working on him.

Feral cats have overrun the trailer park, and every home here has taken in one or more of these cats or kittens. I never liked cats, but I love animals and can't stand to see them treated badly or die. People drive through here without caring, hitting and killing them. Larger birds swoop down, taking and killing kittens, especially those that are injured. We saw a litter of five go down to one in a week. That's when we saved our first kitten, who had eye issues and was underfed and dehydrated. We saved her life, got her fixed, and she is amazing. The same happened with the second one months later. The following spring, the cycle started again, and we saw a single kitten always being attacked by others, chased by chickens, and almost hit a few times. We got her, infested with fleas, several ticks, and both eyes crusted closed. We fixed her up and got her fixed; she's partly blind and can't see well when it's not dark. The next spring, we had a family living under our house. One baby must have hidden in my car's wheel well. We drove over 15 miles and stopped at a store. As we got out, this tiny kitten darted into a busy parking lot from under my car. We weren't going to leave it there, so we brought him home. A month later, his brother was abandoned and looked very lost and sick. We eventually got him too. These two boys are still in line to be fixed. That's how we got five cats. Now, these cats are family with personality, love, and character. They cuddle, love, comfort, and bond with us and each other. Yes, this is a lot, but no one asks to be born, and they shouldn't die. I was making a catio play home for them and was told to get rid of the wood and not allowed to have anything on the porch, wood I paid for. I want to be able to do this and more for my pets, which can't be done in a rental clearly.

We recently had car issues putting the car in the shop after a weeks worth of fixing and about 3 months rent later it's fixed. Being I'm the only driver in the house is important for work school appointments and more. I have also been caring for my daughter after the surgery they had, they are on leave from with, unpaid and ineligible for unemployment. So that's a hit to us now as well.. bad timing I guess

We do love decorating for the holidays, especially Halloween, making people happy is always great. It's not only a holiday but also the day my husband and I got married. It's like a lifestyle for me. We have a huge Halloween collection and love doing big displays. However, we received complaints and were told to remove our decorations. This unjust treatment extends to other areas, including discrimination against my kids and other tenants for race and LGBTQ lifestyles which 2 of my children are part of the lifestyle. We need to raise money to get a lawyer and move into a home where we won't be judged or treated badly. We want to create a space where we can care for our animals and run a Halloween event every year for families to enjoy. This change will benefit our mental health and make life worth living again. We don't like asking for help, but we believe this is necessary for our family's well-being.

One day, in a perfect world, we will have our own home and room to help others and animals make life enjoyable. Even with the world full of darkness, there can always be a light. Please help us find shelter for us and our animals and to get us into a forever home.. Thank you for your time.