Help Alex and Kids Avoid Eviction

My name is Alex, and I am a disabled 34-year-old living in Suffolk County with my 2 children. They are 9 and 11 years old and are thriving academically, socially, emotionally, and mentally. We have lived in our apartment for just shy of 2 years and are now facing eviction.

It takes an average of 7 years to be approved for SSI disability, and I first applied in 2017, after a 2-month-long hospitalization. I am diagnosed with bipolar 1 with psychotic features, fibromyalgia (so severe I often need a mobility device), and Behçet’s disease, a form of autoimmune vasculitis that affects every system in my body. I lived with family until my mom had to sell her house, which increased my rent 5x over. I have scraped together and borrowed from family enough to pay my rent for the past 20 months, but I need help to make it until my lease is up in March, or I am approved for disability. I am working with a pro bono lawyer now and optimistic this will pan out somewhat soon.

My oldest child also has some mental health diagnoses and has been stable, happy, and healthy since living in our own home. I really fear for how losing our home would affect her as a struggling preteen.

I owe my landlord over $7,000, and have come up with a good chunk of it, but if I don’t pay $4,500 by this week, they will start eviction proceedings. I definitely need more money than that, as I won’t make enough to cover my rent and bills for the next 3-4 months, even if I’m working part-time, and I have many medical expenses not covered by insurance. But for now, I am hoping to raise some of the $4,500 that will prevent me and my children from being homeless by the holidays.

Thank you very much for reading, sharing, and donating.