Fund to Support Ty & Family
Donation protected
Hi! My name is Tahisha. I made this campaign to help keep my family together and keep a roof over our heads. Here's a little information about my life and the crisis we're working to overcome.
I came into this world with all the odds against me. My mother had me when she was 15 years old and she was a drug abuser. I went into the foster system when I was 5 years old and from that point on I decided that this would not be the end of my life, only the beginning. It would be the end of the cycle of poverty, drug abuse, and gang affiliation for my family. Through foster care my sisters and I managed to stay together and as the oldest, I helped raise them. In high school, I was accepted to Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy and graduated with honors and some college credit. I continued with college for a year, but I was unable to graduate because I had to maintain two jobs. I ended up quitting school and working full time because I was determined to get my sisters out of foster care. I succeeded, and since then, I've been working hard, taking care of myself, and in 2012 I had my first daughter, Taijaya.
Everything was going well until I conceived my second daughter Zyloh last year. After Zyloh was born, while I was on maternity leave, the building that we lived in was bought by a millionaire developer and they stopped accepting rent on a schedule that would accommodate my disability payments. This left me with the no choice but to either be evicted or move out. Since then, it's been a struggle to find housing because of the high cost of rent in LA and discrimination by landlords against families. Sadly, because of this, my family and I have become homeless for the past several months, moving from hotel to hotel at the cost of more than $500 a week for the least expensive room. This emergency may cause me to lose my two daughters, the most important part of my life. I never thought that this would happen to my family because I made all of the right choices for myself, and I would never want my daughters to go through what I did in the foster care system.
All of your donations will go directly to the cost of rent for my daughters and me. The Department of Family Services requires children to have their own bedrooms, so I'm obligated to rent a two bedroom apartment. I'm on the waitlist for public housing, but they say it will likely take 2 - 3 years to be placed. Single mothers are often asked to pay double the security deposit along with first and last month's rent because they assume we won't have the money to pay later on. The average cost of rent for a two bedroom in LA is $1,730 per month, but I've been able to find some places in Compton and Long Beach for closer to $1,200. If we can raise $5100 it would cover the deposit, first, second, and last month's rent. If we can exceed that goal, it would provide even more security for my children and I. Any amount you can donate is a huge help!
Even working as hard as I do, 40+ hours per week as a manager at a local grocery store, I can't do this alone. Your donation could change our lives. I appreciate you reading my story and I'll keep all of you updated on the campaign.
Yours truly,
Tahisha
I came into this world with all the odds against me. My mother had me when she was 15 years old and she was a drug abuser. I went into the foster system when I was 5 years old and from that point on I decided that this would not be the end of my life, only the beginning. It would be the end of the cycle of poverty, drug abuse, and gang affiliation for my family. Through foster care my sisters and I managed to stay together and as the oldest, I helped raise them. In high school, I was accepted to Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy and graduated with honors and some college credit. I continued with college for a year, but I was unable to graduate because I had to maintain two jobs. I ended up quitting school and working full time because I was determined to get my sisters out of foster care. I succeeded, and since then, I've been working hard, taking care of myself, and in 2012 I had my first daughter, Taijaya.
Everything was going well until I conceived my second daughter Zyloh last year. After Zyloh was born, while I was on maternity leave, the building that we lived in was bought by a millionaire developer and they stopped accepting rent on a schedule that would accommodate my disability payments. This left me with the no choice but to either be evicted or move out. Since then, it's been a struggle to find housing because of the high cost of rent in LA and discrimination by landlords against families. Sadly, because of this, my family and I have become homeless for the past several months, moving from hotel to hotel at the cost of more than $500 a week for the least expensive room. This emergency may cause me to lose my two daughters, the most important part of my life. I never thought that this would happen to my family because I made all of the right choices for myself, and I would never want my daughters to go through what I did in the foster care system.
All of your donations will go directly to the cost of rent for my daughters and me. The Department of Family Services requires children to have their own bedrooms, so I'm obligated to rent a two bedroom apartment. I'm on the waitlist for public housing, but they say it will likely take 2 - 3 years to be placed. Single mothers are often asked to pay double the security deposit along with first and last month's rent because they assume we won't have the money to pay later on. The average cost of rent for a two bedroom in LA is $1,730 per month, but I've been able to find some places in Compton and Long Beach for closer to $1,200. If we can raise $5100 it would cover the deposit, first, second, and last month's rent. If we can exceed that goal, it would provide even more security for my children and I. Any amount you can donate is a huge help!
Even working as hard as I do, 40+ hours per week as a manager at a local grocery store, I can't do this alone. Your donation could change our lives. I appreciate you reading my story and I'll keep all of you updated on the campaign.
Yours truly,
Tahisha
Fundraising team: Ty's Fund (2)
Mai TAi
Organizer
Raised $100 from 1 donation
Los Angeles, CA
Erik Nieto
Team member
Raised $760 from 13 donations
This team raised $3,620 from 41 other donations.
