My name is Melissa, and I'll try to tell our story as best I can.

I moved my family across the country for our safety and well-being. As you can imagine, it was a harrowing journey. We had sold everything we could, to have as much money as possible for the move. Unfortunately, so very many things went wrong with the move that I ended up burning through the majority of the "extra" money that I had made/saved.

No problem, right? We can hit the ground running when we get to Portland! Think again! We rented a house that would suit our needs pretty well, from a rental management company (ProFast Property Management) so we thought it was vetted, and that ended up being such a mess that I couldn't seem to get on my feet even after we "settled in." We had no hot water, broken dishwasher, inadequate electric capacity causing us to play "musical outlets" in multiple rooms, flooding, more flooding, MORE FLOODING (this took 30 days to fix), spend a weekend in a hotel, then within 90 days we discovered that there was no heat in over half the house. There were, in fact, FAKE vents in those rooms upstairs, which we later found out were placed there on purpose to deceive the property management company. We went the entire winter without heat; the landlord FINALLY had small wall units (cadet heaters) installed on February 18 - ten weeks after we'd first reported that there was no ductwork to the entire upstairs.

No problem, right? I have a reprieve by going to work and getting out of the house, right? NOPE. I work from home, which meant that every single issue, from stupid to major, that this man did not fix in the ~year that this house sat EMPTY was now my problem to deal with. Having him and every rando from Craigslist in my home, watching YouTube videos on how to fix this or that.

READ THIS: Our landlord was SO deceptive, that the property management company actually stopped representing him the second week of February. Have you ever heard of such a thing?? So then, we were hung out to dry to deal with the landlord ourselves.

The constant issues, trying to keep my kids in some kind of routine when it's too cold to sleep in their bedrooms so they're in sleeping bags or on couches, working in my office in temperatures around 40 degrees when I could, has taken an incredible mental toll on me. This first year in Portland, I was supposed to work extra hard, save money, improve my credit, and be ready to really put down roots within a year or maybe two. Instead, I've spent 10 months spinning my wheels in a house that was not habitable when we moved in.

As long as I live I will never understand why our landlord did not simply SELL THE HOUSE last year. Why go through the trouble of deceiving a property management company to rent it?? And do you want to know the best part? He told us shortly after he installed the crappy little heaters in the upstairs rooms that he was going to sell the house as soon as we're gone. Then it all made sense - he tried to put us off as long as possible because he didn't want to actually put ANY improvement into the house, as that would cut into his equity.

What's sadder than that? This house is BEAUTIFUL. If properly restored and remodeled, it would be a stunning showplace. Instead, he has let it fall into such disrepair - including MAJOR foundational issues - that I'm doubtful that anyone would want to spend the dough to bring it back to life. It would be much easier to just knock it down and build a townhouse or two.

For my family, this leaves us with no more than 60 days to find a new place, put down a deposit, and move. Again. I am filled with anxiety about this.

I have been ramping up my work again since the weather has gotten warmer and I can work upstairs as many hours a day as I please. I have gotten my family stable half a dozen times in the past after a rough time, and I know that I can do it again. But I just need a helping hand. I can't seem to get back on my feet. I appeal now to the kindness of strangers, and on my own fortitude while still trying to stay even-keel and also sober.

Thank you for considering helping me move my family forward. It feels a million miles away right now, but I look forward to the day that I can help someone else.