Help Barbara & Lucy Avoid Eviction

Barbara Rice is an elderly woman facing eviction and urgent hardship. We need to get her rent caught up by 7/30 and the current balance is $1,728

Barbara has NO ONE.. no living family or friends to turn to for support. She recently escaped an abusive relationship that took the last of what she had to protect herself. She was surviving on a single daily meal from Meals on Wheels and her social security check, but it’s not enough to cover her rent or basic needs. I met Barbara through my 14 years volunteering with Meals on Wheels, and her story is the most heart wrenching I have experienced. When I offered her my phone number, I became the ONLY contact in her phone. Barbara has had severe stress from worrying about losing her home which manifested into panic and asthma attacks. One panic attack caused her to fall and break her hip to lay in pain for 14 hours before she was found near death. She is so strong and made it through rehab and is back home. While she was in rehab I got a group of friends to help me address her home. It was clear she was living in despair and losing hope. We cleaned her home, hung some color on the walls, brought in some plants, got Lucy some toys, and started a wish list for her. Barbara had only 1 fork 1 spoon 1 plate and 2 broken coffee mugs in her kitchen to survive. I knew her for 6 months and had no idea the level of struggles she lived each day because she always answered her door with a smile and a thank you for her Meals on Wheels. She lost 5 sizes in her clothes from surviving on one meal a day for over a year and all of her clothes were safety-pinned to keep from falling off her 90lb frame. We have started replacing her clothes.

The pictures included are after we have helped her feel loved by starting to make her home feel warm and comforting with colors she loves and things she has never had. It was too awful to post pictures of her situation prior…. but I included one to share a glimpse.

Barbara’s only family and purpose is loving her cat, Lucy, who has been her constant companion and source of hope through years of loneliness and struggle. Caring for Lucy is what keeps Barbara going. Barbara has no car and was homeless earlier in her life. She is the sweetest, most appreciative person I have ever met, and no one should spend their last years in such despair. Thanks to the kindness of Naturepedic of Dallas a few of my close friends, Barbara now has a clean new mattress and bed, a kitchen table, and a new to her couch —things she’s never had before. But she still urgently needs help to catch up on rent and avoid eviction before she can move into a Christian-supported housing facility in Dallas she is now on the wait list, where she and Lucy will finally have stability and community. We need to help her stay in her current home with Lucy until she is at the top of the wait list. about 8 more months. Moving into a nursing home until then would kill her spirit and separate her from her Lucy. which she has expressed to me is the reason she is still with us.

Funds raised will go directly to Barbara’s rent, groceries, clothing, basic furnishings, and essentials for Lucy. Every donation will help keep Barbara and Lucy together and give them hope for a brighter, safer future. Your support will make a real difference in their lives.